Providing a customer experience like what’s offered by Amazon has become a holy grail for many government IT leaders in recent years, and with North Dakota’s newest hire on Thursday, the state is drawing a direct line to that mission. North Dakota’s chief information officer, Shawn Riley, announced a new position called the chief reinvention officer, or CRO, that will be filled on August 20 by Julie Cabinaw, a private…

Fairfax County benefits from improved operational intelligence and cost savings from a reduced data center footprint, a new report says.

Deborah Acosta knew making San Leandro, California, stand out among other San Francisco Bay Area communities would be a challenge when she became its chief innovation officer in 2013. The city of about 90,000, just south of Oakland and across the water from ritzy Silicon Valley cities like YouTube home San Bruno, was still trying to move on from its past as a decaying manufacturing hub and poster child for the restrictive covenants…

The young technology leader says it's time for him to step aside and let the new administration take control of the state's important work in IT.

In addition to upcoming changes to Virginia state government’s technology leadership, Gov.-elect Ralph Northam has also announced a reorganization of the state’s technology offices. While Northam, who will be sworn in on Saturday, has not yet named the technology leaders who will serve his administration, his camp announced plans Tuesday to disband the technology office now led by Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson. Technology oversight and operations will instead be moved under…

On Saturday, Gov.-elect Ralph Northam will be sworn in as Virginia’s new leader, replacing Terry McAuliffe and bringing a new Cabinet with him. And while the incoming Democrat has telegraphed his intention to continue the commonwealth’s efforts on technology workforce development, education, economic development, data analytics and autonomous systems, the transition marks the end of a short but influential pro-technology reign under McAuliffe. Northam hasn’t yet named his secretary of…

For some state and local governments, emerging technology brings just as many opportunities as challenges. Citizens continue to demand services on pace with what they can find in the private sector, while governments are struggling to embrace methodologies that will help them meet the opportunity inherent in this emerging tech. All the while, the difficulties of legacy modernization and cybersecurity continue to make it harder for state and local government…

Washington, D.C., Chief Technology Officer Archana Vemulapalli is resigning, her office’s Twitter account announced Tuesday. Appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser in January, 2016, Vemulapalli is credited with having led a wide array of technology projects in the District, including improving the local government’s cybersecurity posture, drafting and advocating for equitable and effective smart cities policy, and serving as a vocal leader in the national discussion around diversity and inclusion in…

After several rapid changes in IT leadership in recent months, the City of Baltimore is betting big on its newest chief information officer. Frank Johnson, the city’s newest CIO and chief digital officer, becomes the fifth leading IT official at the Mayor’s Office of Information Technology in five years. Johnson, who started in early September, replaced acting department head Evette Munro, who resigned in July after taking over for former CIO…