Some time in early 2019, Tennessee residents will be able to renew their driver’s licenses or apply for professional certifications simply by pulling their phones from their pockets and opening the state’s new mobile app. That was the prediction made Tuesday by the state’s chief information officer, Stephanie Dedmon, during a presentation on the app at the annual conference of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers in San…

Digital initiatives are a top priority for state government, yet agencies continue to lag behind the private sector in their attempts to scale those initiatives, according a survey released this week by research and advisory firm Gartner. A report released Wednesday reveals that chief information officers and other government technology leaders in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Singapore, Canada and India are rarely able to deliver their digital businesses at scale, despite…

The Virginia Information Technologies Agency announced Wednesday it has awarded a six-year $242.4 million contract to Unisys to manage its server, storage and data center services. The contract joins five others already signed by the state and other vendors as part of its new services model that allows a variety of shorter contracts from different suppliers, rather than the single IT contract the state has held with Northrop Grumman since…

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

The Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) will lay off 56 employees after two multimillion dollar no-bid contracts with CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc., the company behind the torrid rollout of Healthcare.gov in 2013, the Wichita Eagle first reported this week. KDOR will move its information technology services over to the company after signing at least two no-bid contracts in February 2017 and February 2018 worth $59 million and $53 million, respectively. Some lawmakers…

State and local government agencies are turning to cloud to streamline and strengthen their organizations' cybersecurity efforts.

South Carolina is taking steps to strengthen its cybersecurity posture. Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster announced the formation of a new office at the North Augusta Municipal Center for SC Cyber, the state’s initiative and liaison between industry, academia and government for cybersecurity development.  The office will work to meet the region’s “growing cyber related educational and workforce demands,” a statement says. McMaster touted the move as a positive one to build developmental and…

Jonathan Parham says that when it comes to body-worn cameras, law enforcement is missing out on a big opportunity. Parham — who retired as the chief of police for the City of Linden, New Jersey, on Jan. 1 — told StateScoop that law enforcement’s focus on body-worn cameras as a mere additional witness in the sometimes contentious relationship between police and the public falls woefully short of the technology’s potential. Instead…

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.