Post by Logan on Feb 5, 2016 4:44:50 GMT -6
State IT director says state employees stuck in ‘silos’ they need to tear down
New York’s Chief Information Officer Maggie Miller, who oversees the Office of Technology Information Services testified Thursday before the legislature on the governor’s proposed Public Protection budget which includes cyber security and she is painting a stark picture of the challenges facing the state in getting up to speed in this vast and highly complex area.
She explained that many of the state’s tech workers, through no fault of their own, have been trapped in ”silos” where they’ve spent years working on ”legacy” or badly outmoded technology, posing challenges in streamlining as well as adapting to newer systems and protecting data from cyber attacks.
The outmoded technology, combined with the silos and lack of updated training has led to a ”severe technology debt” said Miller who has been on the job for about a year and a half.
Adding to the problem, she said, are stringent union guidelines that she said limits their ability to hire anyone other than entry level technologists. With many experienced people retiring and a new largely untested crop of people coming in, they are relying heavily on private contractors, which has long been a sore point with state unions like the Public Employees Federation.
Read more: blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/245915/state-it-director-says-state-employees-stuck-in-silos-they-need-to-tear-down/
New York’s Chief Information Officer Maggie Miller, who oversees the Office of Technology Information Services testified Thursday before the legislature on the governor’s proposed Public Protection budget which includes cyber security and she is painting a stark picture of the challenges facing the state in getting up to speed in this vast and highly complex area.
She explained that many of the state’s tech workers, through no fault of their own, have been trapped in ”silos” where they’ve spent years working on ”legacy” or badly outmoded technology, posing challenges in streamlining as well as adapting to newer systems and protecting data from cyber attacks.
The outmoded technology, combined with the silos and lack of updated training has led to a ”severe technology debt” said Miller who has been on the job for about a year and a half.
Adding to the problem, she said, are stringent union guidelines that she said limits their ability to hire anyone other than entry level technologists. With many experienced people retiring and a new largely untested crop of people coming in, they are relying heavily on private contractors, which has long been a sore point with state unions like the Public Employees Federation.
Read more: blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/245915/state-it-director-says-state-employees-stuck-in-silos-they-need-to-tear-down/