Indiana to tap Internet of Things using data analytics
Indiana’s chief information officer wants to use the state’s position as a leader in data analytics to help it embrace the Internet of Things.
“We think the Internet of Things is going to be huge,” Paul Baltzell told StateScoop TV at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ midyear conference in Alexandria, Virginia, in April.
According to Baltzell, the Indiana Office of Technology is working with the private sector to evaluate the economic development opportunities that investing in Internet of Things technology could provide. Baltzell said the state wants to use its data analytics infrastructure to manage and examine the data that IoT-connected technology will bring in, especially as it comes in in mass quantities.
Earlier this year, Baltzell spoke about the state’s work with data analytics at the SAP Federal Forum in Washington, D.C. Using a variety of tools, Baltzell and his team developed a list of recommendations on how the state could offer services to help combat the state’s high infant mortality rate. They presented the plan to the state budget office and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
Baltzell also said cybersecurity continues to be a priority.
“Right now, our top three priorities are cybersecurity, cybersecurity and cybersecurity,” Baltzell said. “We’ve had a pretty large increase in budgetary spending on cybersecurity for this next biennium, and we’re going to use that to drive several initiatives.”
In particular, Baltzell hopes to bolster identity management, network security and security assessments across state government.
“[We want to] try and identify any weaknesses before they’re an issue,” Baltzell said.
In identity management, Baltzell said the many entry points for various state systems could pose a cybersecurity challenge. To fight that, the department is investigating how it can determine the identity of a constituent or an employee trying to access state services.
“It’d be great to be able to ensure that the constituent that is coming in is the constituent that it is,” Baltzell said. “Then, on the employee side, we want to make sure that the employee is who they think they are, and that they have access to exactly what they need access to and nothing more.”