Noel Hara, vice president and chief technology officer for the public sector at NTT DATA Services, said government agencies looking to buy technologies should assemble a tech procurement team that includes information technology services experts, enterprise architecture staff and IT protection professionals, according to an article published Monday on American City and Country.
“Cybersecurity can often be a roadblock as new solutions are deployed. A member of the cybersecurity staff should work alongside the tech-buying team to ensure that newer, innovative technologies can be considered and brought into the fold while also maintaining the security of government data,” Hara said.
When it comes to buying a tech platform, he said local government agencies should come up with an enterprise architecture that anticipates various technologies necessary to deliver services to other agencies.
Hara outlined a list of questions agency personnel should ask when it comes to tech procurement, including the services the technology will provide for the agency and how will the tech platform will improve citizen experience.
Before committing to the full tech platform, the CTO recommended that agencies first work on a proof of concept or a prototype.
“This will help to confirm that the new solution is aligned with the answers to your key questions outlined above,” Hara added.