NASCIO Releases Its Top 10 Priorities for 2017

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released its survey results Nov. 17 of the top issues facing its members in the coming year. The annual survey gathers responses from state CIOs across the country and provides a look at what the public-sector IT chiefs will likely be planning for and implementing programs around.

“The survey results show a strong alignment between strategic plans and technology investment," NASCIO President and Connecticut CIO Mark Raymond stated in a release. “We will carefully examine these priorities as we develop our workplan for the 2017 program year.”

The NASCIO priorities fall in line with the areas of focus identified in the Center for Digital Government’s recent Digital States Survey.*

NASCIO State CIO Priorities for 2017	Center for Digital Government
Security and Risk Management	Cybersecurity
Consolidation/Optimization	Shared or Collaborative Services
Cloud Services: Cloud Strategy	Cloud Computing
Budget, Cost Control, Fiscal Management	IT Staffing
Legacy Modernization	Budget and Cost Control

Both surveys indicate the strong prioritization of information security and protecting sensitive data. With highly politicized cybersecurity incidents including last year's Office of Personnel Management breach and the hack of emails from the Democratic National Committee, it is more prescient than ever for government agencies at all levels to have well thought out data protection plans.

Consolidation and collaborative services also rank highly on both lists due to the potential for cost savings and application optimization. Breaking down department information silos aids the centralization of data and unleashes the possibilities of what can be accomplished. Similarly, cloud computing was identified as a major area of focus for state governments.

*The Center for Digital Government and Government Technology are owned by parent company e.Republic.