Obama Chooses US Information Chief

Vivek Kundra has been appointed chief information officer by US President Barack Obama, BBC News reported.

When Mr. Kundra assumes his new position, his responsibilities will include delegating which technologies the Obama administration utilizes, and the logistics of their deployment.  

He plans to expand the vast use of technologies, like the Internet, as seen during the US elections by President Obama’s campaign team.  It is believed Mr. Kundra will be operating under a budget of $70 billion. 

Under his current position as head of technology for Washington DC, Mr. Kundra facilitated administrators in establishing presence on websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to better communicate with citizens. 

President Obama had this to say about Mr. Kundra’s appointment: “I have directed him to work to ensure that we are using the spirit of American innovation and the power of technology to improve performance and lower the cost of government operations.”

Upon commencement of this position, Mr. Kundra will join efforts alongside whoever is chosen to serve as President Obama’s chief of technology.  A decision on who will be assuming this role is expected in the near future. 

Mr. Kundra remarked after his appointment that he wanted to make certain the US has “the ability to run an open, transparent, participatory and collaborative government.”

Mr. Kundra indicated that he would investigate how “cloud computing,” which would demand greater dependence on web-based resources, could benefit government.

He has also promised a data.gov website made available to US citizens that would provide easier access to official statistics and additional government information. 

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On the Net:

• White House
• Vivek Kundra – Wikipedia