b'InsightsRebuilding Foundations and Driving Innovation: Insights from Dr. John Zangardi, Former Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department ofHomeland Security By Michael J. KeeganEditors Note: Since this conversation, Dr. Zangardi retired from public service. The single most importantacross the network. While doing this, you also need to responsibility of government isensure that the system and its contents are protected and securing the homelandprotectingsecure. For practical illustration, if the need for a new IT a nation from terrorists and thecapability springs up at the border, the team has to be able instruments of terror, while at theto support that quickly. Most important, you have to make same time, fostering the countryssure that what the team delivers can be secured.economic security through lawful travel and trade. That is the mission ofThe DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer breaks the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)securingdown in several ways. It has an operational component, the U.S. homeland from varied and ever evolving threats.which is the largest component. The second largest is Meeting this mission rests on having in place a modernizedthe security component. There is an area that delivers and innovative technology and information infrastructure. applications and develops a path to the cloudassessing how we organize and make better use of our data. There is Dr. John Zangardi joined me on The Business of Governmentalso an area in the CIO shop that focuses on IT budget. If Hour from the 2019 SPADE conference on Designingyou dont know where your money is, we cannot protect, for the Future of Defense and Security from Soosterberg,perform, or connect functions. Money is the gasoline that Netherlands. This years SPADE conference brought togethermakes the engine go.defense, intelligence, and security leaders from Europe and around the world, in dialogue with experts from industry.Along with our operational environment, there is a group At the time of the conference, Dr. Zangardi was the CIO atthat focuses on the future of technology, looking out to DHS. He discussed with me the departments IT priorities,see what innovations we can leverage that might be on and his efforts to modernize its IT infrastructure and changethe horizon. This group also focuses on initiatives like IT the way IT is done across the DHS enterprise. modernization as well as handling how were going to roll out the use of the GSAs Enterprise Information Services What is the CIOs overall mission at DHS?(EIS) contract. The DHS CIO is responsible for delivering IT missionIn the end, the CIOs mission is to make sure that the DHS capability across the DHS enterprise, from headquarters tocomponents are able to meet their missions. If they need the DHS components. The mission focus is to protect,help with something, the CIO needs to make sure that staff perform, and connect. Every day requires you have to be onis engaging with those components appropriately, in order your gameto make sure that the capability people need toto get them where they need to be. do the mission is being delivered. Therefore, you need to efficiently connect the entire enterprise. You need to enable the mission through the movement of data and information WINTER 2019 / 2020 IBM Center for The Business of Government 49'