CTO : Value Vs. Efficiency

Michael Schaffner, who writes a blog titled Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms, has some advice for the chief technology officer who President-Elect Barack Obama says he will appoint. In a Nov. 26 post (which also is posted on Forbes.com, Schaffner, urges the CTO not to focus on the efficiencies that IT provides, but rather on the strategic value of IT. He writes:

Rather than focusing solely on the internal mechanics, I'd suggest that the new CTO focus externally on some strategic IT issues facing the country. As in the corporate world, the new CTO could fall into the trap of thinking that running the IT operations efficiently is the critical measure of success. While important, the real measure should be "value" (addressing strategic issues) more so than "cost management" (efficiencies and best practices).

Schaffner, who is director of information technology for the Valves and Measurement Group of Cameron International in Houston, Texas, (but makes it clear his blog reflects only personal views) hits on the key point for the CTO: use technology not only to run the business of government better, but use it to inform the strategic goals for government. (A good argument to make change the title of the CTO to a federal chief information officer position, to emphasize it's less about the technology and more about how technology adds value to government services and governing in general.)

He lists a number of topics the CTO should tackle, many of which have been floated before and tend to go off into technology policy. The CTO may have a voice in those, but it's likely not a priority. What would be better is if the CTO, or rather federal CIO, could sit in on high-level White House meetings about reforming government and transparency to offer insights on how IT can offer different ideas of what can be accomplished and possibly transform the way we think of government.

But more voices like Schaffner's are needed to give this idea legs. But given Obama's interest in technology and how it has been a big part of his success, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which IT doesn’t play a big role in policy.