Louisiana’s IT Resilience Goal: Rebuild in 24 Hours
Deputy Chief Information Officer Neal Underwood of Louisiana has his staff focused on being ready for catastrophic infrastructure failure so if the worst ever happens, they can rebound quickly.
Neal Underwood has served as Louisiana deputy chief information officer alongside state CIO Dickie Howze since 2014, with more than a decade of additional state experience beforehand. So his take on resilience is hard-earned. At the annual NASCIO conference in Seattle earlier this month, Underwood talked to GT about the importance of building infrastructure that can withstand cyber attacks. But Underwood is realistic about the fact that smart investments in prevention and mitigation won't ward off every potentially damaging incident.
And while Underwood specifically mentions a debilitating incident impacting state IT infrastructure, the state also has a lot of experience with disasters that have even more far-reaching impacts.
"We're always looking at a better way to give support more efficiently," he said, noting some recent additions to the state's digital service catalog, including to their D-SNAP (Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) program. State IT also has a role to play in enabling emergency response, including by using satellite technology to bring connectivity to first responders delivering services to citizens.
Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.
Lauren Kinkade is the managing editor for Government Technology magazine. She has a degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and more than 15 years’ experience in book and magazine publishing.
