Credit to State of South Dakota
Earlier this month, the state tapped Gottumukkala as CIO following the departure of prior CIO Jeff Clines. This came shortly after he first joined South Dakota, becoming the state's second-ever chief technology officer in August.
“It’s my vision to lead BIT in a way that not only strengthens our technology infrastructure, but also positions South Dakota as a leader in digital innovation,” said Gottumukkala.
Gottumukkala brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, drawing from stints in both the private and nonprofit sectors. Throughout his career, he said he learned to effectively balance an organization’s priorities with its budgetary limitations to make continuous improvement toward both short- and long-term goals, a lesson which he will take with him to state IT. And as he noted, technology plays an important role in these improvements.
Gottumukkala noted that his priorities for South Dakota IT involve embracing emerging technologies — from AI to cloud computing to citizen-facing mobile applications — in order to improve operations and service delivery. AI is a particularly exciting area, he said, for its potential to streamline workflows and improve citizen engagement.
Along with emerging technology, Gottumukkala is eager to improve operational efficiencies through improved data governance, automation and replacing outdated legacy systems.
Developing a comprehensive data governance framework is one of the state CIO’s primary focuses as it will help state officials better serve the public. He said, “The framework is crucial because what it does is it ensures responsible management of the state's data — from collection to storage, access and usage — in an era where data is one of the most valuable assets a government can manage.”
Improved data infrastructure directly ties into the state’s goal to reduce technical debt by strategically phasing out outdated legacy systems that are costly to maintain, both from the perspective of the systems themselves and the cost of time spent by those who have to manage and maintain those systems.
These modernizations also help support the state in improving its cybersecurity posture. And as cyber threats become more sophisticated, they pose both a technical and strategic risk to maintaining public trust in the state government.
To tackle these priorities, Gottumukkala points to the importance of building a strong and collaborative IT team. This involves creating a culture of growth in which IT professionals can continue learning as technology evolves by enabling professional development. It also includes fostering an environment of interagency collaboration so that BIT can better support state government to achieve state goals, supported by data and technology.
In South Dakota, the role of BIT commissioner encompasses both typical CIO duties and those of a chief digital officer, and Gottumukkala said that this structural focus on digital transformation will help support greater operational efficiency.
“We are embracing innovation to deliver better, faster and more secure services for all the citizens,” said the new CIO. “And I'm deeply committed to this role, and look forward to working closely with the governor, the state agencies and the big team to lead to build a more efficient, secure and innovative future for the state."
