Digital States 2026: AI Moves From Experiment to Infrastructure

Read interviews with this year’s "A" state chief information officers:
Mark Raymond, Connecticut
Shawnzia Thomas, Georgia
Christine Sakuda, Hawaii
Matt Behrens, Iowa
Eric Swanson, Michigan
Craig Orgeron, Mississippi
John Laurent, Missouri
Timothy Galluzi, Nevada
Katrina Flory, Ohio
Tony Sauerhoff, Texas
Allan Fuller, Utah

Artificial intelligence has moved rapidly from experiment to infrastructure in state government.

Across the country, states are putting AI to work in application development, cybersecurity operations centers, benefits administration, procurement and data management. At the same time, technology leaders are navigating shifting federal requirements, persistent cyber threats and pressure to modernize aging systems — often without a corresponding abundance of new staff or money.

Those dynamics helped define the Center for Digital Government’s* 2026 Digital States Survey, the biennial assessment of technology practices across state government. Eleven states — Texas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio, Georgia, Connecticut, Utah, Michigan, Nevada, Iowa and Missouri — earned an "A" grade in this year’s survey.

The survey shows both how quickly states' technology priorities are changing and how some longstanding concerns are becoming even more urgent. Cybersecurity continues to rank as states’ No. 1 overall priority, followed by collaboration and shared services, AI and machine learning, budget and cost control, and constituent engagement and experience.

The workforce picture reinforces those priorities. Eighty-four percent of states said cybersecurity is an area where they need additional staff, while 76 percent pointed to AI modeling. Nearly two-thirds anticipated needing to hire people for application building, integration and modernization, as well as data analytics and business intelligence, and 51 percent said they need expertise in cloud architecture.

But perhaps the clearest theme emerging from the 2026 results is the increasingly interconnected nature of the work. AI is changing cybersecurity, cybersecurity is shaping modernization, federal policy is influencing technology investment, and better data is becoming a prerequisite for nearly all of it.

FEDERAL POLICY CHANGES PUT NEW TECHNOLOGY DEMANDS ON STATES

Even as states pursue ambitious modernization agendas, changes in Washington, D.C., are requiring technology organizations to build greater adaptability into their plans.

Thirty-seven percent of states identified the transfer of federally mandated responsibilities to states, counties or cities as one of their five biggest challenges. Changes associated with HR1, including requirements affecting Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), are creating new technology work as states must modify eligibility and other systems to meet new requirements.

“The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act required us to do a lot of additional work to IT systems to adhere to rule changes,” said Utah CIO Alan Fuller, pointing to specifics like human resources and social services eligibility systems.

Michigan, for one, has expanded its use of technology and data tools to improve accuracy in SNAP programs. More broadly, states are preparing for evolving federal requirements by building flexibility into their technology environments and planning around multiple potential scenarios.

Mississippi CIO Craig Orgeron framed that adaptability as a long-term responsibility rather than a response to any particular administration or policy.

“Federal priorities will continue to shift,” Orgeron said. “Our job is to build capabilities across our state that can adapt and outlast any single funding cycle.”

This approach reflects a larger shift toward resilience in state technology planning, requiring leaders to design systems and budgets with change in mind.

That same philosophy is especially evident in cybersecurity, where change is not merely expected but continuous.

STATE CYBERSECURITY STRATEGIES SHIFT TOWARD AI AND AUTOMATION

Cybersecurity has long been a state government priority. What has changed is the scale of the investment and the sophistication of the response.

In 2024, 28 percent of states reported devoting between 6 percent and 10 percent of their IT budgets to cybersecurity. In 2026, that figure jumped to 43 percent. Another 23 percent of states now spend more than 10 percent of their IT budgets on cyber.

Security operations centers have become nearly ubiquitous: Nearly every state reports having an SOC, and roughly 30 percent have near-term plans to expand their capabilities or capacity.

Increasingly, those operations are incorporating automation and AI.

“What is different today is speed: the presence of automated detections, responses, mitigations; the use of AI to identify vulnerabilities and remediate them before they can be exploited elsewhere; the escalating of these technologies internally raises the complexity of what we mean when we say cyber,” said Connecticut CIO Mark Raymond.

Ohio offers one example of how that model is evolving. The state now operates an agentic SOC powered by Google SecOps and Gemini, intended to automate and coordinate elements of cyber defense.

“By moving from manual investigative workflows to an AI-driven security ecosystem, Ohio automates triage, correlation and enrichment, allowing analysts to make informed decisions within minutes,” said Ohio CIO Katrina Flory.

Nevada CIO Timothy Galluzi is among the IT leaders that sees AI adoption as increasingly necessary in cyber defense, because attackers have access to the same technology.

“We have to use AI to defend ourselves because the threat-actor community is using it to attack us,” he said.

But technology is only one dimension of the shift. States also are looking beyond their own enterprise networks toward broader, whole-of-state cybersecurity strategies that encompass local governments, schools and other public entities.

“The threat environment continues to evolve, so our focus is increasingly on managing cyber risk across the enterprise and building resilience into the state’s technology environment from the beginning,” said Christine Sakuda, CIO of Hawaii.

That concept — building capabilities into systems from the beginning rather than adding them later — also extends beyond cyber. As states move more AI experiments into production, they are starting to rethink how applications and services themselves are built.

HOW STATES ARE PUTTING AI TO WORK

The 2024 Digital States Survey captured a moment when many states were still determining what generative AI might mean for government. Two years later, the numbers tell a strikingly different story.

In 2024, 58 percent of states were evaluating AI-augmented application development and just 16 percent had implemented it. In 2026, only 9 percent remain in the evaluation stage, while 53 percent report implementation and another 38 percent are conducting pilots or proofs of concept. The change is even more dramatic for personal productivity. Twenty-one percent of states reported implementation in 2024. In 2026, that figure is 76 percent, and the remaining 24 percent are somewhere on the path to rolling out enterprisewide tools. AI-assisted contract review and analysis also is moving toward the mainstream. Implementation increased from 2 percent to 22 percent between surveys, while 49 percent of states now have pilots or proofs of concept underway.

The numbers suggest that enterprise access to commercial AI tools is moving the technology well beyond IT departments. Some of the most consequential examples are coming from specialized applications:

• Missouri’s Office of Administration’s Information Technology Services Division partnered with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations on an AI Adjudication Assistant to modernize unemployment claim processing and identify new efficiencies.
• Iowa has put AI directly in front of the public through a procurement chatbot that answers questions about active state contracts and helps prospective vendors understand contract requirements.
• The Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center's Firearms Records Unit implemented an advanced optical character recognition application that has eliminated the need for more than 100,000 manual reviews. And at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, AI-enabled document processing is accelerating food assistance renewals and eliminating more than 250 hours of manual work each week.
• The Hawaii Department of Transportation's Policy Insight and Legislative Intelligence system uses AI to monitor thousands of legislative hearings, identifying bills relevant to the department and supporting testimony development. Within a few months, the system helped generate more than 160 completed testimonies.
• In Ohio, RecoveryRachel is an AI-powered behavioral health treatment-finding platform that lets users interact conversationally through voice or chat. The state's Department of Public Safety also launched an AI-enabled suspicious activity reporting system that can accept video, audio and images while allowing reporters to remain anonymous.

The growing sophistication of these projects points toward a larger change. States are beginning to re-engineer processes based on what AI can do. That expansion is also increasing the importance of the underlying resource on which virtually every AI system depends: data.

STATES USE AI TO IMPROVE DATA MANAGEMENT AND DATA QUALITY

For states hoping to move AI from scattered pilots into enterprise-scale operations, data maturity has become an essential part of the equation. AI systems need reliable, accessible and well-governed information to deliver useful results. To meet this growing need, states are investing in data quality, classification and governance, often targeting improvements specifically around high-value AI opportunities.

Georgia CIO Shawnzia Thomas sees substantial opportunity in that connection.

“We see significant potential in using AI to improve how information is organized, analyzed, accessed and transformed into actionable insights,” Thomas said.

But the relationship increasingly runs in both directions. Better data can enable AI, while AI itself can help governments address some of the labor-intensive work required to maintain better data.

Texas CIO Tony Sauerhoff described how AI can support that process while keeping humans responsible for quality control.

“AI can take a first pass at that data management work — drafting classifications, filling in metadata and flagging quality issues — to turn what can be a periodic cleanup event into steady, consistent upkeep,” said Sauerhoff, adding that the work is then validated by department-level data stewards.

Mississippi is considering similar possibilities within the governance structure established through its Statewide Data Exchange Act.

“AI can help generate metadata, classify information, identify quality issues, detect duplicate or conflicting records, and uncover responsible sharing opportunities,” said Mississippi's Orgeron.

Across the states, much of this work remains in its early stages. About 51 percent of states are evaluating AI for data inventory and classification, while roughly the same percentage are evaluating its role in advancing data fabric maturity.

The emerging cycle is potentially significant: Better-governed data makes more sophisticated AI possible, while AI can reduce the manual effort required to organize and maintain that data.

Taken together, the 2026 Digital States results suggest that state government technology is entering a new phase of AI adoption. The experimentation that characterized the early generative AI era has not disappeared, but it is increasingly growing into mature deployments aimed at measurable operational problems.

At the same time, the fundamentals haven't gone away. States still need modern applications, strong cybersecurity, sustainable budgets, skilled employees and trusted data. And shifting federal responsibilities are adding another layer of uncertainty to an already complex technology landscape. The difference in 2026 is that AI is becoming intertwined with nearly every one of those priorities — as a new capability to manage, a new source of risk to defend against and, increasingly, a tool states are using to modernize the machinery of government itself.

A STATES

Connecticut
CIO: Mark Raymond

The Connecticut Department of Administrative Services Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (DAS/BITS) operates as a centralized statewide technology agency committed to delivering digital services across the landscape of state government. In the last two years, the agency has worked to improve access for non-English speakers and residents with disabilities, resulting in upgrades tomore than 45 state websites and microsites, as well as the establishment of138 dashboards to help agencies understand how their websites are being used by the public. The state expanded translation services to 18 languages for 160 websites. The accessibility project involved the participation of 119 agencies and divisions.

Connecticut's Service Center provides residents access to multiple systems through a unified dashboard experience. The technology allows agencies to identify where users struggle with digital services. The Service Center aligns with the state’s broader digital strategy by advocating user-centered design, accessibility, and consistent content and interaction patterns across agencies.

An AI Advisory Group is made up of more than 50 members from more than 20 different state agencies. A key AI accomplishment has been the Connecticut AI Enablement Lab, which is a centralized in-house lab in DAS/BITS, charged with building, enabling and governing AI statewide. The lab provides a path for agencies to test the "art of the possible," develop directional guidance and determine whether a use case has sufficient value to advance into formal production planning. Seven internal AI products serving more than 10 agencies have been piloted in the lab. These include a Department of Public Health invoice-processing assistant, an Office of Health Advocate resident financial-aid screener, a Department of Banking examination pre-screener and a Department of Housing rental assistance tool, among others.

Click here to read our interview with Connecticut CIO Mark Raymond.

Georgia
CIO: Shawnzia Thomas

The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) is leveraging a data-informed approach to governance while investing in talent pipelines for the future. Metrics play a key role in digital service delivery for the state. The Digital Center of Excellence supports this work through standardization using the Orchard Design System, which was created to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Section 508 standards. The Georgia Analytics Program (GAP) helps officials measure usability, accessibility and performance across state websites; success is indicated through a GAP score of 80/100 or higher. Georgia has maintained an average statewide Digital Certainty Index score of 87.6.

GTA and the Georgia Data Analytics Center oversee data governance, a foundational piece of the state’s AI adoption strategy. The state established an Office of Artificial Intelligence and expanded the role of the chief digital officer to chief digital and AI officer (CDAIO), Nikhil Deshpande. They created the Horizons Innovation Lab, through which officials can work with researchers to test new models safely.
Governance guides Georgia's AI implementations, led by the CDAIO and reinforced by the AI Advisory Council and the Office of Information Security. This includes the Generative AI Guidelines for Responsible Use, developed in 2025. Agencies seeking funding for AI projects submit requests and report outcomes through the Enterprise Management Suite. Also key to governance is a partnership with Darwin AI, providing real-time visibility into AI tools used across state government.

Looking ahead, the state government is working with educational institutions to develop the workforce. The Department of Education established Career, Technical and Agricultural Education pathways in high schools into fields like AI and cybersecurity. The state is partnering with the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia to ensure curriculum aligns with the technical skills needed for state infrastructure in areas like cloud computing.

Click here to read our interview with Georgia CIO Shawnzia Thomas.

Hawaii
CIO: Christine Sakuda
Neither natural disaster nor federal funding cuts have prevented the recent progress of public-sector technology in Hawaii, where consolidation and citizen engagement are helping the state stand above its peers.

The state’s comprehensive IT strategic plan — crafted in 2025 and affecting17 executive branch departments — helps guide ongoing tech modernization. Departmental goals are linked to the plan, as are tech priorities and budget requests. The ongoing rewards include economies of scale, better service delivery and accessibility, data sharing and storage, and cybersecurity. The state set up a data task force and strengthened vendor governance via standardized reporting and other procurement-related tasks. Shared services increased and Hawaii launched a cloud hosting service.

Meanwhile, the state’s quality of life and well-being dashboard — released in December 2024, after the previous year’s Maui wildfires — provides community-specific data, helping residents and officials craft policy, which can involve both disaster recovery and resilience, among other issues.

Post-wildfire Hawaii now also has a citizen identity service called myHawaii. The platform provides residents with a single login for online state and county services. Launched in May 2025, myHawaii initially supported 96 applications with multifactor authentication, real-time fraud detection and centralized identity management.

Click here to read our interview with Hawaii CIO Christin Sakuda.

Iowa
CIO: Matt Behrens

Over the past two years, Iowa has made major changes to how it manages technology across state government. The biggest shift, perhaps, actually began in July 2024, when Iowa completed a large IT consolidation under Gov. Kim Reynolds. More than 500 IT employees from 21 executive branch agencies joined one team within the Department of Management Division of Information Technology, led by CIO Matt Behrens.

Since then, Iowa has focused on modernizing its technology and finding ways to save money. The state is moving away from its 36 data centers and 137 server closets and toward cloud services such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Iowa expects the move to save more than $525 million over 10 years. Changes to vendor contracts and software licenses have also saved about $16 million.

The state has also made changes that residents can see. All 51 state agency websites were moved to a shared platform under iowa.gov. A project to clean up website content reduced broken links by 83.4 percent and improved accessibility. Additionally, Iowa created an AI Center of Excellence and launched River AI, a platform that helps the state manage AI use and provide tools for employees. Early projects include Ask River, which helps employees review contracts, and River Current, which creates a daily media report.
Iowa has also strengthened cybersecurity by moving its security operations to 24/7 monitoring. The state reported a 30 percent drop in security incidents in fiscal year 2025.

Click here to read our interview with Iowa CIO Matt Behrens.

Michigan
Acting CIO: Eric Swanson

Michigan maintains high marks with its list of in-progress technical projects and improvements to existing platforms.The Department of Technology, Management and Budget (DTMB) operates on a centralized model focused on elevating digital constituent services while navigating challenges including new legislation, modernization needs and changes in the technology landscape — AI and cyber included. Working across the governor’s office and state agencies, tech leaders see priorities, missions and the connecting tissue. They translate these into IT strategies and solutions through collaboration and coordination, with AI adoption and cybersecurity benefiting from DTMB’s centralized model.

The state’s “cloud smart” approach includes moving off the state mainframe, replacing siloed systems and aging technology. DTMB also uses human-centered design, accessibility standards and user research to guide digital services, including a multilingual chatbot intended for use across state websites.

Michigan has strengthened identity and access for MiLogin, the state’s one-stop login portal that connects users tostate services. Residentscan access this portal for filing taxes, applying for benefits and renewing drivers’ licenses, among other business. The portal can accept MFA, FIDO2 passkeys and other login tools. And with identity in mind, the state issued YubiKeys to partners who access child support systems.

Automation has expanded into public benefits, licensing and AI testing. In 2025, the state automated parts of its summer food programming. Food Assistance Program renewals reached 97 percent automation for digital submissions, reducing manual processing by about 266 hours a week. Michigan also developed MiKATT, an automated testing tool designed to check responses from the state’s generative AI chatbot against agency-approved answers.

DTMB began modernizing statewide data governance in 2024, with a road map focused on access, quality and secure reporting. The state has standardized reporting practices, strengthened access controls and selected IBM Knowledge Catalog for enterprise data documentation. PEARL, launched in 2025, provides a secure environment for analyzing previously siloed, de-identified data sets.

Click here to read our interview with Acting Michigan CIO Eric Swanson.

Mississippi
CIO: Craig Orgeron

Mississippi is reshaping its technology landscape by grounding digital operations in clear legislative policy. Through structural mandates like the Cloud Center of Excellence Act and the Statewide Data Exchange Act, state officials have established a CIO Council to drive cross-agency data sharing. These legislative frameworks are backed by an overhaul of internal processes, including a modern workflow system that trims more than two weeks off competitive vendor purchasing cycles.

To address workforce shortages and bridge institutional knowledge gaps, the state’s IT agency launched an academic partnership hub. By connecting university students with state projects, the initiative builds practical public-sector tools — including an AI assistant designed to guide state staff through complex purchasing protocols — while creating a local talent pipeline into tech roles in the state.

Mississippi also deployed a generative AI-drivenvirtual assistant on the state's central web portal to offer residents a unified conversational desk for multi-agency services, helping cut unemployment application processing times by over 40 percent. At the same time, new interactive digital portals give the public real-time visibility into state transportation and infrastructure projects.

Finally, supported by state law establishing a central security operations center, Mississippi is aligning its defense policies with federal benchmarks to extend threat monitoring and governance to local governments and public school districts statewide.

Click here to read our interview with Mississippi CIO Craig Orgeron.

Missouri
CIO: John Laurent

Missouri’s technology strategy is increasingly focused on modernization and automation to improve government operations without sacrificing safety. The state is integrating legacy systems across multiple departments to simplify constituent-facing services. The Department of Revenue’s FUSION initiative, for example, was launched in 2024 and is replacing more than 50 separate driver's license and motor vehicle systems with an integrated platform. Separately, in May 2025, the Division of Senior and Disability Services consolidated five legacy case management systems into one platform, serving more than 70,000 participants.

In January, Gov. Mike Kehoe signed two executive orders that set the tone for how the state would approach artificial intelligence in government operations. Executive Order 26-02 directed multiple state agencies to develop a statewide framework for safe and effective AI integration in government operations, review policies that may affect businesses' use of AI and investigate state infrastructure in the face of data center demands. EO 26-03 established the Missouri Government Responsibility, Efficiency, Accountability and Transformation (Missouri GREAT) initiative, which focuses on government efficiency and encourages departments to explore automation of routine tasks. Missouri has also deployed AI-assisted tools for unemployment insurance claims and grant management, both of which have improved efficiency.

The state is also updating cybersecurity and data governance practices to underpin these initiatives. Missouri implemented network access controls across 839 state locations in December 2025, authenticating more than 100,000 authorized devices.

Click here to read our interview with Missouri CIO John Laurent.

Nevada
CIO: Timothy Galluzi

Nevada achieved its first A grade in this year’s survey, reflecting its cyber resilience and strategic leadership. Structural changes, such as moving the Office of the CIO into the Nevada Governor’s Technology Office (GTO), demonstrate a more intentional and aligned approach to leadership. New technology appointments further signal the state’s commitment to strengthening cybersecurity and data privacy. Earlier this year, for example, Bertrum “Bert” Carroll was named Nevada’s CISO following the security breach the state experienced in 2025. Nevada also named Michael D. Smith its new CTO earlier this year. With a clearer vision, a more collaborative approach and expanded leadership, the GTO is better equipped to address future cyber threats.

Nevada’s most notable cybersecurity accomplishment was the team’s coordinated response to the 2025 security breach, which put the state’s cybersecurity posture to the test. The GTO did not pay the ransom, coordinated more than 60 agencies under a single recovery framework, restored all affected services within 28 days and recovered about 90 percent of impacted data. Although the recovery was not easy, the experience left Nevada stronger than before.

The state also completed Nevada Taxation’s hardware-rooted multifactor authentication project, which requires MFA for all accounts. Both examples exemplify a cyber posture that continues to mature. Nevada also has strict guidelines governing other state agencies’ use of AI, addressing privacy, safety, security, transparency and accountability. A new technology investment evaluation process similarly weighs privacy and security concerns before new technology is purchased.

In broadband, the High Speed Nevada initiative aims to provide residents with reliable, high-speed Internet through a combination of federal, state, local and private funding coordinated by the Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, which serves as the state broadband office.

Click here to read our interview with Nevada CIO Timothy Galluzi.

Ohio
CIO: Katrina Flory

Ohio, a perennial leader in the Digital States Survey, continues its strong IT work, particularly in cybersecurity. State networks are continuously combed for suspicious activity, while the Security Incident Response Team’s newly automated daily operations allow for a more comprehensive threat assessment. A joint effort between Ohio Homeland Security and the Adjutant General’s Department’s Ohio Cyber Integration Center, which created a central resource to coordinate response efforts, promote information sharing and provide cybersecurity education. More than30,000 local government employees were provided free cybersecurity training through a University of Cincinnati-led initiative called the Ohio Persistent Cyber Improvement program.

Remaining proactive in progressing data and digital privacy, the state completed its analytics modernization and moved 7,800 data objects to the cloud. To ensure the safety of this data, 280 data analytics professionals and agency staff underwent cloud training for privacy-aware operations. In January 2025, Ohio coordinated data enablement efforts across all state agencies, encouraging education and data literacy for all state employees.

The state uses an AI Center of Excellence model comprising multiple governing bodies working together to advance AI adoption and skill development. An AI policy and toolkit were implemented statewide to provide a centralized governance process for implementation, data, security and privacy. In response to Gov. Mike DeWine’s goal to protect Ohioans from unregulated AI, only state-approved GenAI solutions are allowed to conduct business with Ohio. In one initiative, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC)worked with limited resources and leaned on AI to handle complex policy inquiries. ChatBWC was developed for the overburdened call center, resulting in reduced employee workload, increased efficiency and broader access to easy-to-understand answers to complex policy questions.

Public safety legacy technology faced a major overhaul with the implementation of a Next-Generation 911 platform that replaced fragmented emergency communications systems. The new system uses IP-based and geographic information system routing, which automatically directs emergency calls based on precise location. Nearly a quarter of Ohio’s counties have migrated to this core service. In June of last year, the state awarded a contract to enhance public behavioral health services through a standardized 988 Centralized Platform. The new system connects 19 call centers with 24/7 appointment scheduling and can dispatch mobile crisis units via GPS.

Click here to read our interview with Ohio CIO Katrina Flory.

Texas
CIO: Tony Sauerhoff

Texas is moving artificial intelligence from experimentation into statewide operations, while building the governance, workforce and security structures needed to support that shift.The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) is advancing statewide AI governance through an AI code of ethics, risk-management standards, training requirements and agency reporting. Its AI User Group has grown to more than 1,000 members, giving public-sector employees a forum to share use cases and lessons as adoption expands.

Agencies are also moving AI into day-to-day operations. The Texas Department of Transportation has shifted from pilots toward operational use, identifying more than 200 potential use cases. Automated invoice processing is expected to save 22,000 staff hours annually, while more than 940 employees have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

At the same time, the state continues to expand Texas by Texas, its digital government assistant. As of May 2026, more than 12.3 million Texans had created accounts, representing about 53 percent of the state’s age-eligible population. The platform had facilitated more than 29.6 million transactions, with additional services and accessibility improvements planned.

Cybersecurity is evolving alongside that modernization. Statewide cybersecurity employees and functions moved from DIR to the new Texas Cyber Command in March, creating a dedicated organization for statewide threat intelligence, incident response and related cyber operations.

Click here to read our interview with Texas CIO Tony Sauerhoff.

Utah
CIO: Alan Fuller

Always a leader when it comes to state technology, Utah maintained its A grade with leading efforts in efficient, resident-focused service delivery — an approach that carries into its back-of-house infrastructure work as well.

A recently assembled statewide IT Advisory Council with broad participation coordinates all IT work that is underway and planned, ensuring transparency, proper prioritization and close coordination with agency needs. Within the Department of Technology Services (DTS) specifically, a comprehensive review of all services is underway in order to identify more opportunities to improve.

Utah was an early mover on artificial intelligence policy, and they continue to evolve guidelines alongside rapid advances in the technology. It describes its approach as moving from a careful, exploratory one toward enabling widespread use that aligns with legislative guidelines. A Google shop, 95 percent of state employees can now use Google Gemini. The AI Factory was established in early 2025, establishing defined ways for agencies to use AI to further its business needs. The state reports that 80 projects have come in, and 16 of those have made it to production. Among the most impactful to date are purpose-built chatbots for the Tax Commission and a platform to supercharge the Department of Corrections’ ability to glean actionable insights from inmate communications. DTS now broadly uses tools like Claude Code and GitHub Copilot to boost software development, reporting significant gains in speed and efficiency.

Further cementing its precedent-setting work in digital identity and privacy, Utah passed the country’s first digital identity bill of rights in 2026, which enabled the state-endorsed digital identity program. MyUtah.gov debuted earlier this year, which uses UtahID as its single sign-on point of entry to citizen services. Elsewhere in customer experience, Utah is implementing a unified look and feel across digital platforms to further reduce friction for residents. And other states should take note of Utah’s hyper-sophisticated “Listening Engine,” a system of feedback channels that makes resident input not just discoverable, but actionable in real time. In 2025, the engine led to more than 80 service wins that saved taxpayer dollars and dramatically cut hold times, for example. Nearly 50 additional feedback channels for the engine were in development as of mid-2026.

Click here to read our interview with Utah CIO Alan Fuller.

A- STATES

Arizona
CIO: J.R. Sloan

Arizona once again earned an A- in this year’s survey with a customer-first approach to technology and work to stay ahead on services that keep the state strong. A new Business One Stop website is a single portal for the business community; application submissions are approved at a 15 percent higher rate than those submitted on paper. Plans for the fall launch of the AtoZ Arizona Portal are to create a digital front door for all state services. The platform is being built on the digital driver’s license offered by the state DMV, which more than 5 million residents now carry.

Building upon its robust data efforts, Arizona launched its data governance framework and assessment program in early 2025, which unified more than 110 disparate data policies into a single standard. The governor established an AI Steering Committee in May 2025, comprising members from state and local government as well as education and the private sector. A pilot with Google Gemini for Workspace netted 93 percent positive feedback from participants and the potential to increase state staff productivity by 2.5 hours per week. The tool is now available for Arizona agencies to purchase for their staff. Last November, Arizona completed work on a GenAI chatbot to enhance the state’s Opioid Use Disorder Service Provider Locator, connecting users in urban and rural areas with treatment options 24/7 and in real time.

In other work, Arizona IT replaced a 20-year-old HR platform with a modern system called AZ360 that the state reports saves up to 3 million staff hours per year. In March 2026, the state also added a learning management system for all required employee training. All of Arizona’s 78 public safety answering points are now operating on Next-Generation 911 and connected to a single network, and the Department of Forestry and Fire Management installed 15 Starlink satellite terminals in July 2025 to provide high-speed Internet for firefighters in remote areas.

California
CIO: Chris Given
California is practically synonymous with technology, so it’s only appropriate that the state took high marks in this year’s Digital States Survey. Elected officials and those with the state’s Department of Technology (CDT) and Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) have been aggressively pushing to navigate the AI landscape, with special attention to how and where it fits into government operations.

A prime example of one of these successes was the launch of Poppy, an in-house digital assistant that safely connects the state’s entire workforce to 10 large language models. At the same time, the state has also been smoothing the procurement process for low-risk IT goods and services with Statewide IT Shared Services (SITeS) contracts. Prior to these efforts, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order in 2023 that led toa handful of agencies conducting AI proof-of-concept projects that included language access, traffic safety and flow, tax code navigation, and care facility inspections.

Another area the state has led and tried to bring others along is cybersecurity. Most recently, CDT released its updated CalSecure 2.0 road map, which gives an updated look at the evolving threat landscape and insights into how departments should be adjusting their approaches.

CIO Chris Given recently shared with Industry Insider —California that his near-term priorities include foundational policy and operational implementations while also looking ahead to what the next iteration of the department could be. During that conversation, Given indicated that there are opportunities to pivot the IT agency to be both more responsive to evolving technologies and policy and to guide less-funded and less-sophisticated departments toward modern tools.

Delaware
CIO: Bob Osmond

Delaware has centralized resident identity with the My DE platform and accompanying payments platform known as Go DE, which has processed more than 197,000 transactions and $54.14 million payments since its launch. It has grown to support 125 active payment applications spanning 65 percent of Delaware's cabinet agencies. The platform allows residents to complete payments in one place, under one experience.

Delaware’s most significant artificial intelligence developments in the last two years have been the formation of its generative AI policy and the launch of a statewide AI training program. In March 2026, the state released a new AI training curriculum for state employees. The three-part, self-paced curriculum, "Responsible AI for Public Professionals," covers the state’s generative AI policy, responsible use of GenAI in government and AI risks and resilience. In April 2026, the Department of Technology and Information (DTI) began rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat to Delaware IT staff.

To improve the state’s cybersecurity framework, Delaware established a statewide Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) program, which includes a centralized governance board and an enterprise risk management platform built on ServiceNow with integrated policies and procedures. DTI takes the lead on ensuring cybersecurity across all three branches of state government and the full K-12 network. Delaware's cybersecurity awareness program, DigiKnow, has nearly 58,000 users across 71 state agencies and 42 school districts.
Delaware has modernized its data integration environment by migrating to IBM Cloud Pak for Data. The Delaware Integrated Data System is a strategic initiative to enable cross-agency data sharing.

The state has completed the procurement phase of One Delaware, a multiyear enterprise resource planning modernization initiative with Workday, a cloud-based platform, to serve as the state's next-generation ERP platform. It will take the place of three legacy systems that have been in place for more than20 years: the Payroll, Human Resources, Benefits and Time Administration System; the Financial Management and Accounting System; and the Pension Administration System.

All three branches of state government have completed a Wi-Fi upgrade, integrated with Cisco Catalyst Center, spanning nearly 1,800 access points across more than 700 locations.

Florida
CIO: Warren Sponholtz

A federated IT state, Florida Digital Service shares its accomplishments with its peer agencies. However, there were some notable advancements in the agency’s enterprise operations in the last two years. A major one came in June 2026when it significantly updated the state rule governing project management standards, oversight and corrective actions. Now, for major projects, there are new controls on investments that require standardized, objective measurements as well as prescribed methodology for calculating acceptable variances, reporting project updates and complying with enterprise architectural requirements.

The rules revision was part of the agency’s larger Digital Forward Initiative, which seeks to safeguard digital assets, foster IT initiative success, facilitate federated data interoperability and push forward on modernization. Notably, Florida Digital Service also recently completed a significant expansion of its enterprise data catalog, increasing its size 500 percent in 2025 with 36 state agencies contributing. Meanwhile, a 26-agency cyber-logging initiative created new enterprise purchasing options that saved 44 percent on security-related buys.
Agencies showed several successes with AI. The Florida Department of Transportation used the technology to pave the way for the upcoming modernization of the state’s enterprise financial system. The department used AI to analyze legacy systems, map all 55 interfaces it will have with the new enterprise system, review connections and compatibility, find documentation gaps, create test scenarios, and help with code development. The agency estimated major cost savings and a reduction in work hours from weeks to hours. Also of note, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute used AI to assist in conservation activities such as observation and recording, while the Medicaid system used AI to flag potentially fraudulent billing.

Idaho
CIO: Jake Reynolds

Idaho shows how budget cuts don’t mean the end of public-sector technology improvements. Even amid reduced funding — which the state’s tech leaders expect to persist —Idaho’s IT modernization initiative continues to bring advancements to the departments of Labor, Lands and Juvenile Corrections, among other agencies; eight of them onboarded the program in FY25-26. In June, the Department of Health and Welfare, described by tech leaders as the state's largest and most complex agency, integrated the majority of its IT services into the larger Idaho enterprise environment, further underscoring the effort's scope.

The Idaho Office of Information Technology Services(ITS) now supports more than 60 agencies and has more than 300 employees, plus 50 interns and apprentices, up from 35 employees in 2018.Even as statewide budget reductions slowed deployment of emerging technologies and as partner agencies dealt with similar challenges, ITS boosted collaboration with local governments, schools, industry and others to make sure tech investments matched broader state needs.

Strengthening cybersecurity stands as one of the main priorities. ITS in 2025 completed an update of its information security policy manual. The agency also more closely aligned its work with NIST 800-53 privacy and security standards, among other compliance and regulatory measures, and streamlined statewide security expectations.
Idaho also hired its first chief privacy officer in 2024 as ITS uses low-code and no-code tools, cross-agency communities of practice and other methods to keep costs low without sacrificing tech progress.

Illinois
CIO: Brandon Ragle

For the state of Illinois, the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT)spent much of the past two years on in-depth process improvements. To be more strategic about resources, the state formalized a three-year planning cycle for enterprise technology services, reviewing and prioritizing technology investments by enterprise value and relation to executive priorities, and set statewide standards for agencies to evaluate new tools based on security, scalability and interoperability. And since implementing a formal new process for reviewing old enterprise architecture in 2025, DoIT has reviewed 20 percent of state agencies, targeting 75 systems for retirement and 130 for migration to new platforms. DoIT further started business alignment meetings between state agencies and DoIT leadership, and it’s building out a Data Access Governance Portal to standardize and audit how state agencies request and approve access to sensitive data, which has helped reduce manual review time, make decisions consistent and boost confidence in the value and traceability of technology initiatives.

To meet the moment with AI, DoIT is spearheading an AI innovation program with project-based initiatives to build internal expertise and demonstrate the technology’s value in service delivery. It also created frameworks to guide state agencies through governing and evaluating new artificial intelligence tools, including for acceptable and responsible use. It also credited the rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat across state agencies with new operational efficiencies like faster technology reviews and emergency response management.

In preparation for the U.S. Department of Justice’s web accessibility rule, DoIT added accessibility and inclusive design standards to all design reviews and raised digital accessibility scores above95 percent by conducting enterprisewide web scanning and document modernization.

For cybersecurity, over the past couple years Illinois DoIT started a comprehensive zero-trust architecture program that includes multifactor authentication, privileged access, a formal permission and account review process, virtual air-gapped data backups and additional microsegmentation. The state also extended enterprise security services to 146 K-12 school districts, including endpoint detection and response, 24/7 monitoring, threat intelligence and support from the State Security Operations Center.

Many other improvements were resident-facing: the digitization of the state’s watercraft registration system, which processed about 40,000 renewals in 2025; the launch of the Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation portal, which uses AI-assisted matching to help residents navigate mental health resources for young people; Google Classroom for students in the juvenile justice system; improving the accuracy of health and human services programs like SNAP to reduce erroneous payments by 42 percent; a traffic work-zone monitoring system that gives the public near real-time alerts and map-based visibility of active work zones; and, in November2025, the launch of Illinois’ fully state-based health insurance marketplace, Get Covered Illinois, which enrolled nearly 450,000 people for 2026.

Indiana
CIO: Warren Lenard

Indiana has modernized a number of its core systems with end users in mind. The legacy IT service management system has been replaced with ServiceNow, improving IT customer service for state employees. Indiana also improved its resident digital experience through the release of Ask Indiana, a generative AI assistant that replaces the homepage keyword search. The bot was tested in 2024 and went live in 2025, moving beyond simple keyword search to “intent‑aware conversation.” Since its release, website visits grew 17 percent, while page views declined 9.4 percent, suggesting users were able to get to the information they needed more quickly and easily. The state also uses the Genesys Contact Center Dashboard to take a data-centric look into customer service. The dashboard consolidates customer metrics and service bottleneck indicators to offer near real‑time visibility into call volume, wait times, abandonment rates and more.

Meanwhile, Copilot Chat and Microsoft Copilot 365 have been rolled out across state offices, expanding gen-AI capabilities to nearly 30,000 state employees and opening up AI training opportunities. AI training projects now include leadership-level education, required GenAI training and Copilot Chat town halls.

Hoosiers have shown an openness to using self-service kiosks at Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) offices and at external loctions. In 2025, drivers completed more than 1.5 million transactions at the kiosks located in BMV offices. Out-of-branch transactions —both online and kiosk — now account for 56 percent of BMV business.

In other work, a rollout is underway to get all counties on a unified jail management system, known as INJail, a significant change from the days of more than 20 different fragmented jail management systems, which hindered data accuracy, slowed record updates and limited cross-county data sharing. INJail is integrated into the courts, public defender, prosecutor and other systems. And to better position Indiana in the face of cybersecurity threats, the state deployed protections across local governments, with 114,700 licensed endpoints across 229 organizations.

Massachusetts
CIO: Jason Snyder

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) is prioritizing a positive experience for residents interacting with digital government services. Earlier this year, the state introduced the new Constituent Experience (CX) Center of Excellence at the EOTSS-hosted Massachusetts CX Showcase. During that event, officials showcased various initiatives like the state’s single sign-on platform, MyMassGov. In its first year, usage grew to 1.5 million users; it now supports more than 3.72 million accounts. The Accessibility Center for Consulting, Education and Support Services team improves accessible digital service delivery across state agencies and helps support implementation of the state’s Digital Accessibility and Equity Strategic Plan.

MyChildCareMA, launched in May 2026, is the state’s digital portal and case management system for accessing childcare financial assistance, replacing manual, fragmented processes. The Professional Portal, launched in November 2025 and enhanced this past May, offers educators a single platform through which to manage certifications and training requirements. The state also launched an AI-powered Virtual Assistant, offering residents an additional channel of engagement. It is one of numerous ways Massachusetts is leveraging this technology, use of which is guided by the EOTSS AI director. Another example is GrantWell, an AI-powered platform helping cities access funding. Through the Massachusetts AI Hub, the state works with higher education institutions and industry partners to support innovation.

The Commonwealth Security Operations Center (SOC) plays a central role in addressing risk. Between July 2025 and May 2026 alone, the SOC handled more than 65,000 security incidents. Security is a collaborative effort, also supported by the Massachusetts Cyber Incident Response Team. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency provides IT continuity-of-operations frameworks so that, in the case of a disaster, governments can recovery quickly to support residents.

Minnesota
CIO: Jon Eichten

Over the past two years and counting, Minnesota IT Services(MNIT) has funded more than $37 million worth of modernization projects across 31 agencies via a dedicated fund.Back in 2023, state lawmakers approved more than $500 million in tech investments. That momentum has resulted in at least 700 applications and 1,500 servers moving to the cloud, among other achievements.

Even as investments in gov tech continue to build, Minnesota offers an example of the power of partnerships. The state takes pride in how its agencies work together on tech projects. One example comes from MNIT’s standardized reporting, along with dashboards, during the state budgeting process.

Minnesota can also tout its whole-of-state cybersecurity work. The state enacted a law in 2024 requiring public agencies to use a centralized process to report cybersecurity incidents. That stands as part of a larger effort that had state officials reviewing more than 222 million security events between December 2024 and November 2025, and initiating at least 650,000 automated investigations.

The state also has used tech to help lower-income residents. In the hope of expanding food access, Minnesota offers online grocery shopping for WIC participants, a program that has involved more than 3,000 families and 27,000 orders, with 84 percent of those participants using the service again.

New Hampshire
CIO: Denis Goulet

New Hampshire is making changes behind the scenes that could affect how government operates, from the way agencies manage data to how they protect systems from cyber attacks.

The state’s Department of Information Technology is moving toward a more centralized, cloud-focused approach, with priorities that include modernizing enterprise business intelligence, grants management and contact center systems. Its EBI 2.0 initiative is just one step toward improving data management and reporting while connecting with Medicaid and other state systems.

The state is also incorporating AI into its technology operations. An AI-enabled software factory is helping modernize applications while automating testing, deployment, code quality checks, vulnerability scanning and disaster recovery. New Hampshire is also modernizing the governor and council submission process, replacing paper-heavy workflows with electronic submissions and automated processes.

Cybersecurity remains another major part of New Hampshire's efforts. The state is replacing legacy web filtering with a zero-trust platform that provides threat protection, SSL inspection and data loss prevention. As of May 2026, the system covered 86 percent of executive agencies and 64 percent of managed endpoints. Beyond state agencies, the Overwatch Foundation has extended cybersecurity support to 133 municipalities, including schools and water utilities. New Hampshire is also migrating infrastructure to the cloud, upgrading backup and recovery systems, and modernizing transportation technology used for traffic management and emergency response.

Tennessee
CIO: Kristin Darby

Tennessee’s Strategic Technology Solutions (STS) office faces the same challenges as peer states, including budget constraints, cost control, demand for modernization, a changing cybersecurity landscape and the need to align technology with constituent needs. Despite that, the agency transitioned to a new chief information officer in 2025 and faced accessibility mandates while keeping business and technology goals on track.

Multiple policies build a framework for those goals. The state implemented the MyTN Mobile Applications Policy in May and its Third-Party Supply Chain Risk Management Policy at the end of 2025. Tennessee’s AI policy was in place by October 2024. These policies are meant to improve security, quality and consistency for constituent and business services while helping staffers manage processes ethically and keep them safe. Meanwhile, the MyTN app is expanding and the state is exploring a citizen identity access management platform.

Tennessee continues its modernization efforts. The Department of Environment and Conservation implemented a new user portal to handle payments and give users a holistic view of their accounts. The Department of Human Services in 2025 got an upgrade to its OneDHS Customer Portal, implementing an integrated customer service platform and onboarding family services, child support and childcare payment assistance.

Tennessee adopted AI oversight early, and today, there are more than 350 custom AI assistants embedded in operations such as human resources, reducing time on task and building trust in AI adoption. Employees use ChatGPT and Copilot, and metrics show wide adoption. The state also prioritizes employee training, ethical use and efficiency.

Cybersecurity is always a priority, with Tennessee working through a whole-of-state lens. The state extends shared services to local governments, collaborates with the private sector and coordinates cyber planning and response across agencies. Upcoming cyber goals for Tennessee include quantum readiness, AI security, zero trust and cross-agency readiness, to name just a few.

Washington
CIO: Bill Kehoe

Washington is balancing a $4.3 billion state budget deficit with a push to streamline how its government operates. Under Executive Order 25-06 and its latest IT Strategic Plan, the state IT agency is centralizing governance and security, pulling fragmented agency systems into a more coordinated, accountable framework to pare down project risks and modernize how IT is funded.

Washington’s Digital Experience initiative is redesigning state web tools around direct user feedback, plain language standards and accessibility testing. Central to this overhaul is WA.gov Accounts: a new single sign-on platform built to replace the aging SecureAccess Washington system by the end of 2027. With more than 220 applications scheduled to migrate, the state is replacing a fractured digital ecosystem with one secure, designated space to access them.

Under an AI governance policy aligned with NIST standards that was adopted in 2025, state agencies are analyzing years of public comments, identifying wild salmon via AI and computer vision with 91 percent accuracy, and mapping flood risks in hours instead of weeks. The state also distributed more than $18 million in grants to shore up local cybersecurity, move toward a zero-trust model, and launch skills-based hiring to strengthen its technical workforce.

Wisconsin
CIO: Trina Zanow

Wisconsin is balancing modernizing legacy technology and reaching rural constituents with strengthening cybersecurity. In 2025, the Department of Revenue replaced its legacy contact center with Amazon Connect in four months. According to the state, the center fields more than 700,000 calls each year, and the new platform cut costs by 66 percent and reduced customer service hold times by 60 percent, in addition to adding AI-generated call summaries and other analytics tools. Beyond the center, the state is integrating AI across services with a virtual assistant called Mattie Moo. The tool builds on an existing chatbot of the same name, which the Department of Workforce Development launched in 2021.

On the AI governance front, the state formed an AI review working group in 2025 to look at AI policies and use cases through security, privacy, legal and technical lenses. An AI community of practice launched in early 2026 to give agencies a forum for sharing use cases and lessons learned. Wisconsin is also applying automation to its internal operations. In 2024 and 2025, the state developed a low-code/no-code environment that allows developers and business users to build applications and automate workflows in a safe digital environment. The state says the platform has reduced development cycle timelines from years to months.

Wisconsin is also encouraging safe use of technology through its State and Local Cybersecurity Grant program, which has awarded 144 grants totaling $6.9 million. The funds help both urban and rural locations set up cybersecurity infrastructure, including multifactor authentication and endpoint detection. For rural users, the state is also looking to expand broadband access with an approximately$696 million federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment proposal to connect about 175,000locations to new or improved broadband services.

B+ STATES

Arkansas
CTO: Jay Harton

Arkansas earned a B+ in this year’s Digital States Survey, reflecting its strategic use of technology to improve public services, workforce development, cybersecurity and education. A key achievement was the creation of an AI and Analytics Center of Excellence, which evaluates high-value use cases, establishes best practices and guides the responsible adoption of AI across state government. Its work is coordinated with the Arkansas Data Office, State Cybersecurity Office and Office of State Technology. One practical application is LAUNCH, a talent marketplace that uses data and AI-supported skills matching to connect job seekers with career pathways and help employers identify qualified candidates.

Arkansas also began transitioning to ServiceNow in early 2026. The platform aims to improve the user experience through self-service tools, automated processes and better use of data, with AI assistants planned to accelerate ticket resolution. In March 2026, the state completed the rollout of its cybersecurity system. The upgrade provides continuous monitoring, real-time threat detection, automated response and expert-led remediation across state-managed endpoints and servers.

That same month, Arkansas completed a major K-12 infrastructure initiative, equipping public school districts with next-generation firewalls and raising network capacity to a statewide target of 2 Mbps per student. The standardized platform strengthens protection against malware, ransomware and emerging threats while enabling centralized management. Expanded bandwidth also reduces classroom disruptions, supports modern instruction as well as career and technical education, and advances statewide digital equity.

Louisiana
CIO: Evelina Broussard

Louisiana is replacing older government systems, expanding online services and using AI while putting new rules around how technology is purchased and used. For residents, one of the biggest changes is MyLA, a single sign-on system that lets people use one account to access services from different agencies. More than 3 million residents have accounts, and the system handles about 1.5 million sign-ins each month. Louisiana also uses MyLA Business for companies and the Pelican Design System to give state websites consistent, accessible layouts.

AI is being tested for legal research, everyday productivity and software development using tools like Justinian, Google Gemini and GitHub Copilot.

Louisiana is also moving more computing into the cloud. Its infrastructure uses AWS, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, along with software-defined networking and zero-trust security. The state’s cyber response system monitors about 10 billion events daily, processes 12,000 alerts through automation and blocks more than 400 million attacks.

Other modernization projects include a new cloud-based system for driver services. The CHAMPgov platform is replacing the Office of Motor Vehicles’ aging mainframe. And broadband programs aim to connect about 200,000 unserved and underserved locations.

Montana
CIO: Kevin Gilbertson

Montana is in the middle of a major shift from a highly federated IT model to a centralized structure under an executive order that went into effect in July 2025. The move is playing a part in nearly all of the State Information Technology Services Division’s (SITSD) work as Montana invests more in shared services and eliminates redundant systems and related technical debt.

The state created an Office of Agency Experience and Success that helps departments with resident-facing needs, including modernizing the constituent experience and introducing AI where it makes sense. Examples of its work include a new mobile digital ID program which the Highway Patrol now accepts during traffic stops, a new licensing system that brought a 75 percent reduction in wait times at the Motor Vehicle Division, as well as more online service offerings.

The state has made strides in AI implementation, including naming a chief AI officer and deputy CIO responsible for AI strategy and governance. An enterprise AI upskilling program has nearly 1,000 staff acting as AI champions within agencies, and AI activity is reported to the governor monthly so leadership has ongoing insight into workforce growth in this area. One major initiative is FLOW, an AI-built application that helps residents complete forms and routes them to the right agencies. The Secretary of State’s office has also had success with AI-assisted ballot proofing, and the state’s Community Planning Platform, built with AI data cloud provider Snowflake, gives local governments in Montana professional-grade planning tools and easier access to state services, a big win for many of the large state’s more far-flung rural areas. Montana aims to have 200 AI use cases in agencies by the end of 2026.

North Carolina
CIO: Nate Denny

In North Carolina, digital engagement centers on providing a singular digital experience, linking data and service paths and sharing components and infrastructure. The state’s Digital Commons CMS platform gives 95 agency sites a coherent design, reduces duplication in development and enables simultaneous updates and real-time guidance — and it's being opened to local governments.

Several organizations emerged last year to provide leadership on AI. The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) first deputy secretary for AI and policy advises on strategy and policy. The North Carolina AI Leadership Council works with officials on AI matters and training. The offices of Enterprise Data and AI and Policy hold monthly meetings for state data and AI leaders to collaborate and hear outside perspectives.

The state used AI to modernize its Marine Fisheries’ Biological Database, a 10-month transformation achieved with a single AI license. Its Division of Motor Vehicles is using AI to validate documents and vanity plate requests, smooth REAL ID requests and ensure sensitive data is not used to train external models. AI is also being used to migrate documents from PDF to HTML —and integrate with Digital Commons — to achieve Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

Officials began partnering with GovRAMP this year to bolster cloud security for state agencies, and the 2026 SecureNC cyber initiative helps state and local governments harden security with resources and guidance. In July, the state made its largest-ever investment in cybersecurity.

North Carolina finalized a statewide data strategy in 2025, chartered a statewide data governance council and recruited its first Data Governance Lead. Its Privacy Division also assessed the maturity of data classification practices, enabling priority setting. And in September 2025, the North Carolina Longitudinal Data Service launched, giving staffers access to secure, cross-sector information.

Pennsylvania
CIO: Bry Pardoe

Pennsylvania is focused on improving the resident experience, using AI, data and modernization to do so. The state created the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA) in 2023, supporting digital service delivery by helping quickly build technology solutions. Part of that work includes the PA.gov transformation, offering residents a unified digital experience. It also established a scalable operating model for digital accessibility using governance and risk-based scoring. The office has proven valuable, delivering millions of dollars in savings for the state since its creation. CODE PA’s PAyback.pa.gov solution, which was created to accelerate permitting, has brought $800,000 in savings. The state allotted $11.5 million to CODE PA in its 2025-26 spending plan.

Pennsylvania is also investing in cybersecurity, to the tune of $30 million for its program to support threat monitoring and detection and protect critical services from disruptions. The state modernized its endpoint detection and response platform for faster and more accurate response. Pennsylvania is also scaling a pilot of zero-trust network access this year enterprisewide to more than97,000 users.

AI has played a role in the state’s modernization work. Officials leveraged generative AI tools to support a major policy consolidation, reducing the footprint by 60 percent. An enterprisewide AI pilot program allowed a group of employees to test tools, resulting in an average time savings of 95 minutes per day. An AI program relies on quality data, and that is another priority for Pennsylvania. The Open Data Portal creates transparency into government performance; the Data Governance Board and the Pennsylvania Longitudinal Data System Governance Board both help support data-informed decision-making.

South Carolina
CIO: Nathan Hogue

One of the biggest developments for South Carolina's Division of Technology Operations in recent years has been a system that requires agencies to propose technology spending of more than $50,000 to the IT department for evaluation. This system also applies to any ideas related to cloud technology, AI or telecommunications. And it's kept IT busy. In the past year alone, IT has evaluated 400 plans, totaling approximately $384 million, while also reviewing $247 million in new agency IT budget requests. This allows the state's tech experts to keep track of risks, including those related to schedule, scope, cost and overall performance, with a broad goal of working toward successful outcomes.

Like many states, South Carolina is evaluating its organizational structure and looking for opportunities to improve it. In the past two years, the state has onboarded eight new shared services agencies, with four more in the pipeline. Pending funding approval, the state also plans to establish a new Office of Statewide Data, including a chief data officer position, in part to help better use AI.

And AI, of course, has also been a focus for South Carolina. Leaders established a statewide AI strategy in 2024, creating a framework for oversight of proposed AI uses. Officials also launched an AI working group made up of state agency IT directors as well as security leaders. And South Carolina created the AI Center of Excellence, which developed a process to evaluate AI products ahead of procurement, among other functions.

Finally, South Carolina has also seen increased use of its digital services from residents. Its government portal, MySC.gov, has seen logins grow nearly 7 percent per quarter since FY 2025.

Virginia
CIO: Michael Watson

Virginia’s ban on consecutive gubernatorial terms means its IT division regularly adjusts to new administrations while continuing to run shared infrastructure, cybersecurity and procurement for the executive branch. The Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) is working closely with its elected leaders to improve IT across agencies. One result is the Project Management Center of Excellence an effort that allows VITA to support projects with skilled staff, funding and capabilities, reducing troubled projects by 73 percent. And as a consolidated IT shop, VITA reviews more than 60 IT improvement plans annually.

Virginia reduced cybersecurity incidents by 43 percent in two years and attributes that to a layered cybersecurity strategy combining vulnerability management, phishing simulations, centralized monitoring and stronger agency compliance. The security and risk management team uses continuous monitoring and scanning to track threats across agencies, while the Virginia Fusion Center collects and distributes threat intelligence. Virginia’s state cybersecurity plan embraces a whole-of-state philosophy.

In the AI realm, the state set strategy in December 2025 and has supported AI-powered tools including a multilingual website translation bot, Microsoft Copilot and AI-assisted Power Platform design. VITA created an AI and cloud directorate requiring agencies to register higher-risk AI use cases for review. It works across security, architecture, data governance and legal teams to guide deployments. Virginia is expanding training, staffing and agency collaboration through its AI Community of Practice.

Social issues also benefit from tech and collaboration. Multiple state agencies built the substance use disorder analytics platform, SUDA, which captures data on opioid and substance use with the intention of helping leaders understand the opioid crisis, respond rapidly, enhance collaboration, measure outcomes and find grant support.

Ongoing projects are seeing maturity. Virginia is nearing universal broadband access, supported by state and federal funding, while VITA is building an application store where agencies can download and customize shared tools. The store is expected to offer at least 40 applications by the end of 2027.

B STATES

Alabama
CIO: Daniel Urquhart

Alabama is expanding its use of emerging technologies to improve services and state operations. In April 2026, it appointed Aaron Wright as its first chief artificial intelligence officer, signaling a more coordinated approach to AI adoption across agencies. Some examples of AI use include the Alabama Medicaid Agency’s development of an AI application to improve fraud, waste and abuse detection. Built on internal documents, federal program information and select federal resources, the tool analyzes provider claims and utilization trends to identify potentially improper patterns while operating within regulatory requirements.

Alabama has also strengthened statewide technology governance. The Office of Information Technology adopted several National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) frameworks, including those covering cybersecurity, risk management, security and privacy controls, and AI risk. This established a common baseline for evaluating technology, managing risk, approving systems and overseeing vendors. A 2025 policy refresh further aligned requirements for infrastructure, cybersecurity, privacy, programming, AI and end-user technology with NIST principles while reorganizing more than 300 security and privacy controls.

Technology is also playing an increasingly central role in the state’s workforce strategy. The Alabama Department of Workforce, which launched in October 2025, consolidated services while expanding labor-market analytics, virtual training, job matching and career-center resources across all 67 counties. In February 2026, the state also established a Technology Quality Assurance Board, which supports responsible technology adoption through agency policies and AI training for state employees.

Colorado
CIO: Sarah Tuneberg

Simplifying user experience was a driving factor behind Colorado leaders’ reexamination of the state's digital presence. The most heavily trafficked websites underwent a redesign to ensure accessibility and trust across state sites and services. The myColorado app, with more than2 million registered users, was expanded to include additional services as well as listening posts for people to leave direct feedback.

To ensure Coloradans can access the extensive list of newly improved digital services, the Colorado Broadband Office developed a five-year road map to provide high-speed Internet access for 99 percent of households by 2027. Telemedicine, libraries, K-12 education and rural communities will receive tailored plans supported by partnerships comprising Internet service providers, local governments and state agencies.

Colorado has not shied away from artificial intelligence and is striving to use the technology responsibly. A statewide GenAI policy requires risk assessments and formal approval before training, and state employees must complete a curriculum before using Gemini. AI projects are evaluated using a NIST-aligned AI Risk Assessment Framework that evaluates things like data privacy, security, equity and potential bias.

The state’s Unemployment Insurance program added a GenAI agent to its call center, reducing wait times by 50 percent over six months. In a similar success story, the Health Care Policy and Financing’s Medicaid Member Contact Center’s new-hire classroom training time was cut by 40 percent due to the integration of a GenAI-powered training platform.

Kansas
CIO: Jeff Maxon

Kansas maintains its "B" grade in this year’s survey with a strong commitment to the ongoing work of streamlining IT and creating secure access to digital services for Kansans. In the past two years, the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) hired a chief information technology architect, a chief data officer and a chief privacy officer, who are building upon foundational data work and expanding data coordination statewide. As a result, agencies like the Department of Revenue, Department of Health and Environment, and Department for Children and Families are growing their data governance programs. The state also hosted an event called the Kansas Datasphere Summit in July 2026 to further “collaborative governance.”

The state has made strides in its cybersecurity, including standing up a 24/7 security operations center for centralized cyber monitoring and collaboration. The Kansas information Security Office provides training and events throughout the year to increase cyber awareness, and Kansas maintains whole-of-state MS-ISAC membership, is expanding its whole-of-state services and adheres to NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0.

When it comes to workforce, Kansas has worked to align IT roles and salaries statewide and plans to create career paths to show how staff can grow with the state. A robust statewide internship program established in 2022 has seen 17 IT interns in recent years, with 40 percent of those going on to full-time jobs with Kansas IT. And in public safety, the Kansas Highway Patrol’s SmartCop solution combines records management, computer-aided dispatch and other functions that enable officers to share information in real time, reduce duplication and errors, and shorten the duration of traffic stops.

Maine
CIO: Nick Marquis

Since this survey’s last edition, the state of Maine has begun taking larger steps in artificial intelligence. Officials have stood up a statewide AI task force, an AI Center of Excellence to shepherd implementations and an AI governance board to oversee the work. The state Department of Marine Resources has created an AI-assisted lobster sampling program that turns recorded oral observations into data, to reduce manual data entry and improve accuracy in fishery monitoring; and AI now helps the Department of Corrections analyze historical and behavioral data to evaluate recidivism risk.

Mobile-first service delivery is a state focus, and in April 2025, officials deployed the Maine Outdoors mobile app, letting users buy, keep and show licenses, permits and registrations via mobile device. MyMaine.gov is now in development—a secure entry point to state services with a phased rollout that will feature a centralized, single sign-on portal across agencies with secure identity verification and consent-driven data. MaineIT has enlarged its IT internship program, bolstering its work with schools and higher education. It also launched LUMEN, a new state enterprise learning management system, providing online learning for state staffers and partners in the cloud. In 2025, MaineIT wrapped a statewide Multi-Protocol Label Switching network conversion, updating roughly 300 state locations with modern connection speeds.

In cybersecurity, a focus on business continuity and disaster recovery links agencies through planning, testing and recovery. A Cyber Incident Response Annex to the state Emergency Operations Plan offers a framework for a coordinated response to cyber incidents. MaineIT delivers central cybersecurity leadership, and the Maine Information and Analysis Center bolsters intelligence sharing and situational awareness. A statewide enterprise Data Classification Policy and governance framework aid in identifying, classifying and safeguarding information assets, and Traffic Light Protocol standards enhance consistency in protecting sensitive information.

Maryland
CIO: Katie Savage

Since the Wes Moore administration began, the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) has more or less completely transformed itself. It began with restructuring leadership: Assistant secretaries became deputies charged with specific functional areas, and the chief data and privacy officers moved from the governor’s office to the IT department. Then, in a bid to decrease the state’s reliance on vendors, DoIT implemented two reforms to major IT projects: First, it required them to install project leaders with domain expertise in different areas; second, it put in place the Launchpad process requiring specified user research and success metric methods. The new service delivery-based model encourages starting small, iterating based on feedback and measuring outcomes.

Meanwhile, a number of new constructs are guiding action across other agencies. There’s the new IT Council, as well as the Cybersecurity Coordinating Council. There’s the new IT Master Plan and the Cybersecurity and Privacy Policy Suite, which introduced zero-trust architecture principles. There’s the AI governance program and the AI Innovation Lab for approving and guiding new use cases across the enterprise.

And then there’s the Maryland Digital Service, created in 2024, which has been assisting projects and providing support statewide at a rapid pace. The group has begun moving dozens of websites to a unified content management system, put an accessibility policy in place and conducted training on it and deployed new customer feedback tools to measure success based on KPIs. Through digitization and simplification, it also helped agencies improve the completion rate of unemployment benefits claims and halve the amount of time it takes businesses to receive environmental reports.

That’s just the flashier, front-end stuff. Behind the scenes, DoIT has also implemented Disaster Recovery as a Service, reduced firewall complexity, upgraded the first responder radio network’s infrastructure and modernized enterprise storage, resulting in a 94 percent reduction in power consumption.

New Jersey
CTO: Kevin Dehmer

The New Jersey Office of Information Technology has had a busy 2026. The start of the year saw a new governor in office, Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who is focused on using technology to make government work better for New Jersey residents.

The change in administration also brought the department a new chief technology officer, Kevin Dehmer. Dehmer took the job in February, ahead of a massive tech and cybersecurity challenge in the summer — the 2026 World Cup, which held its final game in New Jersey. But everything went well, with the event happening without a cyber incident, making it a major cybersecurity success story. The state notes that it learned helpful lessons for the future from weathering such a high-pressure situation.

Following the change in leadership, New Jersey is also in the process of reworking its strategic plan to focus heavily on service delivery, moving toward a product support model rather than a project delivery model. Tech work in the state is also being overseen by Cabinet-level leadership, specifically by New Jersey's first-ever chief operating officer, Kellie Doucette. Doucette is working closely with the chief technology officer as well as the chief innovation officer on the direction of technology work in the state.

Finally, like every other state in the past two years, New Jersey continues to evolve its approach to AI, most recently updating its policies to include mandatory AI training, careful review of any AI-generated content, and approval for resident-facing or decisional AI systems with public disclosure.

New York
Acting CIO: Jensen Jacob

As with many states, a leading technology focus for New York in recent years has been artificial intelligence. Internally for state workers, that has meant expanding AI training statewide, alongside an evolving acceptable use policy that involves an annual inventory and study of impact. The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) also piloted its own secure GenAI assistant powered by Google Gemini for eight state agencies, with which 75 percent of participants reported saving time, and created a form for initiating risk evaluations for new AI projects. Other key AI programs came from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office: the $500 million Empire AI initiative, which has brought several public and private universities together to support the creation of an AI computing center at the University at Buffalo; and the creation of the FutureWorks Commission, to advise her office on policy to protect workers and jobs while harnessing the economic benefits of AI.

Many other projects undertaken by ITS in the past couple of years have helped the office improve how it works with other agencies and technology vendors. By negotiating new enterprise agreements with cloud providers such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, as well as technology vendors such as Salesforce, ITS saved the state an estimated $58 million. ITS further created new roles for technology analysts and IT architects, expanded its workforce from 3,000 to more than4,000 through job fairs and coordination with colleges, and adopted a “dedicated agency” service model whereby IT staff assigned to specific agencies allow for better cooperation in implementing new tech tools. ITS also created a new Product Management Office, which developed a shared services catalog and financial management tools, and brought 18 executive agencies under a new hybrid cloud model for improved cost-effectiveness, flexibility, scalability, disaster recovery and business continuity. In 2025, also for cybersecurity, ITS established a dedicated Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services team and launched the front end of a Cyber Incident and Ransomware Payment Reporting system, which will improve the state's ability to track and respond to cyber threats.

For residents, ITS started systematically implementing customer-centric design to improve websites and applications for several digital services, and helped advance a major, long-term modernization of data and application systems for the DMV.

North Dakota
CIO: Corey Mock
North Dakota in recent years has continued to rank high among states embracing new technologies. This has meant innovative drone use, including deploying drones to support emergency response operations. The state was even granted unfiltered access to the Federal Aviation Administration's radar data to support its work with drones, providing increased visibility into airspace activity.

North Dakota IT has also seen a leadership change in the past two years. The state's current CIO Corey Mock, previously served as a state representative in North Dakota for 16 years. The state's cybersecurity efforts, meanwhile, were bolstered by the addition of John Rodenbiker, who was tapped to serve as its director of cyber operations. In that capacity, Rodenbiker works closely with state CISO Chris Gergen to advance North Dakota’s whole-of-state cybersecurity agenda.

But 2026 has not been without challenges for North Dakota. The state is bracing for a different budget picture in 2027, in part because North Dakota is an oil-producing state whose revenues are affected by oil prices. As such, the state is taking a look at its own funding model for its IT agency, working to incentivize delivery of its services.

Oregon
CIO: Terrence Woods
Large-scale upgrades are underway in Oregon: A comprehensive modernization of Oregon’s digital services ecosystem helped launch 19 new services and redesigned or updated 84 more. Known as the Electronic Government Portal Transformation, the project reshaped a number of public-facing state services.

The state’s artificial intelligence journey has been thoughtful and strategic, with an AI action plan, Responsible AI Usage Policy and enterprisewide access to Microsoft Copilot Chat for Oregon’s roughly 50,000 state workers in 2025. Expanded Copilot licensing is rolling out in 2026. Also in the coming year, the state aims to upgrade its metrics and dashboard tracking system, which will include an annual report on state AI use.AI has been put to use in the form of a new tool allowing Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility workers to access quick and reliable information. The tool is off to a great start — it answered 300,000 questions in the first six months.

Earlier this year, Michael Hanna-Butros Meyering was named Oregon’s chief privacy and communications officer. The role will help strengthen state privacy practices with clear direction and practical tools, coming on the heels of the state’s first Enterprise Privacy Guidance in Spring 2026.

As for its data work, Oregon is conducting a data-sharing pilot involving three agencies to explore how this concept might be scaled throughout the enterprise. Already, agencies such as the Department of Early Learning and Care, Oregon Department of Human Services and Department of Transportation have leveraged data to improve how they operate and deliver services.

Another pilot, this one from the Department of Corrections, modernized pharmacy billing practices, aiding in inventory tracking and compliance while reducing accounting errors and generating nearly $2.5 million in savings.

Procurement is also getting modernized in Oregon through the Procurement and Contract Management system. The idea is to promote consistency in contract administration and risk management, and the effort includes an internal website with standardized processes, templates and guidance materials.

Rhode Island
CIO: Brian Tardiff
In Rhode Island, the Division of Enterprise Technology Strategy and Services (ETSS) is prioritizing strong governance to advance IT and data and modernize service delivery. The state is standing up an array of centers of excellence (CoE) to support various tech initiatives. They include the Data Analytics and AI CoE and the Zero Trust CoE; the centers will help technology leaders deliver on the RI 2030 plan and do things like help agencies evaluate AI use cases.

The state is already using AI in various ways: The Department of Human Services has implemented AgentRamp, which uses GenAI to optimize policy and training materials, and the Department of Transportation is using an advanced AI system to enhance safety on a critical bridge.

The Data Analytics and AI CoE plays a leadership role in data governance, too — training staff on data literacy, informing data classifications, and providing policies and guidance. A federated data governance program in the state creates common standards for data management and sharing. The state is using data to inform its work to combat the overdose epidemic; the 2026-2028 Overdose Task Force Roadmap includes clear measures to track progress.

The state is also modernizing its technology systems. The state implemented Workday ERP in 2025 for financials, human capital management and payroll, replacing decades-old technology and processes. Rhode Island’s Large System Initiative Fund helps IT leadership budget for projects like this, which means more of them come in on time and within budget.

Vermont
CIO: Denise Reilly-Hughes

Vermont is a tiny state making big strides in tech — both in upgrading its legacy systems and bringing fresh thinking to planning. The state’s Agency for Digital Services (ADS) launched in 2017, inheriting ownership of all the hardware, software and other issues that stemmed from decades of fragmented IT decisions. Improvement hasn’t been easy, and much work remains, but new roles—a deputy director and business technology strategists—along with efforts such as craftinganenterprise-wide guide for information security governance are paying off.

Artificial intelligence, meanwhile, is helping Vermont map out its technological future. ADS uses AI for prototyping, bringing efficiency and a sense of completeness to planning efforts that typically would require months of information gathering and brainstorming. AI offers IT and other state leaders access to realistic plans earlier than before, essentially greasing the wheels of bureaucracy. Those plans undergo UX-focused stress testing, helping to ensure that new projects accurately reflect how constituents use services.

As for constituents, Vermont, with a population of just more than 644,000 people, can feel like a small town, which means the state government experiences significant pressure to keep everything connected. That’s an animating idea behind the Vermont Web Design System, a shared library of on-brand components that serve as a common foundation for digital services ranging from fishing licenses to heating assistance. The philosophy of simplicity, consistency and connection extends to MyVermont.gov, which has a single, secure digital entry that requires only a single sign-on instead of the creation of multiple accounts for different tasks.

Wyoming
CIO: Jeff Clines
Wyoming is modernizing much of the technology that keeps state government running, from its statewide network to the way employees use AI and residents access services.
Some of the biggest changes are happening around AI and data. The state created a Chief Data and AI Officer position and put a formal review process in place for AI tools. Wyoming also launched an approved enterprise AI platform to give employees a place to use AI without turning to unapproved shadow AI. Employees are already testing generative AI for everyday work, including creating custom Gems using Google Gemini that can help write annual reports.

The state is also putting new rules around personal data. A 2026 law, SF0020, created statutory privacy framework, requiring government agencies to keep track of the personal information they collect, publish privacy policies and give residents ways to access, correct or delete their data.

Meanwhile, Wyoming is upgrading the infrastructure underneath it all. More than 61 percent of the state network has been modernized across 412 locations, including healthcare facilities, life resource centers and field offices. The state also established its first Azure ExpressRoute connection, creating a high-speed link to the cloud.
Cybersecurity is getting attention as well. Wyoming adopted an AI-based security platform with 24/7 monitoring and used grant funding to give municipalities and schools access to CrowdStrike security services.

B- STATES

Kentucky
CIO: Jim Barnhart

Kentucky is one of several states looking to implement citizen identity and access management, with the goal of simplifying and streamlining the management of disjointed constituent logins and passwords. The Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) is working with agencies to investigate user needs before building a broad solution. The effort is part of a larger modernization push that includes security and governance. Near-term priorities include enterprise AI governance, stronger security and risk management, tighter IT oversight and modernization of shared services and infrastructure.

Kentucky adopted its AI policy in October 2025, covering AI use, privacy, intellectual property and higher-risk systems. A state law passed that year also added disclosure requirements for certain AI uses and established a statewide AI registry and governance committee. The state is looking to expand Microsoft Copilot use among other AI tools, including those that can help residents find state services.

Additional digital service priorities include a consolidated tax system, a new unemployment insurance system and expanded use of digital driver’s licenses. Kentucky continues its cloud and infrastructure modernization work while looking to extend KentuckyWired broadband service. Cybersecurity priorities include a zero-trust model and broader privileged access management. COT is also working to improve how agencies manage unstructured data and data retention, classification and compliance.

Looking forward, the state's talent initiatives focus on developing emerging technology skills and expanding cloud proficiency, among others. Challenges, in part, include the state's distributed IT services. Leaders have been adjusting pay rates and adding entry-level positions, but there is additional work ahead.

Nebraska
CIO: Matthew McCarville

Nebraska’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) is undergoing a significant structural shift. Facing state budget constraints, the agency revamped its operating model to establish dedicated divisions for cybersecurity, data analytics, AI and web services. By requiring cabinet agencies to adopt a consolidated shared-services approach, Nebraska has eliminated redundant IT systems, securing $2.5 million in immediate annual recurring savings toward a broader $13 million reduction target.

Moreover, Nebraska is taking a “whole-of-state" approach to protect public infrastructure. With the Joint Network Operations Center and Joint Security Operations Center, the state pools defensive resources and costs across state agencies, counties, and educational institutions. That framework is reinforced by recent legislation, including LB 599, w provisions of which were incorporated into a broader 2026 education law establishing K-12 cybersecurity requirements, and LB 525, which enacted the Agricultural Data Privacy Act and the Conversational AI Safety Act.

Nebraska also created its first chief data officer position and opened a Data and AI Center of Excellence in Omaha, while actively migrating to cloud environments and rolling out enterprise Microsoft 365 Copilot. The OCIO also brought web operations back in-house for Nebraska.gov and about 1,500 partner sites, rolling out a unified design system to streamline online services.

These operational upgrades come as the agency addresses a major workforce transition, with roughly 37 percent of its IT staff currently eligible for retirement. To build a durable workforce pipeline, Nebraska is launching a GI Bill-qualified IT apprenticeship program this year and deepening partnerships with universities, placing a strong emphasis on recruiting in nonmetropolitan communities like Grand Island and Scottsbluff. Even amid these widespread changes, though, the agency maintains a rapid operational pace, resolving 80 percent of its thousands of monthly service requests within 24 hours.

South Dakota
CIO: Neal Nachtigall

Resilience and service delivery have been IT watchwords for this midwestern state under CIO Mark Wixon, the now-retired veteran executive, and seem likely to continue under his successor Neal Nachtigall, named to the dual role of CIO and Bureau of Information and Technology commissioner June 5. In South Dakota, the commissioner role includes CIO and chief digital officer duties.

Under Wixon, a longtime energy sector tech leader before joining the public sector, IT forged strong departmental relationships to improve service delivery, and embarked upon capability modeling to strategically assess agency missions, needs and core services— and better align tech to organizational values. Nachtigall, who also hails from the private sector, called tech a “critical enabler in protecting our resources and strengthening the performance and outcomes of our agencies,” and seems likely to build upon Wixon’s work.

The slate of technology projects he inherits includes Project BISON, or Business Information System for Operational Needs. Launched in 2024, it is slated to replace the state’s Reagan-era, mainframe-based financial system with electronic workflows and real-time data access. The endeavor, which is being built with Oracle Fusion Cloud, is expected to go live in 2027.

South Dakota has also recently renewed its vehicle title and registration system, debuting 605Drive in February 2025 after months of testing, through the Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle Division.

West Virginia
CIO: Heather Abbott

As West Virginia looks to reduce operating costs and modernize government services, the state is focusing on automation, artificial intelligence and consolidation. The West Virginia Office of Technology has made several changes aimed at improving efficiency. Some of this work has focused on records management: The state began digitizing records in August 2025, having since converted several hundred boxes of material. And while modernization is a priority, the state is taking a measured approach. West Virginia is pursuing “cloud smart” infrastructure, evaluating security, performance and cost rather than moving all systems to the cloud indiscriminately.

The state is also expanding constituent-facing digital services. In October 2025, the Department of Motor Vehicles added state driver licenses and IDs to Apple Wallet, and launched a standalone mobile ID app. More than 35,500 residents had active mobile IDs by early 2026. More than 35,500 residents have enrolled in mobile ID. The state is also developing a one-stop-shop permitting portal that will give residents and businesses a centralized way to identify and track permits.

In the area of artificial intelligence, the state deployed Google Gemini in 2025 after security testing, and shortly thereafter rolled out mandatory AI training for state employees. West Virginia is developing AI assistants for economic development, workforce services and highly trafficked government websites.

C+ STATES

Alaska
CIO: Bill Smith

The wave of AI-enabled productivity tools has made its way to Alaska. In 2025, the state announced employee access to tools in the Microsoft 365 productivity suite, including Teams transcriptions and Copilot chat, providing a safe space for employee discovery and experimentation.

Alaska’s central portal, myAlaska, dates back to 2010, but it continues to evolve as a key component of the state’s overall customer experience strategy. The state added a mobile app last year, which includes privacy protections and layers of ID validation meant to keep interactions secure. At the time, the app featured 50 state services accessible with a single login, and CIO Bill Smith said that was only the beginning. According to reports, the state had also been exploring infusing the app with agentic AI capabilities. Also in the realm of improved customer experience, Alaska has recently joined the ranks of states offering residents digital ID cards, viewed as a more secure alternative to physical cards.

Like many of its peers, Alaska’s cybersecurity approach has continued to evolve, influenced in part by the end of federal support for MS-ISAC last year. The state is now a paid member of the organization, boosting its own cyber resilience with access to MS-ISAC’s catalog of intelligence and incident response assistance. The paid membership also allows the state to extend those resources to local and tribal entities statewide.

Oklahoma
CIO: Dan Cronin

Following the creation of a statewide framework for AI at the behest of the governor’s office in 2024, Oklahoma has made quite a bit of progress on governing and deploying the technology. The state created its first chief AI and technology officer position and began pursuing use cases across various agencies: AI flagged $6.8 billion in procurement inefficiencies, helped monitor phone calls in corrections facilities, gave 24/7 multilingual support to people seeking Medicaid benefits and generated call summaries for the new tax call center. Then, in 2026, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services launched the BEACON platform to provide a way for employees across the state to scale AI use while adhering to security, governance and data standards.

Oklahoma also moved broadband forward, deploying nearly $400 million in grants to support new infrastructure. The state’s broadband availability came in handy this year when it began deploying up to 175 “community access portals” to libraries where residents can access services and digital skills training.

Moving forward, OMES’ work will be guided by the new 2026-28 IT Strategic Plan. The plan’s four focus areas are promoting customer-centric government, reducing complexity, empowering a future-ready workforce and advancing modernization. The plan will emphasize automation and cloud-native infrastructure on its way to aligning service delivery with agency missions and goals.

C STATE

New Mexico
CIO: Manny Barreras

New Mexico, a state with many rural areas, has made closing the digital divide a priority. One 2026 project included using $10 million in broadband funding from the State Rural Universal Service Fund to make broadband access more affordable for low-income families. Another initiative allows local government and state agencies to expand public Wi-Fi. In June, the New Mexico Office of Brandband Access and Expansion (OBAE) launched a Permit Finder Tool, a digital mapping platform that identifies the permits needed for high-speed Internet projects. The project leaned on funding from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program and aims to help ease the complex process of getting un- and underserved communities online. Other digital equity work includes literacy programs through the state library system to help give people access to online services like healthcare and the skills needed to use those tools.

In emerging tech, New Mexico is betting on quantum computing. The state partnered with the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to launch the Quantum Frontier Project to accelerate testing of quantum use cases. Plus, ABQ-Net is reportedly the first open-access quantum network and came from alarger$450 million state effort to attract quantum companies from around the world.

In the past two years, New Mexico has also rolled out an electronic driver’s license program. And this year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill limiting the sharing of data gathered from automated license plate readers used in the state.

*The Center for Digital Government is part of e.Republic, Government Technology’s parent company.