Concourse

West Virginia

IT Status Report & Strategic Plan

February 23, 2026 · Version 2.0

Executive Summary

Governor

Patrick Morrisey (R)

CIO

Heather Abbott

CISO

Leroy J. Amos

IT Organization

West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT)

State Agencies

30

Population

1.8M

✓ Key Strengths

  • CIO Heather Abbott's pragmatic 'cloud-right, not cloud-first' strategy evaluates each system individually for cloud suitability based on cost, security, and performance -- avoiding wasteful blanket mandates while still driving meaningful modernization across state government
  • BEAD broadband allocation of $546M approved by NTIA in November 2025, with 142 deployment projects targeting 73,000+ unserved locations using 94.2% fiber technology -- positioning West Virginia for near-universal broadband connectivity across Appalachian terrain
  • Legislature-mandated one-stop licensing portal initiative consolidating all state permitting and licensing into a single online platform demonstrates strong political commitment to digital government modernization and improved citizen experience
  • CISO Leroy Amos brings 35+ years of cybersecurity experience overseeing 40,000+ state government endpoints with established vulnerability management, incident response, and NIST/HIPAA compliance frameworks protecting critical state systems

⚠ Key Risks

  • Significant mainframe dependency across multiple agencies including DMV and financial systems -- legacy COBOL applications require expensive specialized contractor staffing ($1.47M for DMV mainframe programmers alone) and constrain modernization velocity
  • Broadband connectivity limitations have historically prevented county offices from utilizing cloud-based systems, and while fiber installation is accelerating, mountainous Appalachian terrain makes deployment timelines uncertain across all 55 counties
  • One-stop licensing portal faces tight one-year legislative mandate with uncertain funding, complex multi-agency integration requirements, and the need to modernize outdated backend systems that may require extensive rewriting for API compatibility
  • Small state workforce and limited IT talent pool in a state of 1.77 million creates severe recruitment and retention challenges for skilled technology positions, competing with private sector and neighboring states for cybersecurity and cloud engineering talent

Capability Areas

Capability Radar

Cybersecurity & …AI & AutomationDigital Governme…Data Management …Workforce & TalentCloud ServicesBroadband & Conn…IT Procurement &…Interoperability…Legacy Moderniza…
West Virginia

Current IT Projects

ProjectStatusDescriptionTimeline
BEAD Broadband DeploymentApproved$546M BEAD broadband program deploying 142 projects across West Virginia to connect 73,000+ unserved locations. Nine ISPs selected with 94.2% fiber and 5.8% LEO satellite technologies. Approved by NTIA November 2025.2025-2030
One-Stop Licensing PortalIn ProgressLegislature-mandated initiative to consolidate all state permitting and licensing services into a single online platform. Requires building APIs and integration layers across multiple state agencies with varying technical platforms.2025-2026
Mainframe-to-Cloud Migration ProgramIn ProgressCIO Abbott's top priority initiative migrating legacy mainframe workloads to secure cloud environments hosted by AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Each system evaluated individually under cloud-right framework for cost, security, and performance.2024-2028
DMV Technology ModernizationIn ProgressModernization of Division of Motor Vehicles technology systems including mainframe application enhancements and eventual cloud migration. Currently supported by contracted mainframe programmer analysts under $1.47M staffing agreement.2025-2027
Department of Education ERP ReplacementRFP IssuedProcurement of new Finance and HR Enterprise Resource Planning system for West Virginia Department of Education, replacing legacy mainframe-based financial and human resources systems with modern cloud-based solution.2025-2027
County Office Connectivity UpgradeIn ProgressFiber optic infrastructure deployment to state agency field offices and county operations across all 55 counties, enabling cloud-based application access in locations previously limited by broadband connectivity gaps.2024-2026

100-Day Strategic Plan

Quick-win initiatives for immediate impact

200-Day Strategic Plan

Strategic initiatives for sustained transformation

Sources

  1. West Virginia Office of Technology (WVOT) (accessed 2026-02-23)
  2. GovTech: W.Va. CIO's IT Vision: 'Cloud-Right, Not Cloud-First' (accessed 2026-02-23)
  3. StateScoop: One-Stop Licensing Portal Project Comes with Challenges (accessed 2026-02-23)
  4. StateScoop: West Virginia Overcomes Broadband Bottleneck to Enter the Cloud (accessed 2026-02-23)
  5. Governor's Office: Trump Administration Approval of WV Broadband Plan (accessed 2026-02-23)
  6. Benton Foundation: How Did 'Benefit of the Bargain' Change WV BEAD Proposal (accessed 2026-02-23)
  7. West Virginia BEAD Final Proposal Public Comment (accessed 2026-02-23)
  8. West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan (accessed 2026-02-23)
  9. WV State Government Directory 2026 (accessed 2026-02-23)
  10. West Virginia Enterprise Resource Planning Board (wvOASIS) (accessed 2026-02-23)
  11. WV Department of Education Finance & HR ERP Solution RFP (accessed 2026-02-23)
  12. WV Purchasing Division: DMV Mainframe Application Programmer Staffing Services (accessed 2026-02-23)
  13. West Virginia Digital Government Summit 2025 (accessed 2026-02-23)
  14. West Virginia 2025 Annual Recovery Plan Report (SLFRF) (accessed 2026-02-23)
  15. NASCIO 2025 State CIO Survey (accessed 2026-02-23)
  16. NASCIO State CIO Top Ten Policy and Technology Priorities for 2026 (accessed 2026-02-23)