Is Big Data a Big Deal for State Governments? The Big Data Revolution – Impacts for State Government – Timing is Everything

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The volume and velocity of data creation is at all time high – and is accelerating. State government is a veritable data engine creating vast amounts of data from a vast number of sources. That data is being used to comply with regulations; uncover fraud, waste and abuse; and ultimately improve the lives of citizens. The sky is the limit in terms future data generation based on the growth in mobile applications, sensors, cloud services and the growing public private partnerships that must be monitored for performance and service levels, according to NASCIO’s latest in its series of issue briefs on analytics – “Is Big Data a Big Deal?”

In this issue brief, the universe of “big data” will be explored in order to:

  • Create a foundation preliminary to further description and exploration in future briefs, conference sessions and innovations forums.
  • Set common characteristics of big data versus simply lots of data.
  • Emphasize the necessity of data governance and data management within a broader state government enterprise architecture.
  • Present some early recommendations for state government regarding big data.

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Leaving Performance Bonds at the Door for Improved IT Procurement

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This is the second in a series of briefs on IT procurement modernization. The brief focuses on performance bond trends for state IT projects and is intended to give an overview of how the surety market has significantly changed because of a wave of factors external to the IT industry. The amount of readily available performance bonds has become a challenge and, in some instances, bond companies have begun to require companies to partially or fully collateralize performance bonds with bank letters of credit. In order for states to lower costs and create a competitive procurement pool, states need to consider finding ways of leveraging existing protections and adjusting performance bond requirements if necessary. This brief was developed in partnership with TechAmerica and with contributions from the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO).

 

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Leveraging Enterprise Architecture for Improved IT Procurement

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This brief seeks to present an overview of how the discipline of Enterprise Architecture (EA) can be used to improve and lower costs of state IT procurement. The degree of EA maturity in states can vary as much as the very rules that govern IT procurement, but a closer look will provide guidance on alignment of these vital functions of government. As stewards of tight budgets, it is imperative that state chief information officers (CIOs), state procurement officials, and other state leaders find the best values and are accountable for IT investments. State leaders should consider the benefits of aligning IT procurement and enterprise architecture not only as a way to deliver IT services more effectively, but also as a way to find savings through streamlined investments. This brief was developed in partnership with TechAmerica and with contributions from the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO).

 

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A Golden Opportunity for Medicaid IT Transformation: State CIOs and the MITA Framework

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This is an unprecedented time for health IT in the United States, and the backbone of achieving lower costs, better health outcomes, and system interoperability relies on an enterprise view. In response to the CMS release of Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) 3.0, the NASCIO Health Care Working Group has formulated guidance to states as they navigate Medicaid IT transformation. NASCIO continues to be an advocate for enterprise solutions and view the MITA framework as a way state CIOs can decouple legacy systems and break down existing silos in state government. State CIOs grasp the importance of modernizing the Medicaid enterprise in a way that is flexible, interoperable, and takes into consideration emerging technologies like cloud computing. In addition to emphasizing conformity to the MITA vision, the report calls attention to emerging security threats in the states and the importance of protecting personally identifiable information and personal health information.

 

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Capitals in the Clouds Part IV – Cloud Security: On Mission and Means

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This brief presents an emphasis on the cultural and organizational aspects of cloud computing. “Cloud services” imply shared services. When agencies come together to share such a resource there will necessarily have to be an evaluation of the variance in security policies in place in the various partner agencies. Engaging external cloud services can be quite risky if such services have not been properly vetted by state security staff. Much education, awareness, and ongoing communication will be required to ensure state government employees are fully aware of the risks of external cloud services. The imperative for states is to stay connected and maintain the dialogue, sharing intentions and solutions, as state government moves forward with adoption of cloud services. Cloud is not the only solution or avenue for sharing resources. When it is the right solution, it must be employed with proper attention to the security aspects of cloud services, particularly with external cloud services.

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Capitals in the Clouds Part III – Recommendations for Mitigating Risks: Jurisdictional, Contracting and Service Levels

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Cloud computing will continue to be an invaluable resource for state and local governments in their efforts to rationalize and optimize computing resources. Cloud computing should be seen as an IT innovation that can support rationalization and optimization of business services as well as IT services. Due diligence prescribes the necessity of exploring and evaluating jurisdictional issues in order to ensure long term sustainability and growing adoption of collaborative government operations in state and local government.

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The Heart of the Matter: A Core Services Taxonomy for State IT Security Programs

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To ensure that IT security remains robust in the current difficult budget environment, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has identified a taxonomy of core, critical IT security services to facilitate the analysis of requirements, sourcing options, and costs for delivering appropriate security. For each of the twelve services that were identified, the brief includes a description, a list of the key activities associated with the service, and a list of tools that commonly support service delivery.

 

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Capitals in the Clouds – The Case for Cloud Computing in State Government Part II: Challenges and Opportunities to Get Your Data Right

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Cloud computing brings with it opportunities, issues and risks. One major consideration that must be addressed is the management of data – governance, stewardship, consistency, ownership and security. Data is the lifeblood of state government operations and critical for service delivery. With the fiscal stress and operational pressures that are driving state and local governments toward serious consideration and adoption of cloud computing, the data must not be ignored. These pressures must be managed intelligently to avoid pushing government into a future situation that could constitute greater cost, and more difficulty in achieving interoperability of government lines of business and government jurisdictions.

 

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State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2012

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Each year NASCIO conducts a survey of the state CIOs to identify and prioritize the top policy and technology issues facing state government. The CIOs top ten priorities are identified and used as input to NASCIO’s programs, planning for conference sessions, and publications.

 

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The 2011 State CIO Survey

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NASCIO partnered with TechAmerica and Grant Thornton LLP to survey state and territorial chief information officers (CIOs) on their most challenging issues and significant opportunities. At a high level, the survey reveals this to be a time of evolving roles, changing organizational capabilities and demanding workloads for the CIOs. The themes that emerge from the 2011 survey results center on consolidation, collaboration, clout and change — a new state CIO agenda. The report, which is the second Annual Survey of State Chief Information Officers, is titled: “A New C4 Agenda: Perspectives and Trends from State Government IT Leaders.”

 

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