Galluzi, who ascended to the CIO role in June 2022, underlined the importance of the people leading IT in the state to get things done. He is Nevada’s fourth CIO in five years, and had previously been administrator of the Enterprise IT Service Division within the Department of Administration since February 2021.
Galluzi said that because of his experience, he came into the CIO role with an understanding of the organization’s role as a central IT organization. At the CIO level, he has been able to go beyond technical conversations and plan with agency partners at the strategic level to understand their goals and the role of technology in meeting them.
Nevada recently made an organizational change to house the newly minted Office of the CIO within the Office of the Governor. The CIO said one benefit is making technology a part of the conversation earlier in the planning process, as agencies explore solutions and process improvements.
“It really opened up the doors,” Galluzi said, noting the value of meeting with key decision-makers across the state. “And folks are really looking at us as being more of a resource, and more of a strategic partner, versus just that transactional piece.”
He underlined Gov. Joe Lombardo’s priority — creating the most efficient and effective state government possible for Nevadans — which Galluzi said guides the state’s IT work. In making investments, Galluzi’s goal is to capitalize on this idea through cooperation and partnership.
The human element, he said, is an important part of the state’s IT work, not only through external relationships but also internally: “I think one of the things I’m most proud of is just being able to be part of this team.”
One accomplishment touted by Galluzi is standing up the State Technology Governance Committee (STGC), which helps him craft statewide IT policy and provides direction on enterprise-level technology use. In creating this committee, Galluzi saw a lot of excitement from people who wanted to participate in these conversations. This committee will exist in perpetuity through a sustainable model that enables individual product governance groups for various tech tools.
“I think real policy that has staying power that can really make drastic changes in state government is policy that is done in a cooperative and collaborative way,” he said.
The mindset of doing things as they have always been done is one that is long gone in Nevada, Galluzi said. He detailed the emergence of a more innovative spirit throughout state government. One impact of this shift, he said, is multiple large departments embracing massive modernization efforts.
He noted that some contributing factors to this innovative spirit could be a generational shift and a greater availability of resources.
Another trend he is seeing in Nevada government is one states nationwide are grappling with, which is the rise of generative AI. Galluzi’s outlook is cautiously optimistic.
Nevada is currently exploring how best to move forward with AI policy, seeking expertise from across the executive branch as well as the private sector. The state aims to balance the technology’s potential benefits with the governance needed to ensure security. “How do we do this smart in a way that protects our greatest asset? That’s the data that Nevadans have entrusted us with."
The State CIO Summit, held last week, is one channel through which state IT leadership can gather expertise and feedback, the CIO said. That information will then be brought to the STGC to explore policy that could be implemented to position the state for safe AI adoption.
Looking ahead, Galluzi noted that the state’s workforce will be critical in completing several massive projects currently underway, including the state’s implementation of an ERP solution. Another effort, investing in a government campus in southern Nevada, aims to open up the candidate pool for the state and bring more direct customer support to the state’s most populous area. Furthermore, Galluzi is eager to implement an updated web presence and content management system, a project he hopes will get funded soon.
Galluzi said the state will also continue to invest in both cybersecurity and infrastructure. The state’s IT infrastructure is very complex, Galluzi said, due to its geography, made up of vast rural and remote areas.
Nevada got more than $15 million last year through the American Rescue Plan Act to invest in the state’s core network, SilverNet, and its microwave environments, which has more than 90 sites statewide. Investments like this in the state’s infrastructure will position the state for success over the next decade.
