City of Chicago CIO explains importance of IT

Many organizations have started to embrace advanced technology and it is easy to see why. However, without a proper plan and personnel in place to manage a new business solution, companies can find themselves in trouble.

In a recent ComputerWorld article, Brett Goldstein – Chicago's CIO – was interviewed about some of the cities technology decisions and what his feelings are toward IT in general.

Recently the Windy City made headlines for a few different technology initiatives. For a good part of this year, the city has been working on a plan to implement free wireless internet in a number of public parks and the downtown area.

Today it was announced that the city is moving its email and desktop applications to a new cloud service from Microsoft. According to Goldstein, this move affects 30,000 employees and could save as much as $400,000 per year over the course of the four-year agreement with the company. The cloud decision will help standardize IT operations and is a step toward the overall goal of moving away from department-focused operations and enable data sharing.

Goldstein is someone that does not do things half masted. Before being appointed CIO, he was the city's chief data officer and a former commander in the Chicago Police Department. He also has a background in government, startups and Big Data.

"One of the things that drives me crazy is this idea of 'good enough for government work' – that is not OK," said Goldstein. "I am going to raise the bar really high – I don't want people pointing to IT as ever inhibiting business, it should be enabling business."

Technology is becoming a more important part of the business world and companies that need a hand managing it should partner with an IT consulting firm like CTI Technology.