CDT, DGS Present Updates, Look Ahead for Vendors

The California Department of Technology and the Department of General Services provided an upbeat update this week for tech vendors, citing progress in ongoing initiatives as well as indications of future opportunities for the industry.

Wednesday’s hourlong webinar featured insights and progress reports from half a dozen state leaders, led by opening remarks from state Chief Technology Officer Jonathan Porat. His areas of oversight within CDT and beyond include IT, enterprise architecture, cloud, generative AI (GenAI) and data centers.

“I do want to say that I am very grateful and very thankful for the partnerships that we have with all of you [industry members], especially over this past year," Porat said. “It’s been so great to see some innovation coming not just from the state, and some different ideas and approaches to better align with some of our values.”

He also mentioned the recent publication of Envision 2026, the state’s technology strategic plan covering the next couple of years.

Highlights from the webinar included:

• Updates on the state’s new Enterprise Technology Hardware Statewide Contract: Under that new framework, 35 such contracts were awarded on Oct. 1 to 30 manufacturers, including 11 awards to small businesses and those owned by disabled veterans.
• An announcement that the state expects to release GenAI Information Technology General Provisions next month: The state is planning a virtual forum on Dec. 16, and comments will be accepted until Dec. 19.
• The expansion of the state’s Electronic Vendor Application Qualifications (eVAQ), a resource for vendors seeking to execute a new contract, amend an existing contract, acquire oversight over a stage gate or get answers to general questions.
• Updating the “vendor landing page” around the end of the first quarter of 2025: The page offers resources to vendors, and it will be public-facing.
• A vendor survey to be conducted in 2025.

Attendees also received an update on the state’s Technology Modernization Fund from Andrew Wertin, deputy chief project officer and deputy director of the Office of Statewide Project Delivery. He noted that 16 state departments are modernizing tech in various projects, and of those 16, two went live two weeks ahead of schedule, 14 were delivered on time, and five are pending. In all, $17 million has been invested in projects, and $11 million has been committed to five projects that are still “in flight.”

Webinar participants were also encouraged to review the California Cloud Smart Policy.

Those in attendance were sent a detailed PowerPoint presentation of the webinar (stay tuned to Industry Insider — California next week for a link), and the CDT website offers a link for those seeking to sign up for relevant mailing lists.