Ervan Rodgers, CIO of Ohio

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted before June 2, when Ervan Rodgers stepped down from his role with the Ohio state government.

Do you feel the profile of your role has changed during the pandemic?

The role has been enhanced, where if you didn’t think that technology is important, you now know that technology is important, and it needs to be a part of every fabric of every decision that’s taking place.

What lesson will you take with you from the pandemic?

I always look at the pandemic as the glass is half full. We’ve been able to do some amazing things during the pandemic that had the pandemic not come I think would have taken a lot longer to get completed. An example is we set up a vaccine management system in three weeks, record time, all the way from procurement, product selection, to configuration to getting the contract all together. Three weeks. That is amazing. Record time. Granted, folks were working five to seven days per week, however, those are the kinds of lessons learned that we’ve got to carry forward about being more efficient with your time and effort and resources.

How do you anticipate managing a hybrid or remote model of work going forward?

II don’t think you can go back to the way that it used to be. But you know, time will tell and we’re waiting for the official communication from our governor. Whatever that decision is, I’ve worked with all my CIOs across the entire enterprise, where we brought in an outside firm, to help us come up with a strategy. It’s basically a menu of options. So no matter what the agency is, we will have a technology solution to fit the need.