Jennifer Saha Posts

The State of Florida’s Department of Management Services has recently proposed some changes to their standard terms and conditions for state contracts. The state’s Agency for State Technology recently survived an attempt to decentralize technology funding, estimated at more than $700m annually. The proposed changes to the state’s standard terms and conditions take the state in the wrong direction. CompTIA expressed some concerns with the proposed changes and, with $700 million on the line in technology spending annually, we are hopeful that Florida hears our concerns and takes them to heart.

At CompTIA’s Annual Member Meeting last month, Jared Linder, CIO of the State of Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, gave us an update on what’s happening in HHS IT in the state.

When the federal government opens up a new line of business related to technology, the industry takes notice. This happened over the past few years with the evolution of the Technology Transformation Service (TTS) and its predecessors like the office of citizen services and innovative technology, the presidential innovation fellows and 18F.

Coming off a surprising federal election in December, the Human Services Information Technology Advisory Group (HSITAG) heard from national association leaders about their predictions on the future of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under a new administration. While a lot is still unknown and much to be revealed in the New Year, the one thing that the group agreed on (and has been publicly stated) is that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as we know it will go away – at least in part.

Sacramento State University recently hosted a series of events to examine what is possible when government and technology interface. CompTIA’s SLED Council is a big supporter of the Sac State Policy and Politics program and even sponsored a $5,000 scholarship for a graduate student in 2016.

The question that governments face, and constantly have different answers to, is, “should we outsource or should we do this in-house?” The answer, over time, has really depended on which is cheaper. This is the way it should be. As a shepherd of public funds, governments must constantly strive to achieve their goals with the least amount of money and resources invested.