Washington Technology Solutions (WaTech) is working to stay ahead of the curve on IT issues and transform the way the state delivers services to Washingtonians by creating a connected government that leaves no community behind.
Many of the efforts well underway in Washington state were also recently identified by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) as top priorities for CIO’s nationally in the organization’s State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2024. The annual list, released each December, is the product of a nationwide survey of state CIOs, predicts the most critical priority strategies, management processes and solutions facing state governments during 2024.
Many of the priorities described in that list were identified in the 2023-2025 Washington State Enterprise IT Strategic Plan, published in August 2023, including:
- Creating a connected government experience that leaves no community behind. This goal calls for establishing statewide approaches, principles, and processes for building and delivering digital services that are intuitive to discover, easy to use, and emblematic of shared governance. This was mirrored by the NASCIO Top 10 priorities list, which ranked digital government and services first.
- Improving data collection and management to inform decision making. The purpose for this goal is to use data and insights to improve the experience of those government serves, prioritize service improvements, drive strategic decisions, and improve transparency. Washington’s goal was also articulated by CIOs nationally, who ranked Data Management/Data Analytics sixth.
- Prioritizing solutions that emphasize access, technology and innovation. This goal includes provisions for new technological investments in large language models and the launch of an Innovation Modernization Program. NASCIO’s national list echoed Washington state’s priorities with Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Robotic Process Automation (ranked third) and Legacy Modernization (ranked fourth).
- Investing in a culture and practices to attract, hire, and retain a talented IT workforce. This goal’s stated purpose is to attract and retain technology talent, advance our agencies’ skill sets, instill an innovation culture, and establish new and agile processes and practices to achieve our future vision. This was reflected in the national CIO list, which ranked Workforce fifth in the top 10 priorities.
“I’m very proud of the work underway at our agency to create a more connected government that leaves no community behind,” WaTech Director and State CIO Bill Kehoe said. “The Top 10 list of state CIOs shows Washington state’s priorities are in line with what is happening nationally. We are clearly a leader in these efforts.”
In addition to the goals specifically outline in the Enterprise IT Strategic Plan, Washington has also been tackling other priorities identified on NASCIO’s Top 10 list with the following IT programs and initiatives, including:
- The Identity Access Management (IAM) Modernization project and Next Generation Firewall Implementation Project, which address the Cybersecurity and Risk Management priority (which tied for first place on the national list, along with Digital Government/Digital Services).
- Washington’s Innovation and Modernization Program (mentioned above) and Generative AI Guidelines policy tackle the issues of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Robotic Process Automation and Legacy Automation, which were ranked third and fourth respectively on NASCIO’s list.
- Cloud services was another priority identified among CIOs at the national level, which ranked ninth on NASCIO’s list. Washington has been addressing this with its Enterprise Cloud Computing Program (ECCP), which seeks to accelerate efforts to create a connected government, and modernize and transform the state’s information technology services that Washingtonians require by embracing cloud technology.
Additional resources:
- View WaTech’s 2023-2025 Enterprise IT Strategic Plan.
- Learn more about WaTech’s enterprise IT projects and initiatives.
- Read NASCIO’s State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2024.