Government Technology - June 2008 - (Page 58)

signal: noise BY PAU L W. TAYLO R CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER CENTER FOR DIGITAL GOVERNMENT index j Agencies/Jurisdictions Austin, Texas 14 California Department of Health Services 22 Delta Regional Authority 22 Federal Emergency Management Agency 12 Fitchburg, Wis 44 Folsom, Calif., Police Department 12 Los Angeles 28 Middleton, Wis. 44 Minneapolis 40 New York City 36 Oklahoma Health Care Authority 22 Sacramento, Calif. 12 Sacramento Calif., Police Department 42 Sun Prairie, Wis. 44 Tacoma, Wash 12 Make it Alone or a Loan n these final days of the fiscal year, there is a rush in some quarters to spend down fund balances. In some IT shops, this process is as close to a technology refresh cycle as there is. More importantly, the new fiscal year — beginning on July 1 in most political subdivisions — reflects the realities of widening public-sector revenue recession. The first decade of the new century is limping out as it limped in: beset by budget woes. And it may be a better result than we have any right to expect — especially given local governments’ nontrivial exposure to the subprime mortgage mess and their disproportionate reliance on once obscure auction-rate securities for supposedly inexpensive long-term financing. They turned out to be anything but. We’ve become accustomed to IT funding strategies that focus on institutionalizing an IT value chain in justifying new investments. This approach is necessary, but not sufficient in the current environment. In an earlier day, British Lord Rutherford famously quipped, “We have no money so we must think.” At the Center for Digital Government, we have been thinking about how to modernize without money. A new white paper called Be IT Resolved (available as a free download from the Center Web site or www.govtech.com) explores a handful of hybrid approaches to moving forward. On the threshold of the new fiscal year, it seems appropriate to dedicate this backpage column to the proposition of public agencies using funds at hand to be their own venture capitalist. Initial capitalization is a hard nut to crack. Without it, even the best ideas — complete with compelling business cases, feasibility studies and return on investment (ROI) JUNE_08 I projections — languish. Ironically the harder the times are fiscally, the more governments could use the next great idea. Of course, public agencies will never realize the operational and efficiency gains from systems they cannot afford to build. To avoid this dilemma, a dozen states have used bonding to raise capital funds for technology projects, while nine have created a technology investment fund. Through its Office of Enterprise Technology, Minnesota is the most recent state to advocate “enterprise venture capital seed money” for system replacement and the attendant “business process re-engineering [and] technological innovation” through “loans to agencies for planning and predesign projects, or for development or modification efforts in emergency situations.” On this last point, “loan” is the operative word. Without the expectation of repayment to the fund, a couple of bad things will likely happen. First, the financial disciplines to deliver the project’s hard-dollar benefits and the ROI are undermined, and the promised public value is not realized. Second, except those chosen for the initial round of funding, agencies that agreed in good faith to participate in the investment pools find themselves at the wrong end of a pyramid scheme, where they are left with no prospect of using the investment fund and diminished prospects the next time around in front of more skeptical legislators who also got burned by the process. The current crisis is changing the conversation with funding authorities in unexpected ways, as in: If you cannot give us the money, can you make it a loan? Because we cannot make it alone. Vendors Amazon 16 CoolIT Systems 52 DataCove 52 General Dynamics 52 Google 16 IBM 16 Magellan 52 Microsoft 16, 36 Salesforce 16 Tangent 52 Advertisers Index Accenture 25 APHSA-ISM 54 CDWG 30-31 Dell 13 Hewlett-Packard TSG Blades 5 Hewlett-Packard TSG Low End 39 HP/Exstream Software 2 IBM 53 Kenwood USA Corp., Communications Sector 9 Microsoft 60 PC Mall 59 SAP 37 TESSCO 7 U.S. General Services Administration 21 Verizon Wireless 35 ViewSonic 15 58 http://www.govtech.com http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - June 2008

Government Technology - June 2008 Contents Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions For... 3 Technologies That May Change Your Job ...And Your Life Loosening Medicaid's Grip Better Living Through Technology Immersive Itineraries Help Yourself Taking the Bait Shared Connection Up Close Spectrum Products Personal Computing signal:noise Digital Communities Contents Digital Tactics for a U.S. Recession E-Dilemma Stifling Community Innovation Leadership Interview Estonia Becomes E-Stonia If It Were Up to Me …

Government Technology - June 2008

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