Former Georgia Chief Technology Officer Steve Nichols laid out some of the unique aspects of working with government in an interview last year.
“Often your customers are mandated by statute. The amount of resources you have to solve a problem might be set by the state budget office, also by the legislature, and they might have arbitrary deadlines, and all of those really shape what you’re going to end up having to deliver,” Nichols said.
On top of that, add the complex, non-negotiable procurement rules that govern how the public sector engages with industry. At this week's NASCIO conference in Minneapolis, GT asked CIOs what vendors should do in order to successfully work with government as true partners.
“The right partners and the best partners are the ones at the table walking through the journey with you,” said Vermont CIO Denise Reilly-Hughes, adding that every state's rules of engagement are a little bit different.
Texas CIO and Executive Director of the Department of Information Resources Amanda "Mandy" Crawford offered three pieces of advice to potential partners: Understand what makes the public sector unique, adopt a long-term mindset, and accept the ins and outs of state contracting and procurement.
"We appreciate somebody understanding the unique nature of public-sector contracting and procurement," Crawford said. "We know it’s not always easy. We know it’s confusing, but it really helps us to get to 'yes' faster and to get to a contract faster when we have folks coming in who understand that side of things.”
