While technology is always evolving and IT paradigms shift frequently in the information age, there are some core critical skills for public sector IT professionals that remain constant. We must be technology enablers and visionaries, and today we definitely must be more focused on the PEOPLE than the technology within our organizations. Focusing on people involves aligning IT with the business of government, delivering superior customer service and IT support to end users, working with management to decrease costs and increase efficiencies, and successfully interfacing people with technology. If you’re just focused on technology, you are missing the mark as an IT leader in the 21st century.

Dynamic Benchmarking, a provider of customized online benchmarking and reporting solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of a new benchmarking study for GMIS International. The new, web-based tool will provide real-time, peer-to-peer comparison of key performance metrics of public sector IT departments from across the country.

Brian Kelley, CIO of Portage County, Ohio, and president of GMIS, talked with Government Technology about why it’s important to keep an open mind when hiring millennials, who may have different expectations than the employees they replace. Watch the video today to learn more about why millennials may have different expectations than the employees they replace.

SC.GMIS is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2015 Network and Telecom Workshop! The 2015 Network and Telecom Workshop, scheduled for Thursday, October 22, from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., will be held at the Saluda Shoals River Center in Columbia, S.C., and will feature a full agenda of networking, discussions and sharing of information.

GMIS member since 2002
Number of IT staff: 42
Population: 200,000
IT budget: $5.5 million (operating)

Paul Allena, technology coordinator for the Borough of Somerville, NJ, with a population of 12,500, gave this presentation last year to the mayor and borough council about how the borough's technology capabilities have evolved throughout the years.

Cities across the country (and the world) are turning to technology to better connect their communities, improve citizen services, and perhaps most of all, find more intelligent ways to manage their resources. (State Scoop)

The company hopes to drive cloud usage with 10 GB connection speeds and hard-wired access to servers. (GovTech.com)

Local government leaders are scrambling to answer the question: "Are our systems cybersecure?" (American City & County)

Officials in New Jersey are using new IT to respond faster to protect residents in the event of disaster. (State Tech)

The IT executive today is one of the most important roles within an organization. Debates around exactly what the CIO acronym should morph into have been interesting to say the least. (CIO)

Instead of working to retire early, smart folks tend to find work they enjoy so they don’t want to retire. (CIO)

Researchers looked at results from more than 3 billion emails to determine the best- and worst-performing words and phrases. Are you choosing wisely? (Ragan.com)

Can these companies make a difference in how governments share, conserve and connect? (GovTech.com)

Digital technology now dominates how many Americans interact with the world: how people get their news, talk with loved ones, and how they work. (Next Gov)