About the CAO

In January of 2008, Governor Kaine appointed Ms. Peggy Feldmann to the position of Chief Applications Officer (CAO).  This appointment was to both address the findings contained within the Auditor of Public Accounts report on IT Governance and to ensure our continued excellence within the area of information technology management.  The office of the CAO provides the Commonwealth of Virginia with an improved approach to managing IT governance and our business portfolio.

Recognizing the current budget constraints, and striving to leverage existing Commonwealth resources, the Governor requested the Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB) assist in developing an operational plan to improve oversight and management of IT governance and portfolio management.

Working together, the Chief Information Office (CIO) and CAO were able to develop an operational plan to better align responsibilities and optimize management, efficiency and productivity from our information technology investments.   The efforts will better align the Commonwealth’s business model and IT strategy, improve maintenance and operations planning, enhance enterprise application efforts, create data standards, increase transparency in our return on investment, and provide a comprehensive IT governance model for managing all the application resources of the Commonwealth.

Responsibilities of the Chief Applications Officer include:

• Application planning and management

  :  The CAO will develop an application governance model.   
  
  

• Data standards

  :  The CAO is charged to improve standardization of data across our administrative systems by developing key data standards. 
  
  

• Application portfolio

  :  The CAO is responsible for extending the Commonwealth’s portfolio to include current applications used to conduct state business. 
  
  

• IT budget request detail

  :  The CAO will provide funding recommendations, to include support for statewide initiatives. 
  
  

• IT management for agencies

  :  The CAO will develop support strategies to assist agencies where beneficial to government and the citizen. 
  
  

• Enterprise application opportunities

  :  The CAO will leverage the Virginia Enterprise Applications Program to continue identification and exploitation of enterprise solutions which span agency boundaries.