The Program

Welcome Reception

Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event sponsors.

Registration and Morning Refreshments

Opening Remarks
Leonard Pomata, Secretary of Technology, Commonwealth of Virginia

Opening Keynote
Aneesh Chopra, Federal Chief Technology Officer

When President Obama named Aneesh Chopra the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer, the choice was widely cheered throughout the technology arena. Mr. Chopra’s experience as Virginia’s Secretary of Technology prepared him well for the challenges of his new position. As federal CTO, he guides a wide range of innovation strategies and provides thought leadership on the role of technology in government policy. In this session, Mr. Chopra discusses his views, functions, plans and priorities in using technology to drive change throughout government and society.

Morning Break

Concurrent Sessions

Stimulus/Recovery Review

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will have a definite impact on government IT. But just how big of an impact will it be? Where is the money going and what can be done with it? What are the compliance and reporting requirements? This session provides an update on ARRA with an eye toward the initial reporting deadline that is fast approaching.

Cloud Computing – The Value Proposition

The Internet has great potential in making “anytime, anywhere” government a reality. There are definite advantages in using Web-based or Web-accessible applications and services over more traditional “closed” systems, but there are also some definite and serious concerns. This session takes a look at cloud computing possibilities and how – and if – they can be used securely, efficiently and economically.

Data Standardization and Governance

Data standardization (i.e. conforming to a predefined expected format) goes hand in hand with data governance (i.e. ensuring that data can be trusted and with proper accountability). The urgency is escalating due to the pressures of transparency, collaboration, data-sharing and security. This session focuses on the tools, strategies and policies necessary for managing today’s data assets.

Economics of Customer Service

Technology is transforming government (and society) in fundamental ways. In the quest to provide increased efficiency and convenience for constituents and users, service models continue to evolve. Calculating the return on investment and cost per transaction is challenging but crucial. This session provides a glimpse into the future of government services and the economics involved in making it happen.

Lunch

Governor's Technology Awards

General Session
Leadership in Tough Times: What Will You Do?

Jerry Mechling, Harvard School of Government

In today’s economic climate, your biggest decision is whether to hunker down or to use the crisis for game-changing innovations. What are the risks and rewards in fundamentally changing how work is conducted and governed? What is being done by other leaders and how can their innovations fit in your own world? Where can you find the support and resources needed to make things happen? In this timely address, nationally known author, researcher and Harvard faculty member Jerry Mechling uses University research to create a framework for IT leadership with a focus on developing an action agenda for the challenges ahead.

Afternoon Break and Refreshments

Concurrent Sessions

Social Networking and Government

Government is changing fast. Pressures are mounting to adopt social networking tools, to be more inclusive with the public, and to be more open and transparent. These tools and approaches (Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, etc.) offer tremendous power for relatively little investment but at the same time raise a host of issues and challenges. This session discusses the “how, what, when and where” of Government 2.0 and how you can get in front of it.

Are Open Source and Freeware Suitable for Government?

At first glance, open source and freeware appear to be attractive alternatives, especially in the current budget climate. Its very nature makes it more flexible and adaptable than proprietary software. But how do you take responsibility for its security, maintenance and support? Is it really cheaper in the long run? This session discusses the pros and cons of open source and freeware while focusing on the business benefits and risks.

Health IT: The Changes Ahead

The development of a robust health information technology infrastructure continues to be a key to improving the quality and cost of healthcare, and stimulus dollars are accelerating the process. Strides that are made in solving the complex issues of health IT will surely benefit all government agencies in solving their own IT challenges. This session discusses current progress and what lies ahead.

Continuity of Government Operations

Recent years’ threats and disasters have shown more than ever the critical role of technology in business continuity and in the community as a whole. It’s not just data center continuity and emergency response that must be confronted but also “cloud continuity” in the face of a growing number of Web-based services and applications. This session focuses on the latest COOP (Continuity of Operations) tools and strategies.

Executive Reception

Network with your colleagues and discuss technology solutions with the event sponsors.

Registration and Morning Refreshments

Gubernatorial Candidate (Invited)

In a gubernatorial election year, it is a COVITS tradition for the major party candidates to address the audience by sharing their views on the role technology will play during their administrations.

Networking Break

Gubernatorial Candidate (Invited)

In a gubernatorial election year, it is a COVITS tradition for the major party candidates to address the audience by sharing their views on the role technology will play during their administrations.

Morning Break

Concurrent Sessions

Legislator Panel: Challenges in Virginia

Transparency and open government are currently two of the highest federal priorities, and the ramifications on IT departments will be significant. Economic conditions and limited resources only add to the complexity, making it unrealistic to try to accomplish everything at once. This session discusses the challenges facing Virginia, the prioritization of needs, and the role of technology in creating a bright future for our citizens.

Security: Insider Threats and Outside Attacks

Virginia state and local governments have made great advances in creating a portfolio of tools and processes designed to protect citizen data and provide a technology environment that is increasingly secure from both internal and external threats. This session looks at the latest tools, technologies and approaches for identifying, preventing and overcoming a variety of security concerns.

Broadband across the Commonwealth

Next-generation broadband is getting a lot of attention lately, and it plays a key role in federal priorities. This session focuses on the Commonwealth to address current trends, developments, and capabilities of statewide networks and connectivity, as well as the impact of stimulus dollars and directives.

End of Conference