Business savvy CIO to lead New Hampshire IT

Bob Anderson, New Hampshire CIO, and his boss, Gov. Craig Benson are under the gun. They have only two years to implement a sweeping IT initiative before the next gubernatorial race. Since both men come from the private sector they are accustomed to making things happen, but they are now learning that change in government is an entirely different process.

Darby Patterson Govtech.net

"I came in from the private sector, like the governor," Anderson said. "We are ‘fix-it’ people. We plan and execute. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that in state government." Nonetheless, Anderson is committed to ushering in a new IT agenda for the state.

"We have 66 agencies in New Hampshire which are islands unto themselves," he said. "They probably do have good IT in those agencies but it fosters redundancy." Anderson, who worked for Cabletron when Benson was president of the company, said the governor recognizes need for change, particularly given budgetary challenges that could be ameliorated by streamlining government. "That’s pretty innovate in and of itself," Anderson said of Benson’s approach. "In New Hampshire, each group is like its own company. We have about 15 different help desks and several different security solutions."

In addition, the state is still using paper time slips and reports. "The cost of handling those is astronomical," he observed. "It could all be done on the Web." He also cited the redundancy in agencies having their own purchasing and human resources staffs.

Anderson plans to look for opportunities to consolidate and centralize some functions such as e-mail and other utility-like activities. The changes he is proposing will require some level of approval from the state legislature. He said that lawmakers seem to recognize the efficacy of using technology solutions but are reluctant to make sweeping changes. However, faced with a significant budget deficit and a pledge from the governor to not raise taxes, Anderson hopes they will be swayed by the time the budget is adopted in July. And, he is using examples from states recognized for their IT successes to make his case.

"Really, it takes people like the governor from Virginia and Massachusetts and here, coming from business, with business savvy," Anderson said. "Having Gov. Benson understand this makes my job a lot easier. If I had to convince a governor it would be a very different thing."

Benson spent 20 years in technology, holding a senior position at Avaya before joining Benson’s team. With Cabletron Systems, he was responsible for operations and growth of the company’s technical support organization. It is not this technical experience, however, that Anderson plans to call upon in the task he now faces — winning votes and changing cultures. "I look at my role not as a rocket science technologist," he said. "But to understanding how the system works and being a good leader."

http://www.govtech.net/news/news.phtml?docid=2003.05.12-50765