March 2009 Archives

Is the content --  paper and electronic documents, reports, forms, messages, emails -- still out of control in your agency or government?

You are not alone. Nearly 50 percent of organizations say that managing content is "a challenge" and that the latest communication channels -- instant messages, text messages, blogs and wikis -- are not under control for 75 percent of governments and businesses, according to a recent report published by AIIM, the electronic content industry organization.

"For many organizations, poorly managed and out of control information represents a huge potential source of bottom line savings in this tight economy, if only organizations would take this cost savings seriously," said John Mancini, president of AIIM.

ECM and document management is a huge issue in government. Our Public CIO survey ranked it as the number one technology priority for 2009.

Yet the problem with managing paper and electronic documents and content has bedeviled the public sector since I first started covering government IT back in 1989 (remember Wang?) and has only grown more complex today.

We may think that information is more digital in 2009, but government is still saddled with handling paper, as we found in our 2008 article on document imaging:

"Despite the e-government trend and the move toward enterprisewide information systems, there's still no end of paper in the public sector. Between government's historical archives and the myriad forms used to transact business, paper management is still a major challenge."

Some success stories are out there, however. I'm hearing from some CIOs that their jurisdiction or agency has developed document management platforms that leverage ECM technologies, which reduces implementation cost while shrinking workflow labor costs.

But it's clear, government is barely able to keep up with how it manages all the information it creates and captures.

What's your story? Have a success out there worth sharing? Or an ECM situation that's out of control?

Let us know.

Specifically, the Government Accountability Office is urging private citizens, government workers, contractors and others to "report waste, fraud, abuse or mismanagement of stimulus funds distributed under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

As part of the government's transparency push, the GAO announced today that FraudNet, an e-mail, phone and fax hotline, will handle allegations about federal agencies and federally funded programs. The GAO is hoping responsible citizens will identify improper activities and report them to FraudNet. The GAO's press release doesn't specify what we're supposed to be watching out for, but I'm guess they assume we will know fraud and abuse when we see it.

FraudNet has been around since 1979 as a toll-free phone number: 1-800-424-5454. Now tipsters can use email: fraudnet@gao.gov or write to GAO FraudNet, 441 G Street NW, Mail Stop 4T21, Washington, DC 20548. For more details, visit FraudNet.

In the latest issue of Public CIO, we published our annual survey of government IT executives. One of more interesting findings was how low respondents rated open source as a technology priority for 2009. I've been wondering about that result, and it's not the first time we've tried to get to the bottom of why open source appears to be just a step child in public sector IT.

I've been doing some research and talking with CIOs to find out what has happened to open source. When it became popular, the free software movement seemed like a natural for cash-strapped governments. But the big shift to open source never happened as its proponents hoped.

Several issues have bubbled to the surface.

1. Open source does cost money. Sure, the software is free, but as any CIO will tell you, there are support costs, training costs and back-end integration expenses. Bottom line: open source is definitely not free.

2. Government, especially small jurisdictions, lack open source skills. Over and over, I've heard CIOs say they brought in an open source application because one worker took an interest in finding out if open source might be the solution. It didn't happen because of some policy. It didn't happen because IT workers were trained in the use of open source. It just happened. The downfall, of course, is that when the one IT worker with open source knowledge leaves the organization, there's no one to take his place.

3. Vendors don't like working with open source. Sure, there are many IT firms that have embraced open source as part of their platform, but in the government market, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Many vendors just don't want to mess with open source.

4. Open source is socialism. Ok, this one is a bit far-fetched. But there is a buzz out there that many in the American public sector see open source as some kind of zany European form of socalism that shouldn't be part of our capitalist system.

So is open source dead? Not likely. Despite the problems, open source appears to be embedded in many IT systems, especially at the state and federal level (though some local governments have embraced it wholeheartedly). What you don't hear is a lot of talk about these open source projects. For the most part, they seem to be flying under the radar.

Meanwhile, some of the biggest opponents of open source seem to be softening their position in regards to the software. Open source has put its foot in the door, quietly. It's there for the taking, or not.

Maybe that was how it was supposed to be.

What do you think? The time has passed  for open source or just coming very slowly?

If you don't think too many organizations, including government, are using cloud computing, you are right.

But if you think that's the way it will remain, you are wrong.

That's the message from IDC's annual IT analyst conference in Boston yesterday. IDC, which defines cloud computing as "shared services,under virtualized management, that are accessible over the Internet via Internet standards," puts the current adoption rate at 15 percent - 25 percent. But in three years, expects those numbers to jump to 25-50 percent.

(These numbers come from a global survey of CIOs in 2008, prior to the economic meltdown.)

Here's what organizations are putting in the cloud:

• IT management applications
• Collaboration apps
• Personal apps
• Business apps
• Application development/deployment tools
• Server capacity
• Storage capacity

And here are the 7 reasons why CIOs are using the cloud (in order of importance):

1. They are easy/fast to deploy
2. You only have to pay for what you use
3. Low monthly payments
4. Less inhouse staff
5. Offers the latest functionality
6. Encourages more standard IT
7. Sharing systems

Notice that economics (saving money) is NOT the first reason. Rather, it has to do with speeding up the deployment schedule.

But why are nearly 85 percent of organizations steering clear of cloud computing? Here are the top reasons why:

1. Security concerns
2. Performance concerns
3. Availability issues
4. Hard to integrated with in-house IT
5. Not enought ability to customize
6. Worried that cloud computing will cost more
7. Bringing back applications inhouse will be difficult
8. Not enough major suppliers

Frank Gens, IDC's senior VP, said that organizations are looking for suppliers who can move their cloud offerings back on premises if the need arises. Clearly organizations want flexibility when it comes to cloud offerings.

And government? For now, expect to see private clouds emerge as the stage where cloud services will be made available by the IT department to user agencies.

Finally, CIOs who decide to move on-premises IT into the cloud are doing it because they want to:

• Consolidate
• Virtualize
• Automate.

Is it easy? No.

Is it expensive? Yes.

But it is going to happen.

I just got back from Microsoft HQ in Redmond, Washington, having attended the annual Microsoft U.S. Public Sector CIO Summit. The very well attended event featured a number of Microsoft bigwigs who detailed the role the company is looking to play as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) kicks into high gear. The conference was also meant to explain what Microsoft's plans are for IT in the public sector and in general.

The event, which ran from Tueday through today, was most meaty in the middle, with speakers like Microsoft's Vice President of U.S. Public Sector Curt Kolcun, General Manager of Industry Unit Joel Cherkis, and even the big man himself, Steve Ballmer.

The IT standbys like CRM, business intelligence and unified communications were thoroughly discussed, but the real star of the show was cloud computing. Kolcun helped set the pace with opening remarks Wednesday morning, followed by the highly engaging Cherkis hosting several cloud-heavy sessions. I think many attendees, myself included, were surprised by how much investment the traditionally proprietary Microsoft plans to invest in cloud computing. The subject came up again and again, from a public sector IT perspective to education to Government 2.0.

In addition, Cherkis showed off some fancy Microsoft tech like Surface and Silverlight. Surface technology can be seen here in this video we did a few weeks back. Silverlight, the streaming media technology Microsoft developed and launched for the Summer Olympics, is apparently a big part of Microsoft's future plans. Cherkis provided an excellent demonstration of Silverlight's capabilities by directing the audience to http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/. Once there, do yourself a favor and play around with the interface. If you can locate an image of an old letter, zoom in on the stamp. Keep zooming, you'll be amazed at how far you can go.

Following the morning sessions I was treated to a special lunch with Teresa Carlson, GM of Federal Government, Gail Thomas-Flynn, GM of State and Local, Mary Cullianne, Director of Innovation and Business Development for Microsoft Education Group and Stuart Mckee, Microsoft's national technology officer for U.S. public sector. Cloud computing, ARRA, and transparency were the focus of the lunch discussion. Carlson told me Microsoft is counting on its Elevate America program to help aide in retraining workers in technology so they can compete for some of the jobs ARRA is designed to create.

McKee said many of Microsoft's customers were struggling with the magnitude of the economic downturn as well as the enormity of the monies headed their way. Commenting on the Elevate America program, McKee added that if those looking for work could get Microsoft Certified, a number of well-paying jobs are or will be available.

One of the challenges, it was agreed, is that never before have states had the problem of potentially getting so much aide from the federal government that they may be unable to spend it fast enough or adequately enough. Filtering through funding streams, McKee said, is going to be difficult and agencies are looking to companies like Microsoft to deploy solutions to help.

The discussion eventually headed back into the cloud. I was informed pharmaceutical giant Glaxo-Smith Kline had recently partnered with Microsoft for a large-scale cloud computing rollout. Carlson furthered clarified for me what Microsoft is doing in the cloud. She explained the company will be offering what she termed "choice in the cloud". Essentially, agencies that go through Microsoft to get into the cloud can go all in or develop a hybrid model with some of their apps remaining local.

 

Afterward, I was able to sit down with Gail Thomas-Flynn to discuss in-depth what the ARRA means for Microsoft and for state and local governments. Thomas-Flynn said that with everything happening so fast, everyone is still trying to get their arms around the stimulus. She said Microsoft is doing its own work to understand how funding is going to work and that the company is talking with states to see that their key areas are.

 

One of the ARRA issues everyone is concerned with is that funding, which Thomas-Flynn said "has a limited time period. Once the funding is exhausted, what then?" Microsoft, she added, is also looking at the states in an effort to figure out where technology can be an enabler to sustain the initiatives agencies are going to be planning and implementing.

 

She also told me about her recent visit to the National Governor's Association. She lauded the nation's governors for having what she said was an excellent grasp on the critical role IT will play as ARRA rolls out. Health IT was a top-of-mind issue for most governors, she said. "Putting the citizen more in control of their health," she noted, was roundly called for at the NGA. She added that connected HHS is a big Microsoft initiative, with the company's HealthVault playing a major part.

 

Before Gail and I wrapped up our conversation to go see Ballmer speak, she mentioned that Microsoft's first big foray into the cloud is the company's Business Productivity Online Suite, or BPOS. BPOS is a set of hosted solutions that include Exchange, Sharepoint, Office and Live services - all available online. BPOS, Thomas-Flynn said, will open the door for every Microsoft product to one day be available in the cloud.

 

Ballmer ended the day with a boisterous, if not particularly interesting, speech. Basically, the Microsoft CEO recapped the day's sessions and offered a bit of insight on emerging tech trends like new user interfaces, affordable telepresence, and foldable displays. Ballmer did shine, however, during the Q&A that followed, offering surprisingly honest answers to some tough audience questions. When one audience member explained that he had to hire an outside consultant to make sense of Microsoft's enterprise agreements, Ballmer seemed genuinely ashamed his salespeople were unable to help. He was also contrite about the fact the company had yet to devise a way to offer better choice for its bundled services after one attendee complained Microsoft treated him like a cable customer who wants one channel but has to buy 25 others to get it.

 

Besides taking heat from the audience, Ballmer did give a hint of what's to come from Microsoft, suggesting Windows Mobile will see significant improvements this year. He also advised us to expect significant developments with Windows 7 soon. But clearly Ballmer's speech was about one thing - rallying those in attendance to look to Microsoft to help sort through ARRA. While the company isn't as agile and open as it ought to be, it is getting there. My takeaway from the event was that, were I a public CIO, there is definitely technology and expertise at Microsoft that deserves my attention. 

The favorite guessing game among public-sector IT watchers the past few months has been who President Barack Obama would ultimately name to two key technology positions: e-government administrator of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and a newly created federal chief technology officer.

Several media outlets reported the past few weeks that Washington, D.C., CTO Vivek Kundra would indeed become the OMB's e-gov chief.

But there could be a bit of a surprise ending. The Washington Post is reporting that on Thursday Obama will name Kundra the "federal chief information officer," and this newly created position will work "under the auspices of the White House."

The Post reported that the federal CIO will oversee IT spending and have the power to launch new systems and kill enifficent projects. Obama reportedly still intends to hire a federal CTO as well.

At first blush, does this mean Kundra's position will have considerably more responsibility than former OMB e-gov administrator Karen Evans did under George W. Bush? And will Kundra be given the autonomy to wield influence across all federal departments?

We'll know more Thursday. Stay tuned.

President Obama's Recovery.org portal is driving new cooperation between states and the federal government, according to NASCIO President Gopal Khanna.