Parliament appoints acting CIO

The Department of Parliamentary Services has appointed Eija Seittenranta as acting CIO. Seittenranta, who is currently general manager, ICT infrastructure at the Department of Human Services, will commence her new role on October 22.

Seittenranta’s appointment comes off the back of a report (PDF) that was released on Monday, stating that the ICT organisation within the department was fragmented and needed a CIO to manage ICT staff and services for parliamentarians and their electorate offices.

To address the need for more unified ICT within the department, the report recommended putting in place a ‘one stop shop’ where all ICT services across the parliament will be located in the one location, improving the efficiency in delivery of those services.

The report also recommended a parliament-wide ICT governance body and strategic plan. According to the report, the governance body will co-ordinate the delivery of ICT services and contribute to ICT investment decisions across parliament.

The strategic plan will ensure investment decisions include stakeholder priorities, and are synchronised with other ICT developments, user requirements and government-wide plans for interconnectivity and security.

Flexible access to ICT technology was another area that needed to be addressed. Parliamentarians complained about the delay in the adoption of new technology such as the iPad and iPhone, with the growing use of iPads placing pressure on “linkages with systems such as COMDOCS”. The report recommended more investment into simplifying linkages with systems.

Seittenranta held the role of acting CIO for the Department of Human Services last year.

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