State Government

The state of New York’s inaugural Chief Customer Experience Officer Tonya Webster was appointed to shape the method, style and efficiency of government interactions. This week, the state is reporting on its progress.

The chief information officer for the Diamond State has been in place since 2023 and was previously its chief technology officer. Lane has been with Delaware for eight years, following a 35-year private-sector career.

At least four companies, including Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, are advancing data center projects around the state. If fully built, the data centers could, combined, need as much electricity as every home in Minnesota.

The state’s governor is going into the new year with an updated commitment to improving government technology and digital services. The push relies heavily on making contact centers more efficient.

Gov. Tate Reeves’ executive order mandates a statewide inventory of AI technologies, guidelines to responsibly integrate AI into public services and bridging communication across state agencies.

State residents who work in the public sector, including in local government and education, have had employer contributions to their retirement accounts impacted by suspicious activity on servers.

Rich Heimann, the state’s first-ever director of artificial intelligence, lauds its pragmatic approach to AI strategy and adoption. South Carolina’s chief information security officer will be part of the center's team, too.

The rising use of artificial intelligence in search functions and the 24/7 needs of cryptocurrency mining are expected to take the Internet’s demands on the energy grid from predictable to exponential.

In a high-level view of the 2025-2026 fiscal year state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom highlighted technology work and reforms by the Office of Data and Innovation, which is helping lead California’s tech evolution.

The state’s previous CIO resigned late last year after an "ethics violation." Cronin’s tech experience stretches back to 1998 with Microsoft, and he most recently worked for hotel operator Marriott International.

The Texas-based government technology behemoth has appointed and promoted several new executives in recent days. The moves reflect how the company is growing and larger trends in the industry.

The 2024 Republican platform declares the intent to repeal the AI Executive Order President Joe Biden enacted in October 2023. The technology sector foresees increased opportunities for innovation, but risks remain.

Collaboration and partnership with other agencies was central to the redesign of the WaTech Service Catalog, to better understand the needs of state departments and deliver a more obtainable product.

Bob Ferguson, the state’s incoming governor, will keep Bill Kehoe, its CIO and director of Washington Technology Solutions for more than four years, in place. Kehoe was previously CIO for Los Angeles County.

The data breach last year by an outside entity resulted in the accessing of files that included Social Security numbers. Separately, hackers obtained the public assistance account information of more than 1 million people.

Forty-eight states took part in a review, but only 22 reached or surpassed recommended minimum system security levels. Results for local governments showed they, too, have room for improvement.

As the frequency of climate-related natural disasters increases, CIOs are uniquely positioned to build resiliency within state government and across internal agencies.

This year, local and state governments increased access to digital services for people with disabilities, in part due to a new ruling from the DOJ.