Techwire: What have been the top one or two challenges since you took over as CIO more than six months ago? Any surprises?
Sakamoto:
Cloud Adoption:
My one or two challenges since I took over as CIO at the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) are utilizing cloud services brokerage (CSB), state governance, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The cloud continues to be an asset, challenge, and priority for DDS.
Over the next two years, the cloud priorities include: Developing a multi-cloud strategy to avoid lock-in and control costs; managing data ownership and costs associated with data mobility; and employing hybrid cloud management effectively without spiraling costs.
Data Analytics:
The value of data grows when it can be monetized either directly or through insights gleaned from the data that result in the implementation of innovative business solutions. New business opportunities exist in data, yet we still struggle to have an effective data strategy, such as deciding what data to keep, figuring out how to mine the data, and determining what infrastructure is optimal.
While near real-time analytics gain more importance through faster decision-making, the decisions relating to applications and infrastructure remain slow and complex.
TW: What are the biggest one or two projects that await you over the next year to 18 months?
Sakamoto: DDS is planning to replace its legacy federal reimbursement system. The Office of Federal Programs and Fiscal Support relies on a 36-year-old legacy system to process and claim federal reimbursement.
TW: Are you looking at any enterprise systems?
Sakamoto: We are investigating the feasibility of automating our Human Resource Management system.
TW: Have you migrated to Microsoft Office 365 for email?
Sakamoto: Yes, we have started the process of migrating to Microsoft Office 365 for email, which will be completed in 2019.
TW: Is your department on board and working with FI$Cal?
Sakamoto: Yes, DDS has implemented FI$Cal. We are creating a few Application Program Interfaces (APIs), as the California State Accounting and Reporting System (CALSTARS) will be sunsetting later this year.
TW: Cybersecurity is one of the hottest topics in the industry, and any agency involved with patient/client health care has an even higher standard to meet, i.e., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The state’s Chief Information Security Officer Peter Liebert has emphasized the importance of security metrics and agencies’ “security maturity.” Are you satisfied with your department’s “cybersecurity maturity,” or does that remain a challenge?
Sakamoto: DDS continually reviews its security metrics, maturity, and analyzes its security reference model, to ensure the appropriate tools, appliances, programs, and applications are in place to secure the DDS environment. This allows the DDS to act as the most effective custodian of its HIPAA data.
TW: In your almost 13 years with state government, you’ve had a chance to serve in a number of departments and in a variety of roles, all of which had “chief” as part of the title until your most recent elevation to deputy director of IT/CIO. Are you naturally drawn to leadership roles?
Sakamoto: Yes, I’m naturally drawn to leadership roles. I believe that in order to be a leader I first had to be a follower. Being a follower made it easier for me, as a leader, to empathize with my team.
I model the behavior I expect from my team. I put in long hours to learn my job, which demonstrates my adherence to the values of commitment and dedication. As a leader I know how to take constructive criticism and use it to my advantage. I always seek out opportunities to learn and believe that acquiring knowledge is a lifelong endeavor. I always learn from my immediate superiors in an organization and my team members. I learn from every failure, trial, and tribulation and will never give up. I learn valuable information from my past failures that will help me in the future when problems arise again. To be an effective leader, I hold myself accountable for my own actions and never step down, even in the worst situations. Being a former police officer prepared me for leadership positions.
I can tell good leaders from bad ones. Leadership skills just come natural to a good leader. One of the traits of a leader is how to motivate people to get the job accomplished. Their goals become your goals. A leader makes you want to go try to be like them. I believe certain people have the personality, skills and training to be a leader; but they have to put the work in to reach their full potential.
TW: Looking beyond any current RFPs or RFIs, what big projects or initiatives are just over the horizon for the Department of Developmental Services? For vendors who are reading this, should they be thinking about Enterprise, or Migrations, or Integrations, or … ?
Sakamoto: Vendors should be thinking about all three — enterprise, migrations or integrations. We will be looking into system database, application, and cloud migrations and integrations with minimal or no impact to users.
TW: Many departments and agencies within state government are having trouble with recruitment and retention of skilled IT practitioners. Is this a problem for you, or have you found ways to compete with the private sector to find and keep good people?
Sakamoto: Recruitment of good people is a challenge for all of state IT divisions. The state recently went through an IT job classification restructure. The state went from 36 IT job classifications to nine job classifications, which will help with recruitment. The state has beefed up its technology in the human resources arena and has moved away from a paper-based process to a digital system. Applicants are now able to apply and submit their application online and see where their application is in the review stage.
I’ve gotten creative and I have learned to change my expectations. Rather than fight the trend among young employees to leave after a short time, there’s a way to embrace it. I promote working for the state as a way to gain exposure to a variety of different careers.
I learned to grow our own high-achieving employees. When there aren’t enough qualified applicants available for a particular job category, we can start out with minimally qualified men and women, then help them learn the necessary skills.
I have previously recruited online with effective social tools, such as LinkedIn. Social media tools can go further than print advertisements. In order to reach a broader audience we have been thinking about expanding our use of social media to recruit candidates due to positive results using LinkedIn.
Another social media approach that I’ve been thinking about and is catching on: posting short videos that showcase the position(s) we are recruiting for.
I keep good people by promoting appropriately. Also, when my best team members are doing the kind of work that makes a difference, I recognize it. I solicit team members' input — then apply it, encourage creative innovation, use friendly competition, clean out the dead weight, and minimize micro-managing.
TW: You have one leg in each of the two fastest-growing fields in the nation, if not the world: Health care and IT. With automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning taking over more and more jobs, what will the procurement process be like for DDS 20 years from now?
Sakamoto: I see blockchain as one of the technologies for the future with the distributed ledger providing a different way to drive transactions. According to IBM, blockchain for invoice processing could reduce cost per invoice by up to 60 percent. I also see data analytics as critical to helping health organizations better understand their data and another area where artificial intelligence and predictive analytics can assist in providing insights.
TW: If a vendor wants to pitch you, what specific homework should he or she do before reaching out? And how do you prefer to be contacted — phone, email or meeting in person? What should a vendor know about your style and your likes and dislikes?
Sakamoto: Before reaching out to me, a vendor should first learn about DDS and how they can benefit my department, provide an agenda, articulate valid reasons for how they can benefit my division, and bring innovation.
The best way for them to initially get in touch with me is by email.
A vendor should also know that my style is collaborative. I like to include my team, colleagues, and boss in planning and brainstorming meetings so that I may solicit their input, ideas, and suggestions. My likes in a vendor include: people who take responsibility for what they do, have a contingency plan ready with every activity, maintain open communication, and provide multiple options. My dislikes are the opposite.
TW: You spent the first 23-plus years of your career in the private sector. What one or two things do you miss most about working in the private sector?
Sakamoto: What I miss most about the private sector is the expediency in getting things done. I could take risks. I could use my own judgment to decide what a likely scenario was going to be and make a decision based off of that.
But overall, whether private or public, everything still comes down to the people. In general, the cohesiveness, loyalty, support, dedication, and friendship of my teams, whether private or public, are the greatest I have ever experienced.
TW: What reading material is on your nightstand?
Sakamoto: “The Phoenix Project” by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford.
