In his State of the State speech Wednesday night, Governor Pat McCrory proposed creating a Department of Information Technology as a single source of accountability for the State’s IT resources.
The way North Carolina manages and governs IT today is inefficient, with too many silos, too much duplication and complexity, and too many technology systems that don’t work together. A review of State technology projects found that 74% of them came in over budget and behind schedule, and many did not deliver the expected results.
The new Department would address the State’s most pressing IT challenges through increased oversight of IT projects and improved management of budgets and personnel.
“We’ve found that the piecemeal approach we’ve taken during the past decade for information technology has had disastrous results,” said Governor McCrory. “My administration is going to insert accountability into IT operations by working with the General Assembly to establish a new cabinet-level Department of Information Technology.”
State Chief Information Officer Chris Estes presented a plan to the General Assembly in December that would restructure North Carolina’s fragmented IT resources and clearly define the State CIO’s responsibility for technology operations and project oversight.
“State agencies have historically operated like individual businesses instead of one statewide entity,” said State CIO Chris Estes. “The new Department would address the root cause of our IT challenges and allow us to take a comprehensive view of the State’s technology needs.”
The Department of IT would replace the Office of Information Technology Services and the Office of the State Chief Information Officer. Cabinet agency IT professionals would report to the new Department but remain housed in their agencies to provide in-house expertise and service.