Having looked at some of the challenges President-elect Obama faces in the transition from campaign to government, it's time to lay out his technology platform and see what it means to IT managers and staffs. The short version is (in order of its mention on barackobama.com):

• Net neutrality
• Diverse media ownership -- less relevant if net neutrality is upheld
• An anti-pornography plank but only IF consistent with the First Amendment
• Unspecific improved privacy protection
• Transparent government
• Appointment of a U.S. CTO for the first time (see earlier blog post)
• Broadband everywhere (which means higher fees on your broadband bill)
• Fight back against the Chinese invasion in the IT market (I am writing this on my $300 Lenovo laptop; prepare to pay more)
• Permanent R&D tax credits
• Increased anti-trust enforcement (attention Mr. Ballmer -- it could be as if Neelie Kroes emigrated, became a U.S. citizen and was made Attorney General)
• International and domestic IP reform, including ensuring "that our patent laws protect legitimate rights while not stifling innovation and collaboration" (written in way to keep everyone in the open and closed source camps happy without really saying anything)
• Better use of IT in health-care delivery and public safety
• A series of planks related to education and the science part of the platform

Of more concern, if the order of presentation on the Web site is a prioritized list of plans, you might get the higher costs before you get the tax credit.

On one hand, the Obama campaign for the last two years has been a big fan of social computing, and wants to translate that into more transparent government. I don't believe any application of technology will make government more or less transparent. There have been plenty of government Web sites for 10 or more years. But you still run right into the bureaucracy; you just hit it quicker.

On the other hand, at least the U.S. information technology market (I can't speak for other technologies) still leads the world and there is nothing any U.S. government can do in the short term to jeopardize that lead.

The new administration says it wants to fund more basic research but I doubt if much of that will flow to IT; it will be spent on nano, alternative-energy and so forth. And that's OK with me. Our industry is coming up on 70 years old and doesn't need any more incubation.

(Note: Jason Stamper at CBR has posted on the Obama/Biden plan with a different perspective more related to the industry and stock-market possibilities. Jason also interviewed the CFO of Ingres, Tom Berquist, about his opinion, which was a nice touch.)