Needed: An IT Plan from the CTO

The Business Software Alliance sent a letter to the Obama transition team on Wednesday supporting the president-elect's intention of naming a chief technology officer and suggested the CTO develop a comprehensive IT plan that is "flexible, technology neutral, free of prescriptive mandates, aimed at addressing current and future needs, and that would be acceptable if embraced by other governments.' " The letter's author, alliance President Robert Holleyman, also urged Obama to allow the federal CTO to "play a role in harnessing the power of IT to serve the nation in key social and economic areas such as health care, environmental protection, education, income inequality, connectivity, and public safety," according to a press release.

From the letter:

Given the key role of information and communications technologies in carrying out the government’s mission, the federal CTO will naturally focus a great deal of attention on short-term federal IT management. But the federal CTO should be a true CTO â€" a visionary who helps the government anticipate and make the most of technology trends.

Hat tip: CongressDaily's Tech Daily Dose blog (subscription required)