Hawaii Embarks on a Tech Transformation

Named Hawaii’s first CIO in summer 2011, Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia brings a résumé that includes 14 years at Boeing, as well as key roles in the federal government, most recently leading e-government programs for the General Services Administration.

For a small state, Hawaii has some significant challenges ahead. Leaders confess that the fragmented physical nature of the islands has led to a disjointed system of technology infrastructure. The state workforce has gotten by delivering services using disparate legacy systems past their prime with business processes to match. With maintenance costs for these aging systems growing every year, most agree that Hawaii is in desperate need of a technology overhaul. The good news is that the state seems well positioned to deliver.