Obama arrives in White House on Tech Ticket

Yesterday’s inauguration of the US’ first African-American president, a large enough change in itself, his attitude towards technology is notably different to that of his predecessor, George W Bush.

Obama’s tech-savvy campaign has been discussed at length; his used of social media and YouTube, for example, was a key method in gaining support for his candidacy. The Obama team used consumer relations management tool Salesforce to connect with US citizens on its website, and used Silverlight to stream the inauguration onto the presidential website. Now that he is president, this enthusiasm for technology has built expectations in the sector, and demands for improvements and investment in new technologies are flooding in.

Online security is a top priority for some groups. The Future of Privacy Forum has already put pressure on Obama to improve security for consumers, whilst the Centre for Strategic and International Studies has called for a body separate from Homeland Security and the Joint Inter-Agency Cyber Task Force to be created to tackle online security. Meanwhile, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association is pushing for tightening of legislation around intellectual property. Obama’s pro-technology stance may lead to his administration biting off more than it can chew with such demands.

The new president, however, appears to have several answers, if not concrete plans, well-prepared, at least. His technology platform responds well to many of the demands made, showing that careful thought has been put into problems surrounding R&D, patent reform and network neutrality. His planned overhaul of the government’s technology infrastructure is particularly promising, with many industry heads welcoming change.

If Obama is to get the country back on its feet again it is essential that technological developments are approached with finance in mind. It’s no good opting for a blank cheque, the liklihood that plans will fail are greater – sticking to fixed-costs will enable services to regain the control of their IT that they deserve.