L.A. County government has more than 100,000 people in its workforce and is serving a population of some 10 million — and it's building a new IT headquarters. That presents a target-rich environment for vendors. The county envisions a "workplace of the future," and in just one branch of the county Internal Services Division — Shared Services, led by Deputy General Manager Benny Chacko — those initiatives include:
— Identity and Access Management.
— GIS Expansion.
— Business Relationship Management.
— Procurement Reform.
— Mobile/Web Development.
— Contact Center (artificial intelligence).
Chacko outlined these initiatives for vendors Wednesday in a forum that also featured other L.A. County procurement executives — each of whom also has a project portfolio that includes opportunities. Serving alongside Chacko, the other three deputy GMs, and their respective areas of responsibility/procurement, are:
— Robert King, responsible for Telecommunications including Unified Communications, Digital Directories and Chat Bots, and Enterprise Network.
— Jac Fagundo, who oversees Computing Services, Containerization, and Data Threat Analytics.
— Trinh Mac, whose oversight includes Data Analytics, Agile Development, and Cloud Native Development.
Chacko's tips for those seeking to do business with the county:
— Invest in understanding the business. Align product offerings with key strategies and goals for the department and the county overall.
— Build a relationship on trust and consistent delivery.
— Focus on developing a long-term relationship.
— Obsess over customer success for the county with an eye toward future expansion.
— Don’t push to sell licenses or services to meet a year-end sales target.
— Get on County Master Agreements and understand the procurement/solicitation process.
Other L.A. County procurement executives who addressed vendors, and whose initiatives will be reported by Techwire in coming days, included County CIO Bill Kehoe; Jerry Aoki, CIO of the county Department of Children and Family Services; Christina Nguyen, acting CIO of the Department of Public Social Services (DPSS); Del Benavides, acting division chief of the DPSS; Aman Bhullar, CIO of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk; and Mohammed Al Rawi, CIO of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
