STATE TECH
By Tanya Candia
Driven by the costly burden of maintaining outdated systems that are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks, as well as rising citizen expectations of online services, states are finding new ways to achieve modernization, even with limited budgets.
Louisiana, for instance, recently consolidated all IT departments across its 162 branch agencies under one roof — not only consolidating leadership and oversight, but upgrading its systems, which has saved the state more than $70 million in three years. Meanwhile, Hawaii has modified its internal approach to IT, switching to more commercial off-the-shelf products. It has also worked closely with partners like LinkedIn to attract IT talent capable of pursuing long-term IT goals.
Streamlining IT provides an opportunity to rethink business processes, eliminating redundant ones and enabling new capabilities while achieving operational efficiencies. In many states, IT officials are making cybersecurity a cornerstone of these modernization efforts.