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Nitin Pradhan, departmental CIO, Department of Transportation

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DQI Bureau
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Nitin Pradhan as the departmental CIO for Department of Transportation (DOT) was sworn-in in 2009. He is the chief advisor to the US Secretary of Transportation for IT. DoT has over 55,000 employees, $70 bn in annual budget, and 10 modes including FAA.

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Prior to joining DoT, Pradhan was an IT executive at Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), the 12th largest school district in US. Earlier he was the MD of Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) and has been the co-founder and CEO of a wireless start-up.

Pradhan in his first interview to an Indian publication (Dataquest) talks about his focus area-to utilize technology innovatively and strategically to drive significant business value. Excerpts

How did you get into IT and finally come to join the US DoT as a federal CIO?

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I started my career in the mid-80s in technology marketing in Mumbai. I left that organization to come to the US on a graduate fellowship. After graduation, I was successful in building one of the first online businesses and it became the launching pad for my joining the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT), where I later headed the internet group as its managing director. This experience groomed me to work on the emerging technologies with entrepreneurs, start-ups, and venture capitalists, and hence led me to start my own wireless company. Later, I joined one of the largest and most successful public school systems in the US in a CTO/RMO type role to help transform education delivery using digital technologies. The White House invited me to join the Obama Administration in 2009 as the CIO of the US DoT after a rigorous selection process.

 

What are your roles and responsibilities?

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As the US DoT CIO, I essay 4 major roles. I'm the chief advisor to Ray LaHood, secretary of transportation, US on all matters relating to IT. I also have oversight over the entire DoT IT portfolio, with over 450 business and IT systems and an annual budget of over $3 bn. My office is in charge of all the IT infrastructure within DoT except FAA. Finally, we are actively involved in partnering with our modal administrations (bureaus) in driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and creating business value in the transportation sector using technology innovation.

What is the major technology change impacting IT service delivery at DoT?

The post-PC era is arriving. Cloud computing is changing the entire back-end of the IT industry, which is also having an impact on the technology skill sets organizations need to have within their IT staff. Mobility, including wireless, tablets, and smartphones, is changing the entire front end-user experience. As to where the technology is leading-I believe that in the future, most technology products will be delivered as a service. We are going to start seeing IT products assembled from standardized components rather than developed piecemeal. We now know the flux the technology industry is in. This flux will create huge opportunities and disruptions and only the smart will thrive.

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How is technology helping in driving innovation in DoT?

 

At the US DoT, we have several technology platforms that drive innovation. Our internal IdeaHub ideation and crowdsourcing platform is one such example that allows any employee to propose innovative ideas and enables others to improve on them through ratings and feedbacks. The best ideas can then be implemented across the department. While not all ideas relate to technology, it is the IdeaHub technology platform that is tapping the expertise, knowledge, and intelligence of the 55,000-strong DoT employee community.

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Can you elaborate on exciting business technology initiatives at DoT?

Most of the IT portfolios of DoT focus on business technology initiatives. These include global innovations like FAA's NextGen-a comprehensive overhaul of the national airspace system from a ground based radar system of air traffic control to a satellite based system of air traffic management. This system is vital for meeting the future demands and to avoid gridlock in the skies and at national airports. Another very exciting initiative involves the research we are doing to explore the potential for connected vehicle technology, which could improve mobility and roadway safety by making cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles aware of the vehicles-and infrastructure-around them.

As an Indian-origin CIO, what is the value proposition that you bring to this global role?

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I focus on delivering business value immediately. First, this requires IT to be integrated into discussions of business needs and results early, often and at the highest levels. Second, the IT organization must have the ability to quickly connect the dots across the enterprise and create targeted technology solutions efficiently. Finally, people are the core for successful technology transformation in organizations. IT is a people-centric affair. Attracting and motivating an exceptional IT workforce is the key to success.

 

During the last one year, can you elaborate on some of the IT innovations undertaken at DoT?

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We have been working on a number of innovative initiatives at DoT, like the Digital Transportation Exchange (DTE)-a strategic platform to connect citizens, businesses, state and local governments, industry, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors though a public-private partnership like never before-by creating a thriving marketplace for technology transportation solutions. Think of it as a combination of a social network for transportation innovation, a transportation technology incubator, an online marketplace to access innovative transportation solutions, and, finally, a mechanism to connect the transportation technology-related resources in the US. The DTE will promote economic growth and effective, efficient government by creating a nationwide virtual platform where private stakeholders can easily form partnerships to create new technology based solutions. We want to find sustainable ways to enable rapid innovation in America's transportation community that engages the public in new ways.

Do you believe that Indian CIOs are now geared up for undertaking global roles?

Absolutely! Indians have made remarkable strides in technology leadership globally-whether it is as CIOs, technology entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, or as a technology company CEOs!

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