2024 Strategic Direction
The Indiana Office of Technology continues to focus on providing services and value to all of our customers. We have identified our priorities for 2024 and we use our strategic direction bullseye to help visualize the priority areas IOT will focus on. The three components of that bullseye remain Inward (internal-focused), Outward (agency-focused) and Upward (enterprise-focused).
Inward
The Inward area will be revolutionary for how IOT operates. These items will be instrumental in helping continue to build the foundation of core business operations and increase trust with our agency consumers.
Operating Model Refinement:
Nationally, states are grappling with whether to continue maintaining IT operations strictly through a charge-back methodology or whether there should be an appropriation to support IT. There are big-picture items like security, which can no longer be considered optional, and other foundational items like our network, which we can't afford to be paid for through a charge-back.
To prepare for this, we must evolve our operating model to be a blend that prepares IOT for the future of charging based on consumption usage.
Workforce Preparedness:
We need to continue to prepare IOT and our employees for change. Technology is a drive toward continuous process improvement and can result in monumental shifts in how we operate. As such, we must prepare our teams and, especially, our managers to support those changes in industry and operations.
Process Capture:
The Operations of IOT are paramount to our core service delivery. As we prepare for new ITSM and Identity Lifecycle management systems, along with adding new departments like broadband and the continued growth of the GIO footprint, we need to identify, document and define our processes. This way, we can standardize and duplicate our work product to ensure customers receive the same quality consistently and effectively.
Outward
Identity Lifecycle Management:
IOT chose Okta as its new identity lifecycle management platform; now is the time to bring it to fruition. We know this will take longer than a year, but it is beyond time that IOT owns the identities of the individuals interacting with and across state government. This will likely impact how everybody within IOT operates, as well as with our partner agencies that have created their own identity stores.
Statewide Enterprise Strategy:
IOT has been working with agencies throughout 2023 to create individual IT roadmaps and strategies and thus far has completed around 60. The agencies were very open to IOT being involved and appreciated our input and direction. Once these are all completed, the goal is to roll those individual plans into an enterprise strategy.
Modernized Core Platforms:
A strong service management platform, ServiceNow, will help IOT better manage enterprise technologies, assets, and resources. There are a lot of advantages and capabilities that come with a modern ITSM system.
Upward
These items have mostly stayed the same because they are broad, far-reaching priorities. We have made progress on them over the past three years, but we continue to make incremental progress on these visionary items.
Whole-of-State Cybersecurity:
A whole-of-state approach looks at practice, policy and workforce. We are receiving a lot of engagement from local government, all branches of State government, higher education and our federal partners. We have also engaged the legislature this year, which helps further our goal of improving cybersecurity across the state - border-to-border.
Enterprise Visibility & Risk Mitigation:
The first line of defense is to know what you have in order to protect it, and only then can you work to reduce the risk associated with those assets. This strategic goal aims to drive towards full enterprise visibility of all physical and logical assets, on premise, in the cloud, OT and IoT, and with our local partners. IOT has already rolled out new end-point protection to 45,000 state areas and expanded the solution to 23,000 local government end-points - all through one threat-monitoring footprint. Our visibility also continues to grow through the GIS landscape with the continued growth of their datasets and data collection. Yet, another area that helps mitigate risks across the state.
Local Government Collaboration:
Local government continues to be very receptive to IOT's outreach. The IOT staff has put in the legwork to make ourselves a trusted partner for local governments to ask for guidance and to consume our services. This is helping them save money AND increase their cyber posture. The State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program is an opportunity to continue growing our work and footprint while improving security and digital government services. Additionally, the BEAD program for Broadband is increasing our engagement with local municipalities, the communities and with residents across the state.
IOT High School Robotics Competition debuts Feb. 17
The Indiana Office of Technology is hosting the first ever IOT Robotics Competition for high school students on the government center campus February 17!
- Who can come? This event is open to the public.
- Can I watch the competition virtually? Yes, on Feb. 17, there will be a livestream of the event on the State of Indiana Productions YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@StateOfIndianaProductions
Why is IOT hosting this? This is an opportunity for IOT to engage in our community in support of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education, hoping to demonstrate the agency’s values and commitment to being an employer of choice in the Indiana tech industry.
Indiana hosts the most Robotics tournaments of any state or country in the world. Using Vex Robotics', platform, these tournaments are held year-round, usually at high schools across Indiana. Two teams go head-to-head and compete in a 12 by 12-foot square.
We have over 30 volunteers from 5 agencies helping out with this competition and we cannot thank everyone enough!
Find out more about the event here.
Behind the Tech: Pamela Walton
An average day in her role is spent conveying the benefit of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in one way or another. She works with partners to develop strategies for engaging the public and ways to involve new collaborators. Additionally, she documents the IGIO's processes. "I love working at IOT, but my favorite part of my job has been getting to know and support my incredible team. The IGIO is filled with the most hilarious, considerate, talented experts I have known," she said. What does she hope to take away from her work at IOT? "Quite frankly, I am tremendously passionate about helping Hoosiers further their access to government resources. I have enjoyed learning how much IOT does to benefit our state. I hope to contribute to IOT’s mission and further my ability to serve the public," she said. |
Pamela Walton is a Project Manager for the Indiana Geographic Information Office. The GIO takes spatial data and develops resources that benefit the State.