Rao was appointed to his first two-year ITAB term in 2004 by Senator Marc Basnight who, along with Senator Tony Rand, reappointed Rao in 2008. He will join five other representatives from the business, academic, and government communities on the six-person board. The ITAB plays a vital role in helping North Carolina's information technology become more innovative, efficient and responsive.
Appointed by the governor, the State CIO sets policy and direction for information technology and provides management and leadership for the state's technology initiatives. The Office of Information Technology Services manages an annual budget of approximately $186 million which is applied toward such areas as telecommunications services, enterprise technology strategies and computing services.
Legislation targeting better planning, budgeting, and management of IT, have been enacted by the General Assembly over the past several years. Renewed efforts to implement cost-effective IT purchasing, improve performance of IT projects benefiting the public, ensure the security or critical data and reliability of IT operations, and enhance the ability to recover from natural and man-made disasters have been some of the results of this legislation.
"For our state to continue to not only grow but lead in technology-related economic development for the entire Southeastern United States we need to provide an infrastructure for our citizens, businesses, and educational institutions that can evolve as technology evolves," Rao said. According to Rao, increased business/public partnerships and outreach to technology leaders within business and academic communities is essential to rural as well as metropolitan areas throughout North Carolina and, “"When it comes to technology, government and private enterprise must not compete, and ITAB is a great way to bring those two worlds together."
Steve Rao founded TSG Academies in 2004, one of the Research Triangle's leading sports management and sports coaching companies serving the sports and wellness needs of corporations, private schools, and municipalities. Prior to founding TSG, Steve was a Business Development manager at MindLever.com,an e-learning company acquired by Centra Software in 2001.
Today, Steve Rao is Director, Business Development at Datacraft Solutions, a global software company offering automated inventory replenishment systems, and is a charter member of TIE Carolinas and the President of the Indian American Forum for Political Education. He received his BA in Political Science and Economics from Emory University and a JD from the WVU University College of Law.
Datacraft Solutions (www.datacraftsolutions.com)
Datacraft Solutions
www.datacraftsolutions.com
Sonja Foust
sfoust@datacraftsolutions.net
800-819-5326
