She's excited about the ways state agency IT pros and vendor partners are approaching solutions, networking and serving the Austin community.
Known as the Texas Association of State Systems for Computing and Communications (TASSCC) for 50 years, the name change was announced this summer. It is intended to modernize the organization’s identity and better represent public-sector IT’s evolving role.
“We wanted to keep the full acronym because that’s a brand, but we thought we needed a little bit of a refresh,” Hall told Industry Insider — Texas. “Instead of ‘state systems,’ now that stands for ‘strategic solutions.’ The thought behind that was we’re not in the business of building applications anymore. We’re really about finding solutions.
“They could be cloud solutions, something that we develop, or something that we just buy off the shelf like a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. We also updated the ‘computing and communications’ portion of the name. We changed that to ‘collaboration in computing’ because really that is fundamental. That’s what makes TASSCC unique amongst tech organizations, because there really is a true partnership with the vendor community.”
Corporations and businesses that provide IT goods and services in the state may join as associate members. These members’ representatives attend meetings and events, but they don’t vote or hold TASSCC offices.
These vendors might consider conference sponsorships, booth space or suggesting breakout sessions. Attendees will find many breakouts with public-sector IT pros and vendor partners delivering a use case.
Sponsorships go as fast as three minutes, Hall said. The next big event is the annual State of the State on Dec. 5, with only two spots left as of Thursday.
“We've worked to add additional levels of sponsorships. We've also worked to provide additional sponsorship opportunities beyond just the conferences, and we’re trying to meet that demand. ... It's the perfect market for our vendor partners,” Hall said. “They budget for it, they plan for it, and they're ready to go when the sponsorship opportunities get turned on. I've heard the vendors ... vendors who have been part of TASSCC longer, telling some of the newer ones: ‘Now, be sure to do your research and get everything ready for when sponsorships open for the conference because you'll only have two or three minutes.’”
Vendor networking opportunities include:
- TASSCC Advisory Board (TAB) monthly business meetings, which are for the vendor side of the organization
- Community service initiatives, which provide opportunities for state IT staff, higher education staff and vendors to interact and collaborate in a non-sales environment
- Various TASSCC programs, such as the State of the State, Technical Education and annual conferences that bring together SLED tech pros and vendor communities
VOLUNTEERISM
Hall wants to call special attention to the new 35-member Community Service Committee, approved as a standing committee in February. It includes all levels of membership and has been doing monthly outreach since March.
Recipients so far include Texas State Cemetery, Department of Family and Protective Services Rainbow Rooms, a domestic violence group, K-12 students and Austin Pets Alive!
TASSCC also does charitable outreach during conferences, and in August, attendees packed 2,500 student sack lunches and raised $53,626 for kids’ meals.
PUBLIC-SECTOR MEMBERSHIP
Full members are current employees of Texas state agencies and institutes of higher education. These may serve as officers, attend events, apply for training grants and vote on bylaw changes. There is no fee.
IT professionals in different areas of local government and education may have a limited membership in which they attend events and serve on committees. They aren’t privy to holding office, voting or receiving training grants. There is no fee.
Association officers through Aug. 31, 2026, are Hall as president; President-Elect LeeBrian Gaskins of the University of Houston — Clear Lake; Past President Cory Wilburn of the University of Texas McCombs School of Business; Treasurer Wendy Barron of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles; and Secretary Vanessa Hammler Kenon of the University of Texas at San Antonio.
