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State CIO outlines WATEC priorities: privacy, cybersecurity, enterprise data and innovation
Summary
Bill Kehoe, director of Washington Technology Solutions (WATEC) and the state CIO, told the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee that WATEC is focused on data privacy, project oversight, cybersecurity and building an enterprise IT strategic plan that centers equity and customer experience.
Bill Kehoe, director of Washington Technology Solutions (WATEC) and state chief information officer, briefed the Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee on Feb. 5 about WATEC’s role as the state’s enterprise technology agency and several of its key programs.
Kehoe told the committee that WATEC has “300 plus” staff and provides “over 60 plus” enterprise technology services while carrying statutory responsibilities including a privacy and data protection program and project oversight for more than 80 legislative assignments.
Why it matters: Kehoe said WATEC’s work underpins most state services and that the agency aims to align governance, enterprise architecture and cross-agency collaboration so services are not duplicated and data can be shared securely. He described the enterprise IT strategic plan’s four goals — an inclusive government experience, data-driven decision-making, a culture of responsible innovation and workforce development — and said the plan was developed with both business and IT leaders to be understandable beyond technical audiences.
Kehoe emphasized WATEC’s privacy and cybersecurity work. “We are required by statute to have a privacy and data protection program,” he said, and added that cybersecurity is “a team sport” requiring enterprise-level coordination. He described WATEC’s privacy program as among the strongest in the country and noted a statewide privacy forum that provides training and workshops for agency privacy officers.
On innovation, Kehoe said WATEC has stood up an architecture and innovation division that leads an artificial intelligence community of practice, bringing state and local partners and industry together to ready the state for AI use. He noted the agency’s collaboration with other state projects, including a resident portal and identity and access management work funded last biennium.
Committee members asked how WATEC would respond to a pending bill about collective bargaining and AI; Kehoe said the agency would “review that bill for any impacts” and would weigh in on workforce and training implications. Members also asked about language access and user-centered design; Kehoe said digital solutions should present information in multiple languages and follow user-centered design practices.
Kehoe closed by reiterating the agency’s emphasis on enterprise governance — a technology services board with legislators and agency directors, and domain committees for architecture, data, security, GIS and privacy — as the mechanism to coordinate a federated IT environment.
The committee followed the briefing with questions on the privacy forum, AI workforce impacts and how the enterprise plan translates into specific projects and services.
