Vivek Kundra Thinks Cloud Computing Could Carry Data Sharing among Governing Sectors
Outfitted by President Barack Obama as the first Federal CIO in the country, Vivek Kundra is striving to inspire IT in the public sector. His past efforts in Information Technology gained him credit from InfoWorld as the 2008 IT Executive of the Year and he was recently named Chief of the Year by Information Week. With prior know how as CTO for the District of Columbia, Vivek Kundra has the know how to meet the Information Technology challenges that are put before him.
Vivek Kundra reaches to adopt new ways of doing things, when those new ways lead to efficacy of operations. In his role as CIO, his job is to ensure the Federal government spends wisely concerning technology. This doesn’t mean forgoing new innovative ways of using technology. He began experimenting with new platforms for making city services run better upon taking over Washington, D.C.’s technology operations in late 2007. He adopted the use of popular Web sites including YouTube, Wikipedia, and Twitter. He believes that taking advantage of newer technologies is a major step in helping government run better.
Born in Delhi, India, Vivek Kundra arrived in Gaithersburg, Maryland when he was eleven years old. His college years saw him going to the University of Maryland. Upon majoring in Psychology and earning his Masters from Maryland in IT, he continued to hold various positions. He held many leadership posts in the private sector and did consulting work with SAIC. He also served as Information Technology Director for Arlington County, Virginia and Assistant Secretary of Trade and Commerce in Governor Tim Kaine’s cabinet.
Vivek Kundra continues to work to ensure the government’s IT efforts deliver quality information to American citizens. His allegiance is to the wise use of taxpayer dollars. He envisions a technology culture that systematically embraces new platforms that make government accessible to all. He is continually looking for new ways to help government agencies adapt superb private sector technologies that help them save money.


