The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) today announced that Robert Samson, New York State Chief Information Officer, received the Government Technology 2019 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, Drivers Award.

Government Technology established the award 18 years ago to honor innovators, collaborators, and transformers driven to improve state and local government through technology. This year, Government Technology honored 22 individuals and three teams.

“This year’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers represent a cohort of leaders whose commitment to improving government is truly impressive,” Noelle Knell, editor of Government Technology magazine, said. “We’re proud to honor their accomplishments and look forward to what they do next.”

Samson said, “I am truly honored to be recognized as a Top 25 Doer, Dreamer, Driver. I have dedicated my career to helping government use technology to better serve constituents. That mission continues to be at the heart of what I do today at ITS. I am fortunate to be supported by a talented team of professionals at ITS, who work hard each day to deliver innovation that matters…for all New Yorkers.”

Seven years ago, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo created ITS. At the time, New York’s IT infrastructure was split between 46 agencies, 53 data centers, and more than two dozen email systems. In his role at ITS, Samson finalized the consolidation and centralization of those disparate parts into one efficient IT group operating at scale, serving all executive agencies. The 53 data centers have been migrated into one cloud-based system, the New York State Excelsior Cloud. As part of this all-in model, ITS processes 50 million transactions per day, manages 17 million citizen accounts, operates 1,600 miles of fiber infrastructure and more. Under Samson’s leadership, ITS is implementing innovative technology solutions and working with state agencies to change the way New Yorkers access critical state services.

Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers annual award program has recognized more than 450 people since its inception in 2002. Recipients are chosen based on their record of using technology to: solve problems, improve citizen services, and transform internal operations. Government Technology is a division of e.Republic, the nation’s only media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government and education.

To learn more about the award, visit: https://www.govtech.com/top-25/. For more information about ITS, visit http://www.its.ny.gov and follow us on Twitter @nysits.