The Office of Enterprise Technology (OET) was formed July 1, 2005 in response to recommendations by the Minnesota Drive to Excellence, a 2005 report on reforming government services and processes. The statute combines two former units of the Department of Administration - the Minnesota Office of Technology and the InterTechnologies Group - into a cabinet-level agency led by the State Chief Information Officer (CIO).
"Citizens demand and deserve more and better service from their government," Governor Pawlenty said. "By creating this Commissioner level Cabinet position and with Gopal's exceptional leadership, we are now ready to take next steps to more strategically employ technology across all of state government and live up to our citizen commitment."
Gopal Khanna was appointed Minnesota's first State CIO by Governor Tim Pawlenty on August 15, 2005 and unanimously confirmed by the State Senate on March 20, 2006.
Carolyn Parnell was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton on February 1, 2011.
In April 2012 the Office of Enterprise Technology announced a name change to MN.IT Services. Their press release states: "A new name acknowledges the change that is happening everywhere, and begins to build the brand and mindset among staff and customers that all of the State's IT services are MN.IT Services. The new name provides additional clarity on roles and relationships among MN.IT offices and staff, and helps to describe the organization in a clear and consistent way."
In 2013, Governor Mark Dayton also bestowed the title of "Commissioner" on the MN.IT Chief Information Officer so that the members of his cabinet would all have the same title. 2013 Minn. Laws Chap. 134 Sec. 21 contained the addition of "Commissioner" to the title of Chief Information Officer.
Tom Baden was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton on January 14, 2015. On December 28, 2017, Commissioner Baden announced he would retire from state service on February 2, 2018. At the end of January, Governor Dayton announced he would appoint Brigadier General Johanna Clyborne to serve as the next Minnesota IT Services Commissioner.
When Governor Tim Walz took office in January 2019, he appointed Bill Pioier as acting commissioner until a permanent commissioner was appointed. On April 16, 2019, he announced Tarek Tomes as the incoming commissioner.