Indiana Digital Government Summit

The Indiana Digital Government Summit.

A Blog Report by Mark McClellan (mrmcclellan@tridgealliance.com)

June 13th, 2007

The Indiana Digital Government Summit is made up of key state and local government executives, technologists and industry specialists throughout area. The Summit was planned, developed and customized to address the most important policy, management and technology issues surrounding the future of digital government in Indiana. The event was executed by the Government Technology Executive Events group. See http://www.govtech.com/ for details.

From my perspective, this was a Who’s Who of Technology in Indiana (and the Midwest) from a Governmental perspective. Key IT representatives from the State, DOT, FSSA, BMV, DWD, numerous counties and other multi-letter agencies all converged on the Marriott Hotel for a day of collaboration. Issues such as Identity and Access Management, Continuity and Disaster Recovery and Aligning IT strategy with Business Processes/Objectives were thoroughly discussed. As a native Hoosier with 15 years of IT experience and having worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, I have a very keen interest in where Indiana is advancing (or standing still) on technology needs. This first Blog is an overview and attendee feedback on the keynote speaker: Neal Petersen, Author and Adventurer.

South African-born, Mr. Petersen is known throughout the world for several things. Most notably, he is a solo around-the-world racing yachtsman and entrepreneur. PBS regularly airs a popular documentary about his life – “No Barriers, the story of Neal Petersen”. In his award winning book, Journey of a Hope Merchant, Neal details the poverty, discrimination and other obstacles he has had to overcome to become the successful he is today. His experience shows that imagination coupled with determination to achieve can break through the roughest challenges. This includes a serious lack of funding (which Indiana has a critical problem with). Mr. Petersen’s’ keynote was exceptional. He combined humor, real life challenges and a message of hope to our Technology leaders. His philosophy of “People helping People” enhanced the message of “Never let anyone undermine your success”.

The reaction from several attendees echoed my sentiment. An IT manager from the Department of Health found it inspirational. Senator David Ford emphasized the need for young Hoosiers to hear this very important message. I was very pleased to have the chance to talk with Founder of internationally famous Haverstick Consulting, Howard Bates. “I found Mr. Petersen to be a fantastic personal presenter with an unbelievable story. I was impressed to hear Neal’s ability to relate to challenges in Business and Information Technology compared to his adventures.” Haverstick has been instrumental in performing consulting engagements for over 300 organizations including State and Federal government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

Overall, the event was step in the right direction for our technology leaders. Hopefully, with continued efforts and the “never let anyone undermine your success” message from Mr. Petersen, Indiana will Finally come out of the technology black hole that exists today.
This is the first of a series of Blog Reports that cover technology (and lack of) in Indiana. For more information, see my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/tridgealliance.