NYS Forum

Has Your Organization Paid Its NYS Forum Dues?

The NYS Forum is entirely supported by annual membership dues paid by NY state/local government agencies and IT corporations. Membership by your organization entitles all of its employees to attend NYS Forum educational events and seminars at no cost. Payment can be made through electronic funds transfer and/or credit card. To join or determine the status of your organization's membership call (518-438-7414) or email (info@nysforum.org). A sampling of but some of The Forum's programs that you and your fellow employees might benefit from are shown below:

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Special Note:
508 Federal Refresh Comments
Members of The NYS Forum's IT Accessibility Work Group produced comments on the 508 Federal refresh. Those comments are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/accessibility/resources/nyspolicy/nyspolicy.html#fed

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NYS Forum Annual Planning Meeting Highlights Interest in Cloud Computing

On Friday, July 16, 2010 The NYS Forum conducted its Annual Planning Session at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York.  The half-day session was organized around discussion tables that reflected The Forum's Work Groups.  This year, new to those groups was a table for cloud computing.  The Cloud Computing Work Group had its start within the MetroNY Initiative and was created by The Forum's Executive Council in October 2009.  It was the topic ranked highest on a follow-up survey undertaken immediately following the MetroNY kick-off event in September 2009 and was the topic of focus at a session in New York City addressed by NYC CIO Carole Post and NASA CIO Linda Cureton in May 2010.  On Friday the interest in cloud computing was evidenced by the fact that it drew more "priority votes" for its suggested initiatives than has ever has been the case in recent history (22% of the 243 votes cast).  It also had the single highest vote-getting suggested initiative which is to "...seek cloud computing shared service opportunities across agencies."  The consistency of this prioritization by representatives of state agencies and the prioritization reflected as part of The Forum'sMetroNY Initiative holds great potential for The Forum to develop programs around this topic and replicate/share them via webcasting with these two highly interested government audiences.  Opportunities for greater synergy is possible since many suggested cloud computing initiatives also related to security concerns so there will be great potential for inter-Work Group collaboration on this high interest topic.

Beyond cloud computing the Procurement Work Group also garnered a high proportion of the votes and its suggestion to "Develop and offer a session on IT procurement in conjunction with the CIO Council's Procurement Committee" received the second highest number of votes.  Tied at that second level was the IT Security Work Group's suggestion to conduct a session on and develop tools related to "Information Security Governance, Assurance and  the Risk Management Framework" and the IT Skills Development Work Group's suggested initiative to "Develop and Beta Test the CoP Starter Kit".

The full July 2010 Planning Session outcomes are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/planningsession-7-16-10/

Web 2.0 Seminar Offered by The Forum

On Tuesday, June 22, 2010 the NYS Forum's Emerging Technologies Work Group offered a seminar focused on Web 2.0 research and information on the practical experiences of several state agencies.

Attended by over one hundred participants in the room and nearly fifty via live webcast, this seminar included a presentation by The Center for Technology in Government (CTG) on the CTG Social Media Project findings and featured a panel comprised of NYS government agency representatives including:

• Kathleen Moorhead, Project Manager, NYS Education Department
• Joanne Razzano, Senior Public Information Specialist, NYS Higher Education Services
• NYS Forum Accessibility Work Group Co-Chair, Estelle Council, NYS Parole
• Jessica Harrison, Social Media Coordinator, NYS Department of Labor
• Derek Werthmuller, Director of Technology Services, CTG
• Jana Hrdinova, Program Associate, CTG
• Natalie Helbig, Program Associate, CTG

The presentations made at this seminar are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/emergingtech_6_22_2010/

If you have an interest in Web 2.0 and being involved with those in state or local governments who are now using or plan to use Web 2.0 applications, please contact The Forum at info@nysforum.org or 518-438-7414.  The work of The Forum's Emerging Technologies Work Group has been extensive in this area and information about that Work Group and its leadership is available at:  http://www.nysforum.org/committees/emergingtechnologies/

Commissioner Egan of the NYS Office of General Services Welcomes Businesses at The NYS Forum's Procurement Seminar

John C. Egan, Commissioner of the NYS Office of General Services, provided the opening remarks to over 200 representatives of large, small, in- and out-of-state businesses interested in learning more about the procurement processes of New York State and New York City.  Commissioner Egan stressed the importance of procured services/products to the conduct of the State's business and service to constituents and underscored the commitment of his Office and staff to the provision of efficient, fair and open procurements.  

The full day Seminar, entitled "2010 Doing IT Business With New York State and New York City", is one that has been regularly offered by The NYS Forum in Albany and in New York City.  The Seminar program was planned by The Forum's IT Procurement Work Group which is Co-Chaired by Diane Taylor of the NYS Office of the State Comptroller; Rene Roth-O'Neil of Tailwind; and Steve Harkins of GENESYS.

Presentations were made by representatives of the NYS Office of General Services, the Office of the State Comptroller, the NYS Economic Development Corporation, the NYC Mayor's Office of Contracts and the NYC Department of Education.

The presentations are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/itprocurement_06_09_2010/

Seminar Offered on Managing Risk as Business and IT Boundaries Expand

On the morning of Wednesday, May 26, 2010 The NYS Forum's Security Work Group, in collaboration with The Forum's Business Continuity and Project Management Work Groups, offered a seminar on secure planning, development, and implementation of technology applications in support of business objectives.  The Seminar, held at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, New York, was also available via live webcast and a total of over one hundred and twenty persons participated.

Participants were welcomed and the evolution of the topic as the focus of the Seminar was addressed by Chuck Weiss of Comsys IT Partners, who provided the opening remarks.  Deb Snyder, NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and Mark Spreitzer, CGI Group, Inc., were the Seminar presenters and they discussed a comprehensive approach to integrating security into the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

The Seminar presentation materials are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/security_5_26_2010/

If you have an interest in security you will want to participate in the following:

The 13th Annual New York State Cyber Security Conference
June 16-17, 2010, The Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York
Register for this conference at:
http://www.cscic.state.ny.us/security/conferences/security/2010/index.cfm

MS-ISAC Webcast Initiative on Incident Response
June 23, 2010
Registration coming soon at:
http://www.msisac.org/webcast/

NYS Forum Social Media and Empire 2.0 Presentation

On Friday, May 14, 2010 The NYS Forum featured a presentation by Melanie Hartgraves, Director of New Media, Governor David A. Paterson, Executive Chamber, and Jessica Harrison, Social Media Coordinator at the NYS Department of Labor.  Speaking to a capacity crowd, Ms. Hartgraves and Ms. Harrison discussed how Web 2.0 can create unprecedented levels of openness and transparency in Government at all levels and underscored how New York State was fully committed to leveraging that capacity.   They discussed how Web 2.0 can be used to engage a wide range of New Yorkers while providing avenues for feedback and engagement never before possible.

The process for state/local government agencies to get started with Web 2.0 was detailed and the Empire 2.0 initiative was briefly reviewed.

The presentation made by Ms. Hartgraves and Ms. Harrison is available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/execcommittee-5_14_10/

Seminar on Creating Accessible PDFs Attracts a Full House

On Wednesday, May 12, 2010 over two hundred New York state staff involved in the development of state government web pages attended The Forum's Seminar on Creating Accessible PDFs.  Planned by The NYS Forum's IT Accessibility Work Group, the Seminar addressed the  phenomenon that  Adobe's Portable Document Format - PDF - has become an extremely popular format on the Web, but that accessibility of PDF documents can span the spectrum from "not at all accessible" to "very accessible."

Joel Obuchowski (NYS Insurance Department), Co-Chair of The Forum's IT Accessibility Work Group and organizer of this Seminar, provided a welcome to those in attendance and then introduced the Seminar Presenters who included:

• Debra Orton, NYS Governor's Office of Employee Relations
• Jeff Bennett, NYS Office for Technology
• Tina Browne, Office Training Automation Project - PDP, Rockefeller College, University at Albany

The presenters discussed and demonstrated the problems with PDF documents that pose issues for people with disabilities using screen readers, and discussed the NYS Accessibility Policy and the requirements for PDF documents on state agency web sites.

Topics covered related to the creation of accessible PDF forms included:

• The Truth about "Accessible PDFs"
• NYS-P08-005 Standard 14: Proprietary Formats
• Impact of Creation Method on PDF Accessibility
• Creating Accessible PDF documents Using Microsoft Word 07: Step by Step
• Creating Accessible PDF forms: Step by Step
• Review of Acrobat Professional Accessibility Features
• Other "PDF Helpers"

The presentations made at this Seminar are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/itaccessibility_5_12_2010/

City IT Agenda and Cloud Computing Presented At NYS Forum/DoITT MetroNY Event

In New York City on Tuesday, May 4, 2010 an audience of over 150 city/state government and nearly 50 IT corporate representatives gathered for a presentation by Carole Post, NYC DoITT Commissioner/CIO, and Linda Cureton, NASA CIO.

Introduced by Ron Bergmann, Carole Post joined NYS Forum Executive Director, Gregory Benson in welcoming the group.  Commissioner Post reviewed DoITT's recently released "30-Day Report", CitiServ and other key DoITT initiatives.

Introduced by Andrew Hoppin, CIO, NYS Senate, Linda Cureton provided an overview of NASA that set the context for her discussion of cloud computing.  Her presentation was informed by and referenced much of the work done by those at NASA working on Nebula, the NASA cloud computing initiative.

A video of this event will be available to NYS Forum members soon.  The PowerPoint presentations are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/MetroNY_05_04_2010/.

Nearly 200 Attend The NYS Forum's Debriefing Roundtable

In Albany, New York on the morning of Friday, April 30, 2010, The NYS Forum's IT Work Group, in partnership with the NYS Office of General Services (OGS) and the NYS Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), presented a half-day seminar on the information technology debriefing process. The IT Debriefing Roundtable covered:

• Current legislative requirements surrounding debriefing vendors on proposal submissions and contract awards
• The "do's and don'ts" associated with debriefing sessions
• When debriefings can be held
• Best practices related to information sharing during a debriefing session

Presenters and panelists included:

• Peter Antoinette, Synch Solutions
• David Burmaster, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
• Lisa Fox, Office of General Services
• Dave Gardam, Office of Substance Abuse Services
• Steve Harkins,  GENSYS Consulting Services
• Maryann Jablonowski, NYS Forum IT Corporate Roundtable
• Suzanne Nye, Thruway Authority
• Bill Reilly, Office of Mental Health
• Renee Roth-O'Neil, Tailwind Associates
• Diane Taylor, Office of the State Comptroller
• Ruth Walters, The Walters Consulting Group

A video of the seminar will be available to NYS Forum members soon.

NYC Meeting Reinforces The MetroNY Initiative

On the evening of Wednesday, March 31, 2010, nearly sixty of The NYS Forum's IT Corporate Roundtable members gathered at the Cornell Club in New York City for a program designed to re-affirm the interest and commitment of The NYS Forum and the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) to sustain and enhance the collaborative efforts embodied by The MetroNY Initiative.

Greg Benson, Executive Director of the NYS Forum, provided a welcome on behalf of The Forum.  James DiRobbio, Executive Director of DoITT IT Services, provided a welcome to the group on behalf of DoITT and underscored the interest in MetroNY and, in particular, the cloud computing Work Group that was created in the fall.  Leo Pfohl, of CGI and Chair of The Forum's IT Corporate Roundtable, provided the feature presentation to the group and reviewed the context of The Forum, the history of the Roundtable, opportunities afforded to become engaged in the activities of the Work Groups, and plans to continue the Cloud Computing work with an event on May 4, 2010 in NYC that will feature Linda Cureton, CIO of NASA, speaking on the topic.  Mr. Pfohl's presentation is available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/MetroNY_3_31_10/

Leo Pfohl also asked that those interested in becoming involved in a MetroNY Development Team express their interest to him.  Many in attendance did follow-up with Leo.  The purpose of this team is to spearhead and support efforts to engage and be responsive to the program needs of DoITT, individual NYC agency leadership, and to assist with the promotion of the knowledge transfer program with other corporate entities.

Assemblymember RoAnn M. Destito Addresses The NYS Forum's Government and Corporate Members on IT Workforce Management and Governance

On Friday, March 26, 2010 Assemblymember RoAnn M. Destito, Chair of the NYS Assembly Government Operations Committee, addressed a special meeting of The NYS Forum's Executive Council and IT Corporate Roundtable attended by nearly one hundred and fifty NYS Forum members.  Assemblymember Destito shared her observations; information on recent legislation; and outcomes that came of the IT procurement-related hearings her Committee sponsored.

Assemblymember Destito's remarks were addressed to the needs, actions to date, and challenges that remain in the areas of NYS technology and telecommunications workforce management and education as well as the overall governance considerations at the enterprise, agency and local levels.  On the topic of workforce management and education, Assemblymember Destito provided information on legislation that passed (Chapter 500) related to the "in-sourcing" of 500 IT positions and efforts to complete an IT skills inventory. Destito also underscored her commitment to broad engagement of stakeholders in future discussions and actions to be considered relative to New York's IT Governance.  She specifically mentioned inclusion of such institutional perspectives as New York's public school districts, public libraries, local governments and a mix of labor and management.

This special joint assembly of the NYS Forum's Executive Council and IT Corporate Roundtable is the first in what may develop as a series of sessions intended to provide membership with direct communications by New York's state executive and legislative policy makers.

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NOTE:  The regular April 9, 2010 meeting of the NYS Forum's Executive Council has been cancelled due the conflict with the holiday.  The next Forum Executive Council meeting will be held on Friday, May 14, 2010 and information and registration for that session will be available soon.

The NYS Forum Seminar Focuses on Web 2.0

On Wednesday, March 24, 2010 The NYS Forum's Emerging Technologies Work Group hosted a seminar focused on the benefits of Web 2.0 applications for government organizations.  Attended by nearly one hundred participants, the program demonstrated how Web 2.0 applications include both internal and external tools for enhancing collaboration, networking and information sharing.

Presentations were made by:  Kathleen Moorhead, Project Manager, NYS Education Department; Andrew Hoppin, CIO, NYS Senate; Eddie Borges, Communications Director, NYS Office of Children and Family Services; Rich Zaziski, CEO, FYI Business Solutions; and Rico Singleton, Deputy CIO, NYS Office of the Chief Information Officer/Office for Technology.

For those who missed this seminar the presentations are available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/emergingtech_3_24_2010/

NYS Deputy CIO, Rico Singleton, Addresses NYS Forum Executive Committee

On Friday, March 12, 2010 Rico Singleton, Deputy CIO for Enterprise Strategy and Governance Services, provided a forward looking overview of the key strategies and initiatives of the NYS Office of the Chief Information Officer/Office for Technology.  The meeting was held in the Huxley Theater in Albany, New York and was the March monthly meeting of the NYS Forum's Executive Committee.  Central to the presentation made by Mr. Singleton as a discussion of the key 2010 Strategic Initiatives which include:

• Driving Down IT Costs
• Maximizing Broadband Stimulus Funds
• Modernizing Critical IT Infrastructure And Replacing IT Strategic Cluster Legacy Systems
• Optimizing Social Media Tools To Engage Constituents Through Empire 2.0
• Advancing Open Government For Greater Transparency
• Deploying New IT Governance Model
• Increasing MWBE And Small Company Participation
• Building A Talented

The entire presentation made by Rico Singleton is available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/execcommittee-3_12_10/

Web Development Seminar Remains a High Priority

Monday, March 8, 2010.  
The "Writing for the Web" Seminar developed by The NYS Forum's IT Accessibility Work Group again demonstrated it's high value by drawing another capacity class of participants to a morning session at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, New York.  Nearly one hundred professional staff charged with developing and maintaining New York State government's web pages attended this very popular and informative session.

Kristen Albright of the NYS Division of Parole and Kathy Farrell of SUNY Empire State College presented the half-day seminar that included group discussion and hand-on exercises:  Key topics included:

• The needs of skilled and unskilled readers;
• Clarity and conciseness;
• How to phrase headings and links; and
• How to organize information more effectively.

The presentation is available at: http://www.nysforum.org/events/itaccessibility_3_8_2010/

The Forum's Small/Medium/Local Government Work Group Launches Five Session Series on Strategic Planning

Thursday, March 4, 2010.  This morning at 411 State Street The NYS Forum's Small/Medium/Local Government Agencies Work Group launched a special five session course in public sector strategy development. Karen Pratt, Director of the Office of Information Technology for Washington County and Co-Chair of The Forum's Work Group introduced the Work Group leadership involved in creating the series (http://www.nysforum.org/committees/smallmediumagencylocalgov/) and Forum IT Corporate Roundtable members Mike Donovan, CEO of NYSTEC, and Tim Jaques, Partner at Line of Sight, who will be series presenters. The goal of this course is to provide Small, Medium, and Local government agencies with the knowledge, tools and guidance necessary to successfully develop a Strategic Plan.  During the intervals between sessions participants will have an opportunity to actually begin and potentially complete a Strategic Plan based on the competencies and knowledge gained in the previous sessions and work with their agency peers and leadership.

The five session series is being attended by over 20 state and local government information technology, project management and business analyst leaders and series topics will cover:

March 4th, 9:00 am - Noon - The Strategic Planning Process

March 18th, 9:00 - 11:00 am - Setting Course

April 1st, 9:00 - 11:00 am - Measuring Performance

April 15th, 9:00 - 11:00 am - Defining Success

May 6th, 9:00 - 11:00 am - Publishing and Managing the Plan