December 19, 2000, 10:10 AM — Paul Quade knows when his story will end.Just under a year from now, on Feb. 28, 2001, he'll step down from his 18-month term as the state of Colorado's first cabinet-level CIO. And by then, as a direct result of his change leadership efforts, the state's government IT systems will either be more efficient, more effective, more customer-friendly than ever for the state's employees, citizens and businesses -- or they won't. It's as simple as that, and either way Quade's out the door. Problem is, although Quade knows precisely when his story will end, how he gets there is the real trick. And it all hinges on the answer to one key question: Can a temporary CIO effect permanent change?
Quick-fix turnarounds and temporary CIOs aren't new concepts, even in government, but Colorado's take on them is unique. Not only is the state attempting to reinvent IT operations through a new, central CIO, and not only is Quade, 53, the first person to fill this role. But it's also Quade's first CIO job, and he's doing it as a loaned executive on an 18-month leave from his real job as director of data center planning and engineering at the Denver office of Galileo International, a Chicago-based travel services provider. The state's goal is to use Quade's industry perspective and business best practices to make the most of Colorado's IT investment. Quade's challenge, beginning last September, is to be a catalyst for change. He must align 20 disparate state agencies, enable information flow between these agencies and the citizens they serve, consolidate the state's IT purchases and services, and find his own successor. All before Feb. 28, 2001.
"When I first took this job, my wife asked, 'Why are you doing this?'" Quade says, and he really had to consider his answer. "I certainly didn't do this for political or career reasons," he says. In fact, he expresses no desire to parlay this job into a permanent CIO position elsewhere. Instead -- and he knows this sounds "mom and apple pie," but he means it -- his main concern is for his adopted home, the state of Colorado. "I want to use my expertise and talents to make Colorado a better place to live and to do business," Quade says. "Selfishly, I'd like to look back in 10 years and know I helped create changes that made a difference."
Best-Laid Plans
Seven months ago, Quade was on the outside looking in. As director of technology and planning at Galileo's global data center in Denver, Quade also served as chair of the state's Information Management Commission (IMC), a public-private sector group that had been working for several years to help state IT executives understand and implement better business practices. Because of his IMC experience, Quade had firsthand knowledge of the state's IT organization -- or lack thereof. "The state was like a holding company with 20 little companies," Quade says. In fact, the state had 21 independent agencies, each with its own CIO and significant IT budget. There was no central IT decision making or purchasing. Consequently, each agency developed its own systems, and the state was stuck supporting as many as a half-dozen different hardware, software and network standards, as well as a whopping 72 different IT procurement centers. "Agencies didn't share information, resources or capabilities," Quade says. In some cases, the segregated systems were just inefficient -- no automated processes for citizens to renew drivers licenses or for businesses to obtain permits. But in other instances the technical shortcomings were embarrassing. "WWe had people in prison collecting welfare," Quade says.
Since signing on as CIO last September, Quade finds himself on the inside staring at a hard deadline. With the calendar as his guide, Quade has adopted an aggressive project management approach to addressing the state's IT shortcomings. Among his objectives:
Build an intranet. The state had no web-based means for sharing data among its agencies -- never mind citizens and businesses. Yet this turned out to be one of the easiest and most visible changes Quade could initiate. He made it his first objective, due last Dec. 1, and his cross-functional development team actually delivered it three weeks early -- a key first win.
Simplify procurement. When Quade took over, Colorado had 72 different procurement centers, and each of the agencies was signing off on its own IT purchases. Quade now signs off on any state IT purchase over $25,000, and by this month he wants to create a single, web-based procurement center for all IT purchases. The goal here is not just simplification but to cut the state a better deal by consolidating bulk purchases.
Standardize. Currently, the state has roughly a half-dozen hardware, software, network and e-mail standards. Quade hopes to narrow the options for each standard to two, if not one, by the end of his term.
