Vivek Kundra Forging to Transform Federal Administration Use of Tech
As the first Federal Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra manages Federal IT investing. He uses his diverse IT expertise in government, the private sector, and academia to ensure the government spends wisely when it comes to tech initiatives. With a Masters Degree in Management Information Systems, Vivek Kundra has a deep understanding of IT and its complexities.
In his role as CTO in Washington D.C. Vivek Kundra sought out ways to use technology to make systems and services run better. He initiated many tax-saving technology campaigns. One specific project resulted in more than 4.5 million digitized employee files for that particular school system. He also transformed the software that government used for spreadsheets and e-mails to the Google version. He even started a developer contest to choose the best technology applications for the Washington D.C. web site. In addition, he led initiatives to step-up the availability of government information to the public while lowering the cost of providing this information.
Costly technology contracts that do not bring about significant return on investment are an area where Vivek Kundra also thinks the Federal government can save money. To that end, he recently launched the Federal IT Dashboard. He is also working to assure the government is serious and tough on contractors that do not deliver. His ultimate goal is to have consultants and contractors that are adding value to the Federal government so the government can serve the people better. Born in Delhi, India, and raised in Tanzania, Vivek Kundra has a diversified educational and work background. He is utilizing his knowledge and expertise in IT to reach these aforementioned goals.
It seems as though for Vivek Kundra, the time is now for applying innovative Information Technology initiatives. His want is to broadcast more information to the public and to facilitate efficient communication between government offices. He is leading a Federal government technology strategy that is applying cloud computing, open source, and other ways to aid the Federal government achieve its challenging Web 2.0 goals.