MARCH 2019CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8IN MY ViewOregon Secretary of State Transforms Technology Systemshe 21st century CIO is a multifaceted professional adept in a full spectrum of skills, including business and finance, technology, human relations, and organizational change. In order to be truly effective, a CIO seeking to make lasting change within an organization must possess a vast and deep toolkit of skills and experience that can be leveraged, depending on the maturity level of an organization, specific technology issues, or evolving scenarios. When faced with the overwhelming challenge of complete IT modernization of the Oregon Office of Secretary of State, it was clear the effort required everything in that vast toolkit of skills. Borrowing from Federal CIO Guidelines for IT Modernization, the Secretary of State Information Systems Division began transforming information systems across the entire spectrum of IT services and support. The approach was to follow industry best practices using four basic steps:Step 1 - Conduct a Benchmark Assessment: IT managers conducted an honest self-assessment across the entire spectrum of IT services, including software development, infrastructure operations, project management, software quality assurance, and cybersecurity. They leveraged an international best practices framework known as Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) to identify gaps and shortfalls and provide IT managers a baseline from which to proceed.Step 2 ­ Define a Strategy: IT managers took great pains to ensure the evolving IT strategy could easily trace back to business goals and plans. The resulting IT strategic plan outlined the current IT and business environment as well as the strategy for a future state. This future state section not only listed the goals and strategies to be pursued, it documented a series of specific TROLAND RIVERA, CIO, OREGON SECRETARY OF STATE
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