GEM

For federal agencies, deciding whether information, data or applications belong in a public or private government cloud or a hybrid combination of the two is no easy feat.

Visit http://www.nextgov.com/cloud-computing/2014/04/public-or-private-cloud-your-agency-decision-comes-down-risk-disa-cio-says/82114/?oref=ng-dropdown to view the full article online.

The government’s digital information repository Data.gov launched a new section on Tuesday focused on companies and nonprofits that are using government data to fuel their businesses.

Visit http://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2014/04/open-government-data-should-focus-user-need/82135/ to view the full article online.

Austin, Texas-based SolarWinds recently unveiled the results of its 2014 public sector survey on IT automation. It’s safe to say, based on results of the survey, that governments are eager to modernize IT operations in agencies. One of the findings from the survey: Automating IT management is a goal for 63 percent of government IT professionals in 2014.

Visit http://americancityandcounty.com/hardware-amp-software/automating-it-yields-cost-saving-benefits-according-survey-related-video-0 to view the full article online.

Being a government CIO is not an easy job. Last year, NextGov reported that the average tenure for agency CIOs is only two years. For state CIOs, it’s only 20 months! It’s not a job for a slacker, a underachiever or a clock puncher. It requires time, energy, creativity, patience and a strong stomach and spine. And to make matters worse, the job is constantly evolving.

Visit http://www.publicceo.com/2014/04/so-you-think-you-want-to-be-a-government-cio/ to view the full article online.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the average government CIO isn’t able to spend much time dreaming up new projects. "Keeping the lights on" or "putting out fires," whatever business-speak you prefer, tends to dominate the CIO’s work schedule.

Visit http://www.govtech.com/management/7-Ways-to-Innovate-Government-IT.html to view the full article online.

Chief information officers at technology companies can have it tough. For one, IT operates as a group of technologists in a sea of technologists. Often the engineers in the traditional "business" functions think of themselves as doing more important work than that of the IT department, which leads to the conclusion IT and the CIO are really focused on more commoditized work; work that could be outsourced and little difference would be felt by the enterprise. These same "business" engineers may simply think that they can do the CIOs job better than the CIO can.

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterhigh/2014/04/07/five-lessons-cios-should-take-from-their-peers-at-technology-companies/ to view the full article online.

Dubuque, Iowa, has a population of just under 60,000, but it’s doing something few other cities its size have ever tried. It’s embedding technology in utility meters to collect and analyze water, gas and electricity use; it’s even using radio frequency identification tags to track how some people move about to gain a better understanding of the city’s traffic and transportation issues.

Visit http://www.governing.com/col-big-data-just-for-big-cities.html to view the full article online.

Federal IT has been in the news more than usual due to HealthCare.gov. I know federal IT. I was the departmental CIO for the US Department of Transportation with oversight of its entire annual IT portfolio of more than $3 billion during the first Obama administration. I want to provide my insight on how to fix the repeated debacles within federal IT with some simple, innovative ideas.

Visit http://www.informationweek.com/government/leadership/wanted-yelp-for-government-it-contractors/d/d-id/1204271?_mc=RSS_IWK_EDT to view the full article online.

Whether it’s in front of a class of students, reviewing the work afterwards or preparing for the next lesson, time is precious for teachers and instructors inside and outside the classroom. To assist the Arizona State University Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College faculty, site coordinators and mentor teachers involved in its iTeachAZ teacher candidate program, the Teachers College’s Information Technology Integration Services (ITIS) Office worked with SDG Corporation to develop the iTeachAZ mobile app.

Visit http://azednews.com/2014/04/08/new-app-is-a-timesaver-for-iteachaz-staff-students/ to view the full article online.