Chief Information Officer of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Jerry Williams is a history buff. He’s now turning his eye for the past toward the role of the federal CIO, a position created two decades ago.
And, in a world of rapidly evolving technology, that role will likely face many changes in the future.
“In the course of the two decades that the federal chief information officer position has existed,†Williams wrote on CIO.gov, “the landscape for information management strategy and implementation has changed dramatically: globalization, the rise and dominance of the Internet, the ever-accelerating trend to put more and more processing power into smaller and smaller devices, have led to countless innovations and industries that have impacted our lives in ways very few predicted.â€
While many think of technology as leading the way, it is actually the demand for accessing and sharing information that is the biggest driver of change, he said.
In fact, he writes, “The Internet did not even exist when intensive data-processing and data-sharing demands spurred the creation of the position of CIO.â€
As for the blog, which is also posted on the HUD Blog site, Williams said his goal is to start a dialogue about not only how the role of the CIO has changed but also to provide a guide for organizations going forward.
