Information technology experts and analysts have written about extensively: If you want IT to help drive an organization to meet its mission, the chief information officer must report directly to the head of the organization. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has taken that to heart in his bid to improve the state's convoluted and disparate computer systems that resemble the federal government. He's placed the state's new CIO, Teresa "Teri" Takai, on his cabinet, "which means she has direct access to the governor, who also will hold her accountable," according to an article posted by the San Jose Mercury News. "In addition, the elevated stature earns her the respect of other cabinet secretaries, with whom she will need to work closely to institute any major changes that affect how computers are run across the state's dozens of departments and agencies."

In the federal government, rarely does a CIO have such a lofty position in a department, much less the president's cabinet. We'll watch closely to see how successful Takai is.