Transforming service delivery: state IT must first change itself, Pennsylvania CIO says

In Pennsylvania, the states information technology shop has to change the way it does business if it wants to better serve the citizen, the states chief information officer said and a recent initiative shows Pennsylvania is doing just that.

That starts with some fundamental changes in the way our existing services are provided, MacMillan told StateScoop in an interview at the National Association of State Chief Information Officers midyear conference.

To face that challenge in his state, MacMillan said he and his team have turned to a common identity and access management framework thatwill enable a common portal for citizens and business looking to do business with state government.

Were launching that initiative later this year, MacMillan said. Weve built an environment, we have a solution, and there are about 97 applications that well change and have ready by the end of June.

In the new environment, the state will open a business portal in which entrepreneursusing the frameworkwill be able to move seamlessly from agency to agency and interact with several different state services in a single online experience.

The common identity and access management efforts will also include standard templates for state services, a common look and feel and other design tweaks to improve the citizen experience.

The work on these portal initiatives builds on the states decades-long IT consolidation, which recently entered into its final phase one thats centered around shared services. Now, with Gov. Tom Wolfs backing, the state is also moving into a multi-year IT transformation effort designed to centerfocus on the workforce.

We are embracing the idea that in order to recruit and retain talent, we also have to change the way we operate, MacMillan said. Ultimately, people make IT happen, and we have to create an environment where were gonna attract and continue to employ the very best talent.

This video interview was brought to you by CATechnologies.