The Avero Blog

Many housing authorities suffer from the lack of IT support, even the big ones. In this day and age, having the team and systems behind you could take you a long way. Host Abhijit Verekar invited for today’s show the Senior Manager at Avèro, Robert Kornovich, who has been very involved in the Public Housing Authority Practice. Here, he talks about the challenges that often get in the way of efficient operations. He discusses how to manage the support process and vendor relationships, and why these are very important. Join Robert in this episode as he breaks down the necessary things housing authorities must keep in mind and more.

Am I spending too much? Are we behind the times and too slow? These are often questions that Avèro hears from its clients regarding Information Technology (IT) within their organizations. Today, IT modernization means so many things to many different people. In this conversation, Mike Caffrey and Abhijit Verekar share their thoughts on proven roadmaps, pitfalls to look for, and spend traps to avoid when it comes to IT modernization. It’s easy to throw money at IT without seeing anything in return. However, utilizing a consulting partner to assist in revealing or validating your organization’s concerns can save you from years of spending and inefficiency.

Access to affordable, high speed or ANY Internet is increasingly seen as a utility across the world. Most especially at a time where we’re all forced into our homes, bringing with us our work and even school, having the right internet access is a must. In this episode, Abhijit Verekar explores with Mike Caffrey, the Vice President and Partner at Avèro Infrastructure and Avèro Advisors, wi-fi zones, 5G, StarLink, and Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). They break down each of these to help you gain insight into which ones provide the best solution for your needs. Plus, they also talk about the government’s role and how the COVID-19 changed the technological landscape.

What many people don’t realize is that local governments are big enterprises that require good communication and coordination systems to work efficiently. A lot of the problems that cities face right now can be solved with the proper use of government technology and with the help of someone who has both the technical expertise and bureaucratic clout to make things happen. With his stellar performance as former CDO for the City of Los Angeles and subsequently as interim CIO for Sacramento, Abhi Nemani is an absolute thought leader when it comes to all things GovTech. With his new GovTech consultancy firm, EthosLabs, Abhi continues to accelerate good governance in dozens of cities by helping them harness the power of digital technology. In this conversation with Abhijit Verakar, he shares his insights on the systematic changes that local governments need to do to catch up in digital innovation and transformation.

The past two decades have been an era of hyper-growth for the City of Pearland, TX. For city manager, Clay Pearson, it’s just the right environment for his strategic and innovative mind to work. Having held the reins as Chief Executive Officer since 2014, he sees the need for the city government to be strategic and flexible in adopting information technology systems that allow it to keep up with the demands of ensuring quality life for a rapidly growing population. In this conversation with Abhijit Verekar, Clay shares the work they are doing for the city in terms of IT integration, his personal view of innovation, his definition of a smart city, cybersecurity concerns, IT in utilities and many more. Great things are coming for the city of Pearson and Clay is right at the helm of that journey.

In the spirit of delivering more efficient, responsive, and reliable service, utility companies around the country are adopting digital innovations in their systems and physical technologies. Such is the case with Knoxville Utilities Board, whose President and CEO, Gabe Bolas joins Abhijit Verakar for this interview. There is a reason why we take utilities for granted and why we really should – utilities are such basic necessities to our modern lifestyle that excellent service means we can go on living without having to think much about them. Gabe intends to keep it that way, and he sees digital innovation as a way to do more of that for far less. In this conversation, they touch on topics such as the Automated Metering System, Internet of Things, building a KUB app, the CTO role, and the inevitable rise of the internet as the fifth utility.

The public housing sector is not just about providing livable spaces, but also ensuring a better quality of life for everybody. How are cities responding to this need with the help of information technology? Joining Abhijit Verekar to present the case of Knoxville, Tennessee, is Ben Bentley, the CEO and Executive Director of Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC). Far from just being a helpful tool, Ben considers IT as a utility, something that everyone needs to thrive in this rapidly changing world. Learn how KCDC copes with the demands of their sector while working with limited funding and technological capacity.

One of the biggest points that organizations should consider is how to give customers the confidence that they can transact with them in whichever way they want without compromising the security of their data or account information. To do that, they need to have the infrastructure or the functionality in their IT environment. Joining Abhijit Verekar and co-host Mike Caffrey on today’s podcast is Jaydeep Palkar, who oversees the PCI Compliance and General Governance for Gap. Jaydeep shares how they’re keeping electronic payments and transactions secure for their clients and vendors. As more and more businesses are transitioning from a paper-based process or cash payments to electronic, this is an episode you wouldn’t want to miss.

It is in the best interest of the government and innovators to join hands and move together into the future so they can better the lives of people. This episode’s guest, Tom Ballard, the Chief Alliance Officer of PYA, P.C., has successfully done that. He sits down with host, Abhijit Verekar, to take us into how Knoxville, Tennessee, has made innovation its focal point and how he is leading in putting people who are innovating in the region into the limelight. On top of that, he also shares his origin story where he discovered the value of innovation in local government, helping citizens and businesses most especially in this current COVID-19 environment. Join Abhijit and Tom as they further talk about the role of the government when it comes to innovation and helping the public.

When we have somewhere we want to go, we often just think about where we are and where we want to go. We often overlook the roads that take us there and the work that is put into roadway management. Joining Abhijit Verekar on today’s podcast is James Golden, the Founder and CEO of Pavement Management Group. James talks about roadway management and how it can be upgraded and improved. His company focuses on the engineering industry, pavement management, and maintenance. Learn more about roadway management in this episode.

Innovation is everywhere. However, it’s a word that’s often used in the wrong connotations. For Nicole Raimundo, the Chief Information Officer at the town of Cary, North Carolina, innovation is all about automating processes and delivering services better. On today’s podcast, Nicole joins Abhijit Verekar to share how she found herself being the CIO of the town of Cary. She also shares how they’re implementing and leveraging IoT technologies in the public sector and keeping the town and their networks secure from anything malicious on the internet.

When organizations or cities innovate, more often than not, the reason is to provide a better experience for the people. Taking this to one of the busiest facilities in any parts of the world, Abhijit Verekar talks to Trevis Gardner, the Vice President of Operations for the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority in Knoxville, Tennessee and the CIO for the Airport Authority. Here, Trevis shares with us how he spearheaded airport innovation in his city, giving us a view of their projects, which aim to help end-users, and the tools they use to help their teams navigate. Speaking as a leader pushing for a long term strategy for technology, he then discusses how he finds the balance between risk-taking and risk-averse. Trevis further gives out some words of wisdom for those who want to incorporate technology into their business strategy.

A great city manager who pushes its city forward brings innovation at the forefront of what they do. Greg McClain, City Manager for the City of Maryville, Tennessee, is nothing short of being innovative. When he was at the City of Alcoa, he got rid of a T1 line and strung up the first fiber optic cable in the county, keeping it from being left behind. In this episode, he joins Abhijit Verekar to tell us more about what innovation means to a city manager and how it gets translated into the citizens’ daily lives. He takes us back from the beginning of that fiber transformation in Alcoa to looking beyond and translating a bigger vision to the citizens, partners, teams, and more. He also shares how he cuts through the noise of vendors, how he keeps his teams accountable, and what his most impactful project is in terms of technology. Ultimately, innovation is all about doing what is beneficial for the community, and Greg shows us why it should be the driver of any public servant.

Internet and information technology are key factors that cities these days must possess. From various city departments to residential areas, the need for connecting everyone to the web has become a necessity. In this episode, Abhijit Verekar interviews Theogene Melancon, the City Manager of Dayton, Texas. Intending to use tech to make smarter decisions and processes for their city, Theogene talks about how they are taking cybersecurity to the next level, how they are hiring more employees for tech support, and how they are educating all departments about it. Be inspired by how Theogene weaves IT into their city’s growth as he shares their strategy for viable long-term IT.

More than helping you become more efficient and get a lot of work done, innovation is all about providing a higher level of service to others. In this episode, host Abhijit Verekar invites Bob Wilson, Assistant City Manager of the City of Johnson City, TN, to discuss how a smart city needs only to do that and not necessarily by having the latest and most advanced technologies. Here, they talk about how Bob is bringing forward innovation to the city, sharing how he deals with vendors when finding the software that fits their needs as well as translating his vision to his team and the citizens. He also talks about the ever-expanding role of IT officers and directors and being able to confront that as we move towards the technological future. Moreover, Bob taps into how he is adapting to the coming of the new generation in the workforce and how he keeps himself motivated after years in public service.

The term circuit court is usually applied to trial courts of general jurisdiction. Its core concept requires judges to travel to different locales to ensure wide visibility and understanding of cases in a region. However, with the current lockdown procedure right now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, physically meeting in court poses a challenge. Joining Abhijit Verekar and co-host Mike Caffrey on today’s show is Tom Hatcher, a Circuit Court Clerk for Blount County, Tennessee. Tom has been in the judicial system for 26 years. Today, he talks about how Blount County blazed the trail for many other courts in implementing virtual court systems or virtual arraignment systems. He also discusses how other county courts can get creative and partner with computer vendors so they can do what they need to do within their reach.

A city that thrives is a city that knows how to innovate. In this episode, Abhijit Verekar talks with Brian Platt about how he is fulfilling his role as the City Manager/Business Administrator and the Chief Innovation Officer for the City of Jersey City, New Jersey. He talks about what innovation means for cities and shares some of the biggest successes in his municipal career. Putting technology at the heart of it, Brian discusses how he stays on top of technology while maintaining a more collaborative approach with the residents and his team. He also gives his definition of a Smart City, along with his take on the fundamentals of long-term IT strategy, cybersecurity, and more.

In this technological world, the public sector should find the smartest ways to leverage the latest technology in its efforts to extend quality service to its constituents. What differentiates a smart city from others is not its possession of the most sophisticated technological advancements, but its way of figuring out how to efficiently use what is available to it. In this episode, Abhijit Verekar taps into Rick Cole’s rich experience as a public servant in California for many decades. Rick served as the City Manager for Santa Monica from 2015 to 2020. He has held other public posts, including that of Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles from 2013 to 2015 and Mayor of the City of Pasadena from 1992 to 1994. Join in and listen to Rick’s take on open data, cybersecurity, leadership in technology, and tech literacy.

City managers and administrators are the key people who connect elected leadership and professional staff to serve a community well. That is why taking on this job is no easy feat. Fortunately, with great people on the position, the vision to serve and build a great community is within reach. Eric Stuckey, City Administrator of the City of Franklin, TN, speaks with host, Abhijit Verekar, about the things they have been doing at Franklin. He talks about his thoughts on innovation and keeping up with the newest technology, especially with making services more accessible to the community. On handling his people, Eric shares his leadership style and the way he drives his vision forward and translates it to the language of different teams. He then shares his definition of a smart city, highlighting the use of technology not for technology’s sake but for delivering a higher level of service and building a great community.

Are you taking some time off for the holidays? We all know our offices and operations have looked different this year and have faced unexpected changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before you take time off for the holidays, make sure you won't have to deal with IT disasters while trying to enjoy some rest and relaxation.