Making quality data available to decision-makers across the organization is our job as IT professionals. Jonathan Feldman, CIO of the City of Asheville, NC, tells us why IT must find ways to prevent data from disappearing into corporate silos, never to be seen, shared, or acted upon.

In his article, Jonathan tells us, “Why Data is Like Raw Produce; If business value is the meal, and analytics is the cooking, then good  data is the raw produce.”

“When we accept excuses for not sharing data throughout the organization we represent, we reduce the future performance of our organization.”  Read his informative article by following the link below:

http://www.informationweek.com/strategic-cio/digital-business/why-it-needs-to-tear-down-data-silos/a/d-id/1324770

When it comes to data, the research suggests government is limited not by a lack of data, but by the process and tools it uses to examine it. Before data transformations can occur in government, researchers argue the institutions using it must embrace strategic change.

“In addition to improving it’s own processes, and optimizing data for general use, government has yet another role to play in driving the data revolution.”  “While lots of good work is being done with data, we are estimating only 10 to 20 percent of the potential has been realized.” In his article, Adam Stone delves into governments’ role in driving the data revolution. Read his full article by clicking on the link.

http://www.govtech.com/data/Report-Public-Sector-Must-Embrace-Change-to-Embrace-Datas-True-Value.html

Barney Krucoff, Washington D.C.’s first ever Chief Data Officer, has his sights set on improving the data capacity of one area of city government in particular: business intelligence.

“Business intelligence is sort of the wild west within the government,”
“We want to make sure the Office of City Administrator has the tools and data it needs to hold agencies accountable for performance,” Krucoff said.

Read more about how this data progressive, Chief Data Officer, is addressing Business Intelligence here:

http://www.govtech.com/people/Washington-DCs-Chief-Data-Officer-Shares-his-Vision-for-the-Citys-Data-Makeover.html

Back in the early 2000s, I was cutting my teeth as CEO of a tech consulting company that worked exclusively with public sector organizations. Needless to say, I became intimately familiar with what it feels like to be a female leader in a male-dominated field. Literally every single CIO and CTO I met with was male.

Over the years, I struggled mightily to position my company as a major player in the industry. Even as I listened to customers’ challenges, exuded empathy, and presented our solutions, I kept being told that I’d be better off becoming a go-to subcontractor of larger, better-known vendors.

Looking back, I wish I had stayed the course in directly communicating why my company could do a better, faster, and more cost-effective job than the big boys. But, all told, this was a great learning experience for me — one I feel every woman in the working world could learn from. Read the full article here.

http://www.blogher.com/ask-what-you-want-importance-being-direct