'[The establishment of] OGCIO indicates the government is placing its IT operation in a more strategic role,' said Lau at PA Consulting. 'This is in sync with what's happening at the private sector, where IT managers take up a more business strategic role to become CIOs.'

Dickson agreed that playing a more strategic role within the government is the OGCIO's direction.

'Hopefully, we are coming from an image of being 'purely technical' to becoming a partner,' said Dickson. 'It's not that we have 'silver bullets,' but just like [in] any large organization, somehow wishful thinking kicks in and some assumptions don't have a good foundation.'

'What we are doing,' explained the GCIO, 'is to help departments realize this sooner. When a project does not have a good base for its scheduling, the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can do something about it.'

He noted that either his team or himself personally are involved in many departments' IT projects, trying to understand the project scope and highlight any potential challenges. Although Dickson did not share specific examples of these projects, he said the OGCIO has built a closer relationship with various departments, including the Transportation Department, Immigration Department, the Treasure and the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau.