After Maryland Gov. Wes Moore final January ordered a statewide modernization effort, Chief Data Officer Katie Savage mentioned the state expertise bureau is “taking a look at the whole lot” to determine methods to extend effectivity.
The order, considered one of a number of Moore signed in the beginning of the yr to enhance IT, directed all state companies to work with the Governor’s Workplace of Efficiency Enchancment. Savage mentioned a part of the trouble has included her Division of Data Know-how finding out its procurement processes, for objects like laptop {hardware} and cellular units.
“We’re additionally taking a look at the place there are duplicative contracts throughout totally different companies, the place both a number of companies are shopping for from the identical vendor, and we could possibly be on one contract, or the place we’re shopping for related providers that we might sort of consolidate to at least one platform,” Savage mentioned. “So we’re taking a look at all of these issues and making an attempt to provide you with suggestions for value financial savings throughout the state.”
As an extension of the modernization order, Savage mentioned, the state’s new Digital Infrastructure Group, which Moore additionally created final January, was tasked with unifying broadband deployment efforts throughout greater than a dozen state companies. It permits the companies to plan out and coordinate their web connectivity plans, together with planning for repairs and expansions to networkMaryland, a statewide fiber spine operated by the expertise division that helps the state’s intranet and may lease capability to personal web service suppliers.
“We’re making good progress,” Savage mentioned. “We’re additionally working intently with DoIT’s in-house knowledge staff. We now have a extremely sturdy … geographic data methods staff that’s serving to us map the place all these belongings are and create a single view for everybody within the state to have the ability to make the most of.”
