Accenture Possibilities Talk Series: Conversation with Amy Tong, CIO for the State of California

I’m excited to introduce you to the Accenture Possibilities Talk Series, where we showcase the incredible impact that leaders in the West are creating for their people, their organizations and their communities. We will explore how these leaders bring technology and human ingenuity together to create meaningful change.?I have the great opportunity to host this series of conversations with business, community and civic leaders, startup founders and more! I’ll speak with individuals who are innovating new,?groundbreaking products and services that are changing the way people live and work, and following their passions to make the impossible, possible.????????

As my first guest, I am honored to welcome Amy Tong, CIO for the State of California. In her role, Amy is responsible for advising the Governor of California on the strategic management and direction of the state’s IT resources. She is also responsible for establishing and implementing state IT strategic plans, policies, standards, and enterprise architecture while promoting the efficient and effective use of IT. During my conversation, we explored topics such as technology as a platform for change, building an agile and resilient organization, the partnership between the public and private sector, and her personal journey to become the CIO of the State.

In January 2022, Amy will take on the new role as the director for the Office of Digital Innovation for the State of California.

Amy played a pivotal role during the past 18+ months to rapidly modernize government infrastructure to enable the workforce and all of its services for the citizens of California. What she and her team accomplished has paved the way for the future in how the State provides services to Californians.

Amy and I sat down to reflect on the lessons learned after the March 2020 COVID-19 shutdown which simultaneously pushed more than 200,000 state workers to embrace a fully remote work environment. The combination of factors that impacted organizations around the world in the immediate aftermath of shutdown and beyond were unprecedented by any measure. What made it especially challenging for public service agencies, is the need to quickly deliver new services to ALL of their constituents, regardless of location, degree of difficulty, or cost. ?These critical services needed to be delivered while concurrently updating processes and platforms to move 30% of State employees to working from home immediately and upwards of 90%, as quickly as possible.

The impact and outcomes of the pandemic on the public sector

A positive unintended consequence of the COVID-19 shutdown was the need for speed. It forced speed in decision making and action. Looking back, we are almost two years into the change, and technology, habits, cultures, expectations have adjusted, and organizations have made these capabilities are a permanent part of their operational model.??

Remote work, hybrid work, work from home, center on the “geography” of a place where the person and their laptop are plugged in. In fact, it’s the ‘flexibility inherent in work from anywhere” that creates a more productive person.?

And Amy, in her positive and highly energized spirit, saw in the challenge an opportunity for people to cast aside prior roadblocks, and come together to get things done, quickly.

When people are really pushed by crisis, they move beyond the mindset of ‘this is the way we’ve always done it’, to think differently about how they and can use technology differently. The pace of innovation leapfrogs from the prior state.?

Agility is now one of the most important traits any organizational can possess, not only for success but for survival. Amy identified how this cultural shift to adapt quickly will have benefits well beyond the COVID pandemic.

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Driving digitization of the state infrastructure and its services

Suddenly, more and more of the interface between Californians and the state, migrated to a digital experience. The change in experience was pervasive from scheduling a DMV service to a sudden broadening of the acceptance of things like digital signatures. ?

Interesting to note, that while many physical services were converted to digital, a large percentage of the constituents did not have digital access. The State took the services to the community in the form of mobile vans and other means. Unlike their for-profit organizations, public agencies do not get to make investment decisions based on ROI, but on where the investment is needed to reach the constituents and deliver the services, wherever they are.

In fact, the very nature of the digital divide had changed with the increasing importance of broadband access in everyday life. Amy ?is leading a historic $6 Billion ‘Broadband for All’ investment to close this divide.

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The path forward with better private and public partnerships

Another silver-lining for Amy was the collaboration and partnerships she experienced working with the private sector. Bringing on technology partners quickly enabled the state to deliver COVID-centric services including the contact tracing and vaccine management programs. The importance and intensity of the work has redefined the public-private partnership.?

Amy’s personal journey to CIO

Amy’s Public Service career choice was very intentional, as a way to give back, for the opportunity America provided a young 12-year-old immigrant who did not speak English. ?

Amy is very humble in her accomplishment and admits that she struggles with work-life balance, and she shares a little secret.

In fact, this Talk series is about “Possibilities” and Amy is the physical embodiment of what it takes to make the impossible, possible. And after decades in public service, as a woman and first-generation immigrant, she has some advice to share.?

You can tell by the tone in Amy’s voice, and the sincerity in her eyes, that like most of us, she has faced struggles and difficult times. And as we know, you may not have control over many of the factors that impact your day, job and career, but what you do have is control over how you face adversity, how you learn, and how you use that knowledge going forward. Amy’s positive attitude, relentless focus on service and ability to highlight the silver linings from the last 18 months, to light the path to even more effective ways to solve today’s hard challenges.?

Amy is a remarkable leader in that she has inspired and created a culture where her team thrives, and the biggest challenges afford the greatest possibilities.

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As we closed our conversation, Amy’s never-ending positive attitude highlighted the important outcomes from difficult times, and focusing on what we learned, and how we can use those learnings to do better.

Now our job is to apply those lessons going forward, as we build a stronger future for ourselves and our communities.?

Click here to watch my entire conversation with Amy.

Thank you Amy for your incredible insights and congratulations on your new role!

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