Digital Digest

COVID Notification App Supposed to Be Opt-In. Is it? – A new smart phone application, designed to help alert Californians of possible COVID-19 exposure, is supposed to be an “opt-in” system. However, several people have contacted GV Wire℠ to say not only was the app installed automatically, it was already turned on. On Nov. 10 the California Department of Public Health, along with the California Department of Technology, launched the CA Notify app which would alert users they may have been in proximity to someone who contracted COVID-19. GV Wire 12/21/20

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Los Angeles County deploys smartphone vaccine records – Los Angeles County residents who get a COVID-19 vaccine can now display proof on their smartphone, thanks to a new partnership between the local government and the software company Healthvana. Using a mobile app like Apple Wallet or Google Pay, Los Angeles residents who’ve received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will be able to flash a virtual card — that serves as a record of which vaccine they received and when — to “prove to airlines, to prove to schools, to prove to whoever needs it,” Healthvana CEO Ramin Bastani told Bloomberg on Monday.  State Scoop 12/30/20

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The Tech Policies the Trump Administration Leaves Behind – Technology and tech policy have been at the heart of the Trump administration since the president took office, and major pushes over the last three years will have significant impacts on federal IT management for years to come. NextGov 12/28/20

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Looking Beyond the Federal Data Strategy – There were quiet celebrations a year ago as the long-awaited Federal Data Strategy and a 2020 action plan came to fruition. It involved hundreds of dedicated people across the government and the action plan covered 20 specific elements. GovExec 12/24/20

Today: CDT  Vendor Forum – The California Department of Technology will host its twice-yearly vendor forum to help the technology industry learn about partnership opportunities and the latest initiatives by the State of California.    The Forum is Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10 am. Register to attend here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpdemorzkoH91rFoBUuvNgltuTV1BiKWNM

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Today: Little Hoover Commission Hearing on State Remote Workforce – Part 2 –  The Little Hoover Commission will hold a hearing today to discuss how the State of California will transition to a permanent remote workforce strategy.   Testifying today will be Peter Flores, Jr. President, California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment (CASE), and  Yvonne R. Walker, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000.  The commission held its first hearing on Oct. 22.  The hearing is Thursday, Nov. 5 at 1 pm.  More details are here: https://lhc.ca.gov/event/public-hearing-transitioning-state-government-workforce-permanent-remote-work-part-2#schedule 

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How California voters changed the future of work – That’s how much the gig companies’ valuations shot up after California voters approved Proposition 22 Tuesday night, exempting the rideshare giants from a state labor law requiring them to classify drivers as employees and provide benefits like unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation. The decision has massive national implications — Congress and numerous states are considering laws similar to California’s — and could drastically reshape the future of work, gig workers’ ability to unionize and business-labor relations. CalMatters 11/5/20

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California voters approve ‘CCPA 2.0’ ballot proposition– California constituents voted to pass Proposition 24, known as California Privacy Rights Act. More than half of voters approved the regulation.  The CPRA is expected to make an impact on federal law, but “the delta between complying with the CCPA along with the AG’s regulations and the CPRA by January 1, 2023, is not that great,” said Dominique Shelton Leipzig, co-chair of Perkins Coie’s Ad Tech Privacy & Data Management Practice, in an email. If companies begin their compliance measures now, the deadline is “doable.”   CIO Dive 11/4/20

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California voters approve expansion of data privacy law – SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In the state that is home to Silicon Valley and serves as the headquarters for Google, Facebook and other tech titans, voters strengthened data privacy protections by approving a ballot measure that supporters tout as a model for other states. California became the first state to pass a sweeping digital privacy law in 2018, viewed as the strongest of its kind in the United States. It gave Californians the right to know what information companies collect about them online, get that data deleted and opt out of the sale of their personal information. Associated Press 11/4/20

Today: Bidders Conference: COVID-19 Challenge – CalVax – The California Department of Technology is hosting a bidders conference on behalf of CDPH today, Oct. 28, to discuss California Vaccine Management Solution (CalVax), previously called as COVID-19 Immunization System (CCIS) in the RFI released on 10/09/2020. The conference will include two sessions: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. PST and 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. PST. . Phase 1 Solicitation Submission Deadline – 10/30/2020 5:00 p.m. PST. More details are here: https://www.caleprocure.ca.gov/event/75021/0000017758

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How California managed a flood of phony PPE offers – California officials dealing with an overwhelming number of personal protective equipment vendors — some illegitimate — said during an webcast Tuesday that using a cloud-based customer relationship management system, rather than a system based on emails or spreadsheets, saved time and lives at the onset of the pandemic. Officials said in a webcast hosted by Salesforce that they used the company’s software to procure more than $2 billion of PPE and medical equipment in just 45 days at the beginning of the pandemic. StateScoop 10/28/20

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Excess Software Expenditure is Draining Budgets – Choice or Challenge? – The average 4,000 person enterprise will spend over $15M on software annually. Yet how many organizations have absolute clarity on where within that spend shelfware exists and the potential to strip out that waste? How many have invested sufficiently in the discipline necessary to reliably identify, interpret, analyse and act on this management? Reality – far too few!  Gartner Blog 10/28/20

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How HHS used agile to improve oversight – The IT infrastructure at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General was long overdue for an overhaul. Its legacy technology stack, which was never intended for mobility, social media, business intelligence and data mining tools was preventing innovation, according to John B. O’Grady, acting director of OIG’s Digital Services Division. GCN 10/27/20

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California Unveils Strategy to Help Navigate Data Landscape – California’s open data portal contains a multitude of data sets, including COVID-19 hospital data, sea level rise maps and areas in the state deemed suitable for affordable housing development. Now, the Golden State has a strategy to govern all of the data it collects. StateTech 10/22/20

SaaS titans dictate the future of apps. Where do small companies fit? – In full swing this year, the historical triggers of application innovation — economic and geopolitical disruption, market disruption, and technology advancement — accelerate software as a service (SaaS). CIO Dive 10/22/20

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The Tech Issues You Won’t Hear About at Tonight’s Debate – The 2020 Presidential election is technological warfare. President Trump and Joe Biden are spending millions to deploy algorithms and target potential voters with their messages. The campaigns are more dependent on databases, math models, and video calls than ever, in part due to the pandemic. One thing mostly missing from this electoral techno-clash: substantive discussion of technology policy.  Thursday night’s debate seems unlikely to veer into detailed tech talk, although the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google has a good shot at a mention. Don’t expect to hear much about broadband or research spending or immigration policy for high-skilled workers. Wired 10/22/20

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Palantir to Help U.S. Track Covid-19 Vaccines – The data-mining company is developing a tool that health authorities plan to use to monitor the manufacture of coronavirus vaccines and determine where they should go. WSJ$ 10/22/20

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Gartner Unveils Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2021 and Beyond – Gartner, Inc. today revealed its top strategic predictions for 2021 and beyond. Gartner’s top predictions explore the role of technology in resetting, restarting, and responding to a world of uncertainty. “The future technologies that will lead the ‘reset of everything’ have three key commonalities: they promote greater innovation and efficiency in the enterprise; they are more effective than the technologies that they are replacing; and they have a transformational impact on society,” said Gartner VP Daryl Plummer.   Gartner Press Release 10/21/20

Events

CWS-CARES Project: Vendors conference set for Thursday – “The Office of Systems Integration (OSI) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) have scheduled a Vendor’s Conference for Thursday, October 22, 2020 for 3:00 PM PST to explain our need to realign the CWS-CARE project procurements (PVS, PaaS SI, and CDT) moving forward.  The State of California appreciates the vendor community for their valued insight, continued interest, and abundant contributions. The State welcomes different perspectives and innovative ideas to inform and transform the delivery of the CWS-CARES solution. ” Use the link and coordinates below to join: https://caltech-meetings.webex.com/caltech-meetings/j.php?MTID=m579c1d3ae55a2c63dadc5e5d664252d0  Meeting number (access code): 133 158 7699 Meeting password: kGhR5PPJ3w8    Caleprocure.ca.gov 10/20/20

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Little Hoover Commission hearing on Thursday: Public Hearing on Transitioning State Government Workforce to Permanent Remote Work.  The Little Hoover Commission “opens a series of hearings on whether California should permanently transition a significant portion of the state government workforce to remote work. We will explore the potential advantages and disadvantages of such a transition, including cost savings, employee productivity and environmental impact. We will also explore the steps that would be needed to successfully accomplish such a large-scale change to remote work.”   Date: October 22, 2020 at 10 am.   Via Zoom.  More details are here.

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CDT: Digital Web Services Network (DWSN) forum. Date: October 22, 2020 at 10 am – 11:30 am [Note: date changed from 10/21] Location: Virtual – Via Microsoft Teams. The Digital Web Services Network -DWSN- has been established to provide a forum where state partners, local government and the IT vendor community can share information for digital services including policy, technology, tools and best practices.  Registration is required, go here.

CWS-CARES Project: Vendors conference set for Thursday – “The Office of Systems Integration (OSI) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) have scheduled a Vendor’s Conference for Thursday, October 22, 2020 for 3:00 PM PST to explain our need to realign the CWS-CARE project procurements (PVS, PaaS SI, and CDT) moving forward.  The State of California appreciates the vendor community for their valued insight, continued interest, and abundant contributions. The State welcomes different perspectives and innovative ideas to inform and transform the delivery of the CWS-CARES solution. ” Use the link and coordinates below to join: https://caltech-meetings.webex.com/caltech-meetings/j.php?MTID=m579c1d3ae55a2c63dadc5e5d664252d0  Meeting number (access code): 133 158 7699 Meeting password: kGhR5PPJ3w8    Caleprocure.ca.gov 10/20/20

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Little Hoover Commission hearing on Thursday: Public Hearing on Transitioning State Government Workforce to Permanent Remote Work.  The Little Hoover Commission “opens a series of hearings on whether California should permanently transition a significant portion of the state government workforce to remote work. We will explore the potential advantages and disadvantages of such a transition, including cost savings, employee productivity and environmental impact. We will also explore the steps that would be needed to successfully accomplish such a large-scale change to remote work.”   Date: October 22, 2020 at 10 am.   Via Zoom.  More details are here.

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CDT: Digital Web Services Network (DWSN) forum. Date: October 22, 2020 at 10 am – 11:30 am [Note: date changed from 10/21] Location: Virtual – Via Microsoft Teams. The Digital Web Services Network -DWSN- has been established to provide a forum where state partners, local government and the IT vendor community can share information for digital services including policy, technology, tools and best practices.  Registration is required, go here.

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Gartner Survey of Nearly 2,000 CIOs Reveals Top Performing Enterprises are Prioritizing Digital Innovation During the Pandemic – Top-performing enterprises are accelerating digital innovation and leveraging emerging technologies to come out stronger on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has arguably been the most significant “turn” in 2020, according to Gartner, Inc.’s annual global survey of CIOs. 2021 will be a race to digital, with the spoils going to those organizations that can maintain the momentum built up during their response to the pandemic.  Gartner Press Release 10/20/20

NASCIO 2020: The Rapid Rise of Digital Services – With state governments closing physical offices and discouraging citizens from gathering in large numbers during the coronavirus pandemic, many government services have moved online. Will the shift to digital services be an enduring one? We spoke virtually with IT leaders from across the country during the NASCIO 2020 annual conference about how they have increased their use of digital services.  State Tech 10/16/20

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States’ lack of emerging-tech governance is risky, NASCIO says – The pandemic-induced uptick in state governments’ introduction of chatbots to meet the heightened demand for digital services is one of the clearest examples of states’ interest in emerging technologies. But there’s often limited funding and a shortage of policy governing how these tools can be integrated into IT portfolios with limited risk, according to a report published last week by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers. StateScoop 10/16/20

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Virtual hearing held on EDD’s efforts to address COVID-19 crisis – SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGO) — State Senator Jerry Hill hosted a virtual hearing on the Employment Development Department’s efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis. While Sen. Hill praised the efforts of EDD’s managers and employees during the pandemic, he also stated that “some Californians have had their benefits unfairly delayed or denied, which is totally unacceptable.”  EDD officials reported that a new ID verification system is now in place. But lawmakers said EDD has barely put a dent in a backlog of 1.6 million claims that go back as far as June – and won’t get cleared up until next year, leaving many folks still waiting for benefits.  ABC 7 10/14/20

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Gartner Says Organizations Need to Move from a Reactive to Proactive Customer Service Approach – Customer service and support leaders must transform their service experience with dynamic customer engagement (DCE) to enable personalized proactive conversations with customers, according to Gartner, Inc. However, most service organizations operate in a reactive manner, requiring customers to exert significant effort to navigate multiple service channels, often unsuccessfully. Gartner Press Release 10/19/20

Changes at California’s unemployment agency don’t do enough to address problems, lawmakers say – The findings drew concern from state lawmakers who said improvements made by the Employment Development Department don’t do enough to address the agency’s problems. The new online system to expedite applications for benefits and verify identities was installed in response to complaints that the EDD’s former process was ineffective, plagued by jammed phone lines and computer glitches, leaving a backlog of 1.6 million applications that had not been approved as of last month. LA Times 10/7/20

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Here’s how California’s new ID.me verification system for unemployment is working – About 64% of the people who applied for unemployment benefits in California since the Employment Development Department deployed a new online identification tool Thursday were able to verify their identities using a mobile phone or computer, the vast majority without human assistance, according to data released Wednesday. SF Chronicle 10/8/20

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Gartner Identifies Top Five Areas in Digital Commerce that COVID-19 Will Change – Gartner, Inc. has identified five areas of digital commerce that will change due to shifting customer buying behaviors and accelerated digital investment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Gartner Press Release 10/8/20 

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The Federal Government Releases Tips For Secure Teleworking – The mass teleworking required by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is creating new cybersecurity vulnerabilities and exacerbating old ones. In response, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a quick guide to help organizations address these issues at every level. Route Fifty 10/5/20

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Most counties’ election sites still lack .gov and HTTPS, McAfee says – A vast majority of websites operated by county election administrators around the United States lack key security features that would help users verify that the sites they’re viewing truly belong to their local officials, according to research published Thursday by the cybersecurity firm McAfee. State Scoop 10/8/20

State Virtual Cybersecurity Education Summit Set for Oct. 20-21 – The California Department of Technology announced on Friday the annual cybersecurity event “has been designed to gather and educate California’s cybersecurity professionals about the latest issues, technologies and developments. Specifically, the event will focus on those whose job functions and expertise range from highly technical to executive level.” Techblog.cdt.ca.gov 10/1/20

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Assembly Committee to hold hearing on EDD Strike Team report – The Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 on State Administration will hold an informational hearing at the State Capitol on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 1pm to discuss the recent Strike Team Assessment and Recommendations for the Employment Development Department. The administration released the report on September 19, 2020.  EDD Director Sharon Hilliard and GovOps Secretary and Strike Team Co-Chair Yolanda Richardson are scheduled to testify.  Assembly.ca.gov 10/1/20

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Lawmakers Propose Using FCC E-Rate Funds to Boost Individuals’ Internet Access – As the pandemic pushes Americans into online school and work, lawmakers are calling for ways to address the “digital divide”—the great number of people who don’t have consistent or reliable internet access.  Route Fifty 10/3/20.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Several Privacy Bills –   Four bills of interest dealing with privacy issues were enacted during the 2020 Legislative Session, including AB 1281 by Assemblyman Ed Chau (D-Arcadia), which extends two exemptions in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA); AB 499 by Assemblyman Chad Mayes (I-Yucca Valley), which prohibits state agencies from including an individual’s full social security number on mailed documents; SB 342 by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), which makes it unlawful to engage in misleading advertising concerning domain and subdomain names; and, AB 713 by Assemblyman Kevin Mullin ( D-South San Francisco), which clarifies federal health information is exempt from the California Consumer Privacy Act. California Globe 9/30/20

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Virtual Events are the Real Deal – As virtual events and virtual tradeshows continue growing in demand, tech CEOs must captivate audiences across various geographies by engaging and interactive content and tools. Hosting companies are creating successful and engaging virtual events that resonate with their audience, drive sponsorship and create lead generation. Gartner Blog 10/3/20

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BroadbandUSA Announces New Digital Inclusion Webpage – NTIA’s BroadbandUSA program has added a new digital inclusion section to its website.  This webpage compiles resources and program information from federal agencies as well as state and local governments that are working across the country to close gaps in broadband adoption and use, affordability, access to devices, and digital skills.  NTIA is particularly pleased to announce this resource during Digital Inclusion Week.  NTIA.doc.gov 10/5/20

Today: Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice- The Artificial Intelligence Community of Practice (AICoP) has been established to provide statewide awareness on AI projects by educating and sharing lessons learned and best practices.  AICoP is planning to host its first virtual AI Community of Practice event.  Date and time: Oct. 1 from 1pm to 2pm.  Guest speaker will include. Natalia Modjeska – Director, Research and Advisory at InfoTech Research Group.  For more information visit: https://cdt.ca.gov/technology-innovation/aicop/.    Techblog.ca.gov 9/30/20

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What is the ‘New Normal’ for IT Modernization? – In the throes of a global pandemic, the same issues and challenges facing the private sector and its workforce are magnifying for government. But government cannot take the same measures to address and overcome these hurdles as the private sector. NextGov 9/30/20

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Department of Finance Releases CARES Spending Report – Approved by Congress and signed into law in March, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated federal Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to state and local governments for COVID-19 expenditures incurred between March 1 and December 30, 2020 in response to COVID-19. Based on population, California received a total of $15.3 billion from the CARES Act — with $9.5 billion allocated directly to the state, $5.8 billion allocated to 15 large counties (including San Francisco), and 5 cities with populations over 500,000. Dof.ca.gov 9/30/20