State and Local Internet of Things Activity Heats Up

One takeaway from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) conference is that state and local CIOs are beginning to think more about the Internet of Things as a tool for improving government performance. A formal survey released during the conference and informal polling conducted during the event showed similar results: A majority of CIOs are investigating how the emerging IoT will impact government operations, although most of that activity is in the preliminary stages.

The formal state CIO survey -- conducted by NASCIO, Grant Thornton and CompTIA – found that 53 percent of respondents are “investigating IoT in state government with informal discussions.” Eighteen percent said those discussions were occurring in a more formal way. The survey collected responses for 47 states, primarily from state CIOs. A quick poll of CIOs in the audience at the conference in Salt Lake City found that 52 percent are in the planning stage for IoT-powered smart government initiatives, while 27 percent said they’re already working on these types of projects.