Water and Wastewater CIO Forum

Jacobs Digital Market Director Raja Kadiyala and a team of experts recently delivered a business continuity webinar in the wake of COVID-19 for the Water and Wastewater Chief Information Officer (CIO) Forum. The CIO Forum, which includes 40 of the larger water utilities in North America, was established to share solutions and best practices to help utilities navigate the digital landscape.

The Jacobs-sponsored webinar was developed to help water and wastewater utilities address business challenges stemming from COVID-19.

“These businesses provide critical services and are essential to our everyday activities. They must operate non-stop,” said Jacobs Digital Market Director Raja Kadiyala.

The webinar provided guidance on the use of technology for business continuity, bolstering cyber security for the operational technology infrastructure and Jacobs’ first-hand experiences with how our Operations, Maintenance & Facilities Services staff are keeping the facilities that we operate going. Jacobs operates more than 200 water and wastewater facilities throughout North America.

“Addressing the challenges water and wastewater utilities are facing in this unprecedented time takes collaboration, sharing best practices and a place to bounce ideas off of one another. Jacobs was pleased to facilitate this discussion and bring together our experts to provide guidance on business continuity, cyber security, IT systems and guidance on supporting the distributed workforce,” added Kadiyala.

The webinar featured several Jacobs experts including new hire Chris Dermody. Chris has recently joined Jacobs as its digital technology leader focusing on advancing digital solutions for the water and wastewater industry. Most recently, he served as Denver Water’s Chief Information Officer. In 2006, Chris co-founded the Water and Wastewater CIO Forum.

“Chris was hired as part of the Jacobs’s digital transformation journey, helping to link Information Technology and Operational Technology together. Chris is an industry veteran and leader with nearly 20 years of experience executing technology strategies in the water and wastewater industry. We’re delighted to have him bring his expertise to our team,” said Kadiyala.

Other speakers included:

• Business and Operations Continuity (Megan Ellis)
• Cyber security for Operational Technology (Adi Karisik)
• Facility Operations (John Rickermann)