No time to spare

Connecticut's chief information officer, Rock Regan, offers some advice for vendors on dealing with busy public-sector CIOs:

Know the role of the CIO within the state in terms of policy development, budget decisions, etc.

Know the priorities, pet projects and interests of CIOs and their staff members who have decision-making authority.

Don't use PowerPoint presentations that lack meaningful information.

Understand that the average tenure of a public-sector CIO is only two years and that politicians' tenures vary, so their long-term and short-term goals are often at odds with each other.

State CIOs are a tightknit community, so if you cite examples of other states that have used your product, expect them to be checked immediately.

Learn and follow states' budget cycles because pitching even the perfect solution will do no good if the timing isn't right.