Western Australia has appointed Giles Nunis as its first ever government CIO in a push to develop the state government’s ICT strategy and cut costs. As part of his new role, Nunis will be helping to stabilise the State Government’s ICT costs, with the WA Government currently spending between $1 billion to $2 billion on ICT per year. Nunis will also head up the development of a whole-of-government ICT strategy, and build the capacity of WA’s growing ICT sector. He previously served as the state’s acting whole of government CIO since April 2015, and his permanent appointment was confirmed today by WA Premier Colin Barnett. The Office of the GCIO was formally established in July 2015 and is funded from a $25 million ICT Renewal and Reform Fund. Prior to taking up the role, Nunis was deputy director general at the Department of State Development where he was responsible for negotiating commercial state agreements and managing the government’s international trade offices since 2010. Giles was also seconded to the Department of Health where he helped restructure the department’s Fiona Stanley Hospital ICT Program. Between 2008 and 2010, he was managing director at IT consultancy Ajilon Australia, responsible for managing public sector accounts including the departments of the Attorney General, Planning and Infrastructure, Treasury and Finance and Police. Premier Barnett said in a statement that Nunis possessed “the right combination of professional skills and practical experience, with a fundamental understanding of the private and public sectors and how to negotiate and deliver large ICT projects”. Since Nunis began acting in the GCIO role in April 2015, the Government has chalked up some significant achievements, according to WA Finance Minister Bill Marmion. This includes the launch of the government’s Open Data Policy, and WA winning the Best Government Participation award in the national GovHack competition, with efforts of Landgate, the GCIO and various government agencies. “The office is well advanced on a whole-of-government ICT strategy, in consultation with industry and Government. Aimed at efficiencies and cost savings, this should be presented to the Government early next year.” Related content feature 10 most popular IT certifications for 2023 Certifications are a great way to show employers you have the right IT skills and specializations for the job. These 10 certs are the ones IT pros are most likely to pursue, according to data from Dice. By Sarah K. White May 26, 2023 8 mins Certifications Careers interview Stepping up to the challenge of a global conglomerate CIO role Dr. Amrut Urkude became CIO of Reliance Polyester after his company was acquired by Reliance Industries. He discusses challenges IT leaders face while transitioning from a small company to a large multinational enterprise, and how to overcome them. By Yashvendra Singh May 26, 2023 7 mins Digital Transformation Careers brandpost With the new financial year looming, now is a good time to review your Microsoft 365 licenses By Veronica Lew May 25, 2023 5 mins Lenovo news Alteryx works in generative AI for speedy analytics results OpenAI integration and AI wizardry for report generation are aimed at making Alteryx’s analytics products more accessible. By Jon Gold May 25, 2023 3 mins Analytics Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe