CIO MUSICAL CHAIRS A DISTRACTION AS YEAR-END BUSINESS TRIES TO MOVE AHEAD

The newly-appointed DHS Chief Information Officer suddenly resigned under less-than-clear circumstances recently.  At about the same time, the Administration re-assigned two well-regarded career CIO’s at the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture.  Remaining CIO’s, especially those that worked closely with the previous administration, can be forgiven if they’re looking over their shoulder to see if they’re next.  This is a potentially large distraction at a time of year when distractions can be particularly harmful.  Large technology projects that have been waiting all year were supposed to now move to inception by the end of the fiscal year.  Internal distractions, however, could delay some of these plans, or scrap them completely if their business case is deemed to have been “too close” to the directives of the previous administration and counter to what the new team views as being a priority.  Contractors need to anticipate bumps in the road and have answers to questions showing why a particular project is essential, regardless of who’s ultimately in charge.  Make sure you’re communicating with your CIO contacts now so that any potential hiccups can be addressed and you actually get to close business you thought would be yours.