In his conversation with Fed Gov Today host Francis Rose, Pavan Pidugu, Chief Information Officer at the Department of Transportation (DOT), lays out an ambitious and people-centered vision for transforming how technology supports the department’s mission. His initiative, called OneDOT IT, is built on three key pillars: streamlining processes, empowering people, and simplifying technology. Together, they form the foundation for a unified, modern IT organization that serves both the DOT workforce and the American public more efficiently.
Pidugu explains that OneDOT IT is designed to eliminate redundancy and unify fragmented IT operations across the department’s many subcomponents. For decades, individual offices have managed their own systems, resulting in duplication and inefficiency. “We have redundant systems that do the same thing that were built over time for the right reasons back in the day,” he says. “Now is the time to look at what capabilities we need to offer and unify them into a common process.”
A striking example he shares involves DOT’s 14 different grant management systems, far more than the number of bureaus that use them. The same inefficiency exists in inspection systems across transportation modes like trucking, pipelines, and rail. Each operates separately, forcing inspectors to log into multiple systems just to complete one task. Pidugu’s goal is to bring these scattered tools together into a single, cohesive ecosystem—one where employees and citizens experience the same seamless, digital interface across the entire department.
This consolidation is about more than technology—it’s about creating consistency, improving productivity, and delivering better service. “Any citizen or entity that interacts with DOT should get the same unified digital experience,” Pidugu says.
For Pidugu, modernization begins with people. He views DOT’s IT workforce as the heart of transformation, and OneDOT IT as an opportunity to empower them with new growth paths and broader experiences.
“Saving money is a byproduct of what we do,” he explains. “It starts with our people.” Many of DOT’s IT professionals currently work in small, specialized offices—some with as few as five people—where advancement opportunities can be limited. Pidugu’s vision brings these professionals together under one organization, allowing them to move between projects and develop diverse skills.
“When you’re part of a larger organization that serves the entire Department of Transportation,” he says, “you could be working on a highway project today and something completely different tomorrow. It creates a much broader enterprise experience.”
Pidugu believes this kind of mobility strengthens retention. Instead of losing skilled employees to other agencies or the private sector, he wants them to find long-term career paths within DOT. “I’d rather have people move around within the organization than lose them to somewhere else,” he says.
One of the most interesting ideas Pidugu introduces is his shift from a technology mindset to a product mindset. Coming from a retail background at Walmart, he’s accustomed to treating every digital service as a product with real users, tangible value, and continuous improvement cycles.
“Technology is the construct of how something is made,” he says. “You can use any technology to deliver the same tangible asset. So we call it a product.” This shift in language reflects a deeper cultural change—one that views IT not as a set of tools to maintain, but as evolving digital products that people use to get their work done.
Pidugu compares this to streaming services like Netflix, where different users have different needs but access the same product. Similarly, DOT’s inspection tools can serve multiple transportation modes under a single platform with customizable features. This modular, scalable approach not only reduces maintenance overhead but also allows new capabilities to be added quickly as needs evolve.
Pidugu’s unique perspective comes from bridging two worlds: the fast-paced, results-driven culture of retail technology and the mission-focused, process-oriented nature of government. His time at Walmart taught him to execute large-scale transformations under tight timelines, while his experience in DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration introduced him to the structure and accountability of federal operations.
That combination, he says, prepared him to hit the ground running as CIO. “I actually walked in with a vision on day one,” he recalls. He quickly aligned his goals with the priorities of DOT’s leadership, including the Secretary and senior officials, ensuring that technology supports their strategic vision.
“For any effort to bring efficiencies, technology plays a major role,” he says. “My job is to ensure that the Secretary and his leadership team are supported and given the right tools at the right time, so they’re not slowed down by bureaucratic processes.”
At its core, OneDOT IT is a human-centered modernization effort. It’s about more than merging systems or saving money—it’s about creating an environment where people, technology, and mission align. Through this initiative, Pidugu envisions a DOT that delivers consistent, efficient, and citizen-focused services while offering meaningful professional growth for its workforce.
By treating technology as a product, empowering employees to innovate, and focusing on a unified experience across all DOT components, Pidugu is setting the stage for a more agile, modern, and connected Department of Transportation.His approach proves that government IT transformation doesn’t have to be slow or purely technical—it can be strategic, people-driven, and deeply impactful.