2024 Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS)
COVITS brings together technology-focused public-sector professionals with leading industry partners to connect on innovative approaches, get inspired and discover new technologies. The 2024 event was held on Sept. 11. Learn more at the event website https://events.govtech.com/covits.html.
Recapping the 2024 Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS)
Public sector IT professionals gather annually for the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) to learn from and connect with others. COVITS 2024 was our biggest conference yet, and over 1,000 technology professionals joined us on Sept. 11 at the Richmond Convention Center.
Throughout the day, we heard from inspiring speakers who covered timely IT topics including artificial intelligence, the cloud and identity management. Speakers, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, acknowledged the many ways that Virginia is using technology to make government work better for its citizens. Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears reiterated the importance of using technology to make Virginia a great place to live, do business, work and raise a family. Scott Klososky, author, futurist and consultant, shared insights about using synthetic intelligence to deliver IT projects more quickly and with higher quality. Saby Waraich, chief information officer and chief information security officer at Clackamas Community College, ended the day with an energetic address that included a selfie with the crowd as well as the inspiring story of delivering an overdue and complex public sector project.
From top left to bottom right: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid, Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, COVITS featured speaker Saby Waraich.
2024 Commonwealth Technology Award Winners
A highlight of the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium was recognizing the 2024 Commonwealth Technology Awards winners. Fourteen teams were chosen for their successful public sector IT projects that improve government service and efficiency.
Congratulations to the following state agencies and localities:
IT as Serving the Customer & Business
- State: Virginia Information Technologies Agency, Website Modernization Program
- State: Department of Health, Integrated Vaccine Management Module
- State: Virginia Employment Commission, Insurance Benefit System Modernization
- Local: City of Virginia Beach, Non-Emergency Call Routing System
- Local: Roanoke County, Citizen Connect Permits Web Application
- Local: City of Danville, Permit Portal Upgrade
Innovative Use of Technology
- State: Department of Emergency Management, Flood Monitoring System
- Local: Chesterfield County, Police Staffing Initiative
- Local: Arlington County, AI/ML Assisted Document Search
Innovative Use of Data and Analytics
- State: Department of Health, Next Generation Data Population Project
- Local: Fairfax County, Public Health Data Modernization initiative
- Local: Prince William County, Demographics Hub Site
Cybersecurity and Privacy Initiatives
- State: Department of Corrections & Virginia State Police, Terminal Access Coordinator Initiative
- Local: Albemarle County, Rollout of Gen AI