Benchmark Awards: DEEWR, Defence or NSW Trade?

Technology leaders from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, from Defence and from the NSW Department of Trade and Investment have been chosen as finalists for the CIO Benchmark Awards.

One will be chosen as Government CIO of the Year in 2012 at the Benchmark Awards ceremony on February 26, and all three are in the running to be crowned Australia's 'CIO of the Year'.

Australian CIOs and senior IT managers are welcome to cast their vote on our CIO-only LinkedIn Group prior to close of business on February 1, 2013.

Today we take a look at the submissions in the Government sector — stay tuned as we feature finalists from the remaining four sectors over the coming days.

Submissions in the Government category ranged from the very large, such as Defence’s data centre and desktop overhaul, to local councils using tablet devices to automate processes on the street.

The range and breadth of entries made the judging process difficult, but the judges felt there were some standouts.

We have recorded our judges notes on video to aid the voting process:

GOVERNMENT CIO OF THE YEAR: The finalists

"A project of breathtaking scale."

"A prominent project due to the scope, complexity and criticality of the applications to be migrated."

"Greg Farr put his hand up to ultimately be accountable for a project with huge operational and reputational risk."