The Top IT Priorities For CIOs in 2014
NASCIO, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers represents state chief information officers (CIOs) from state governments across the United States. According to a survey of their members, security, cloud services, and enterprise portfolio management are the top priorities for 2014.
The Top 10 Priority Technologies, Applications and Tools
1. Cloud Computing: Software as a Service (SaaS)
Software as a Service utilizes cloud-computing infrastructure to deliver a single application to multiple users in any location, rather than using the traditional one application per desktop.
2. Security Enhancement Via Continuous Diagnostic Monitoring and Digital Forensics
Continuous Diagnostic Monitoring enables an organization to view its network and identify risks and quantify attacks and/or breaches. Digital forensic tools are used by companies that require regulatory compliance and incident management.
3. Mobile Workforce: Technologies and Solutions
Businesses today are competing in a mobile, technology-driven economy. They rely on their mobile workforce to ensure customer satisfaction and product innovation. Mobility solutions ensure secure and simple access to data, tools and applications from any location.
4. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise Resource Planning involves using business management software that combines a variety of integrated applications to store and manage data for all aspects of business operations. It includes product planning, manufacturing, marketing, inventory management, shipping, invoicing, accounts receivables and payables, and more.
5. Virtualization: Servers, Desktop, Storage, Applications, Data Center
Virtualization in technology refers to the creation virtual servers, desktops, storage devices, applications, and computer network resources. Virtualization allows an organization to virtualize their entire IT infrastructure or just specific aspects of it, and simplifies the overall IT infrastructure to promote efficiencies.
6. Legacy Application Modernization/Renovation
Legacy application modernization is the process of refactoring, re-purposing, or consolidating legacy software programs to align to a company’s current needs. This enables organizations to benefit from the advantages of new development without the risk and cost of replacing legacy systems.
7. Business Intelligence and Business Analytics: Applications and Big Data
Business intelligence, or BI, is a term that refers to a variety of software applications used to analyze an organization’s raw and big data (massive amounts of data). Business analytics is the process of exploring and investigating an organization’s data with emphasis on statistical analysis.
8. Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity
Disaster recovery and business continuity refer to an organization’s ability to recover data after a disaster occurs and where IT services are shut down or compromised. Both practices involve the process of backing up data and preparing policies and procedures to implement in the event of a disaster.
9. Identify and Access Management
Identity and access management is a security practice that enables only authorized individuals to access resources to comply with security and compliance requirements. This is a crucial element for any business.
10.Networking: Data and Voice Communications
Data communications refer to the electronic transmission of information for storage and processing, while voice communications refers to systems such as mobile devices and VoIP systems.
The Top 10 Priority Strategies, Management Processes and Solutions
1. Security
Security is an essential factor for any organization. Risk assessment, data protection, training awareness, and third-party security practices are necessary to ensure maximum security and protection.
2. Consolidation/Optimization
Consolidation of an IT infrastructure involves analyzing any inefficiencies in an existing IT infrastructure and centralizing/consolidating resources and operations to promote considerable financial savings.
3. Cloud Services
Cloud services are available to users via the Internet from a cloud provider’s servers, and is used instead of a company’s own on-premises servers. Cloud services provide easy, scalable access to resources, applications, and services.
4. Project and Portfolio Management
Project and portfolio management centralizes management of processes, methods, and technologies to analyze and collectively manage a group of projects based on a variety of characteristics.
5. Strategic IT Planning
Strategic IT planning focuses on a business’s specific needs and how to use IT to meet them. IT is a strategic capability to be used and integrated into planning and projections with consideration of future IT innovations and business growth.
6. Budget and Cost Control
The budgeting and cost control process defines and implements strategies to achieve a company’s priorities and plans, saving goals, reduction and avoidance of unnecessary costs, and ways to deal with inadequate funding and budget constraints.
7. Mobile Services/Mobility
With the BYOD (bring your own device) trend, organizations are using mobile devices more than ever. They must consider applications, support, ownership, security, and communication issues and policies to ensure a mobile workforce is always productive and secure.
8. Shared Services
Many parts of an organization use the same services and resources. Shared services involve the consolidation of business services and resources used by multiple parts of an organization. For example, with service portfolio management, organizations can define and manage services and resources.
9. Interoperable Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (FirstNet)
FirstNet, under the United States Department of Commerce, provides emergency responders with a nationwide, high-speed network dedicated to public safety. They plan to provide broadband communications to support video, voice, and data in an interoperable manner between agencies and across jurisdictional lines. The network is expected to complement, not replace, existing land mobile radio, IP, and cellular services.
10. HealthCare
Healthcare providers and organizations benefit immensely from using information technology. However they must comply with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) to ensure the privacy of protected health information (PHI). Other priorities include health information and insurance marketplaces, health enterprise architecture, assessment, partnering, implementation, technology solutions, Medicaid Systems (planning, retiring, implementing, purchasing), and eligibility determination.
The original list was written by James Finnan, Editor in Chief at CFOZone.com. To view the article click here: http://mycioview.com/entry/top-2014-it-priorities-for-state-cios