McManus moves from NASA to Commerce

SAN DIEGO — John McManus, NASA’s deputy chief information officer and chief technology officer, will start Nov. 13 as the Commerce Department’s deputy CIO and CTO, Commerce CIO Barry West said Nov. 6.

McManus is well-respected in the government technology community, especially in the areas of enterprise architecture and IPv6. He is chairman of the CIO Council’s IPv6 Working Group and a leader in developing NASA’s information technology architecture.

“He’s the man,” West said.

Federal Computer Week recently named McManus a power player in the technology field.

West sees McManus’ knowledge of enterprise architecture and IPv6 as an asset to Commerce. For example, West said McManus’ know-how can help in creating a department-level model as 13 bureaus move ahead with their enterprise architectures. Those bureaus lack an overarching structure.

“I know John’s potential,” he said.

Moreover, West said he wants to consolidate department e-mail systems and servers, and McManus’ familiarity with the necessary technologies will push Commerce to merge the systems.

Agencies must have an IPv6 network backbone by June 2008. West said Commerce is in the middle of the pack in its efforts to institute IPv6, and McManus can help make Commerce compliant with the mandate. In addition to impacting hardware, the transition affects the department’s software and applications, West said. He wants McManus to focus on making those compliant with the new standards.

West and McManus have talked informally at social events about the move from NASA to Commerce, West said. He even asked McManus to ask him if he knew of any qualified candidates who could fill the job.

West, Commerce’s CIO since June, said he eyed McManus as a candidate for the position for a while.