New York seeks CIO; Digman’s status uncertain

New York state is looking for a new chief information officer, but Brian Digman, who has held that post since January 2013, is expected to stay with the state in some capacity, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The state recently posted the opening on LinkedIn for a statewide CIO who will lead the New York Office of Information and Technology Services, which includes a $915 million budget and 3,800 employees.

An official with the administration of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the Wall Street Journal that Digman is expected to remain with the state, but did say what his job would be. He did add that Digman is “well-regarded and did “great work” in launching ITS when he came aboard.

During his time as CIO, Digman led the state’s major information technology transformation project that included four main consolidation programs, including data center and email consolidation, telecommunications modernization and enterprise identity and access management.

Before that project, the state featured a much more federated model where technology decisions and systems were decentralized within the state, causing inconsistent systems with incompatible and overlapping technology systems.

The new CIO will be required to fulfill the following duties, according to the job posting:

• Provide statewide vision and leadership for developing and implementing state-of-the-art enterprise technology, information and infrastructure

• Ensure New York State is a national leader and work across state agencies to develop and/or implement technologies in the areas enterprise productivity tools, identity management, cloud hosting and infrastructure, IT security, Voice over Internet Protocol, Application Programming Interfaces and Open-Source Software

• Deliver an outstanding user experience to New Yorkers through all digital touch points including Web, mobile and tablet

• Encourage a culture of innovation by supporting strategic experimentation with emerging technologies and approaches

• Establish and formulate policies, procedures and plans associated with the administration and direction of the Office of Information and Technology Services

• Develop, track, and control the information technology operating and capital budgets

• Attract and retain top IT talent in support of agency goals

Provide statewide vision and leadership for developing and implementing state-of-the-art enterprise technology, information and infrastructure

Ensure New York State is a national leader and work across state agencies to develop and/or implement technologies in the areas enterprise productivity tools, identity management, cloud hosting and infrastructure, IT security, Voice over Internet Protocol, Application Programming Interfaces and Open-Source Software

Deliver an outstanding user experience to New Yorkers through all digital touch points including Web, mobile and tablet

Encourage a culture of innovation by supporting strategic experimentation with emerging technologies and approaches

Establish and formulate policies, procedures and plans associated with the administration and direction of the Office of Information and Technology Services

Develop, track, and control the information technology operating and capital budgets

Attract and retain top IT talent in support of agency goals

This is the latest in a number of high-profile moves for New York State when it comes to information technology.

In January, Mahesh Nattanmai joined the organization as executive deputy chief information officer, responsible for the delivery and operation of major IT services and will provide expert advice in all areas related to strategic planning and agency policy development. He reports directly to the state CIO.

And this past December, Cuomo announced that Rachel Haot, a noted entrepreneur who served three years as the chief digital officer for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, would join the state government in a similar capacity. Haot serves as the state’s CDO and deputy secretary of technology.