Examining the Acquisition of Information Technology for Texas Municipal Governments

Abstract

Texas municipalities information technology spending has soared in a very short time span. Municipalities have placed more emphasis on information technology, (IT) spending to addressed the needs of the government and the public. Technology spending was estimated at one billion dollars in 2004 for Texas municipal governments. Texas municipal governments and employees are purchasing IT to be more efficient. Many governments and employees are guilty of purchasing technology that becomes obsolete six months later. The purpose of this research is threefold: (1) to access the state of acquisitioning information technology in Texas municipal governments; (2) to examine Texas municipal governments' IT acquisitioning processes and compare the results of each; (3) to compare the five Texas municipal governments with the practical ideal type model and suggest recommendations. The methodology used was survey addressed to Chief Information Officers, (CIOs), IT professionals, municipalities senior executives, and customers to rate satisfaction. The results gathered from the surveys were tabulated into frequency distributions. The preliminary examination from this research revealed three major findings discovered: (1) CIOs are in need of establishing a comprehensive IT acquisition policy, (2) Technical validity, "does the technology work," for critical technology was not ensured, and (3) Not enough emphasis was placed on an IT training program. This leads to the recommendation that Texas municipalities CIOs must establish an acquisition policy to understanding IT needs, obtaining IT goals, and alleviate customer dissatisfaction to reduce unnecessary information technology spending.