Rosa B. Akhtarkhavari, 2014 Honoree
- Title
- CIO
- Employer
- City of Orlando
- Location
- Orlando, Fla.
- How are you turning your IT department into a services organization?
- Our IT organization is in its third year of transformation. We have begun ITIL Service Management certification to put a structure in place. We continue to focus on partnering with the departments and understanding their business needs, and reviewing and updating our service catalog and service-level agreements.
- A recent great deal from a vendor:
- When the city was targeted by [the hacker group] Anonymous, we worked with our vendor partners to ensure the security and sustainability of the city's operations. At the recommendation and referral of the Department of Homeland Security, we worked with Akamai to implement a Web content caching system in three days. Google engineers were also made available 24/7 and provided support as needed.
- A career highlight:
- Serving on the executive IT board for the Baha'i World Centre in Israel. It is both deeply personal and a tremendous opportunity for growth as Orlando's CIO.