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Rae D. DeShong

Rae D. DeShong is a Dallas-based e.Republic staff writer and has worked at The Dallas Morning News and as a community college administrator.

News

Submittable Wins DIR Contract for Grant Management

The company, now a prime vendor to the state, offers a software solution to help agencies manage the end-to-end grant management process.

Insider
January 31, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Houston Mayor Recalls All Employees to ‘Assigned Offices’

There have been more than 1,600 teleworking city employees with IT practices to support them; computing and related policy won’t be affected.

Insider
January 30, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

City IT Director Dale Harwell to Retire This Spring

The University Park director of information services will retire after a decade of work in the small Dallas enclave. The city has begun recruitment.

Insider
January 30, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Matagorda County Hit With Malware

The coastal county, with about 36,000 residents, was hit by a cyber attack last week and continues recovering systems and services. Among those downed are the district clerk.

Insider
January 28, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Tornillo ISD Among Schools Impacted by December Cyber Breach

PowerSchool, used in Texas public schools, has been notifying customers and state attorneys general about how a cyber attack affected student and school district data.

Insider
January 28, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Sid Miller Chatbot Among Ag Department’s 2024 Highlights

The chatbot adds flavor to the agency website, but Commissioner Miller’s report also points to the day-to-day work in cyber, system updates and large implementations.

Insider
January 24, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Harris County Outlines 5 Upcoming Tech Procurements

Five approval requests for consulting, telecommunications and a CRM are among items that were on the consent agenda, moved to February.

Insider
January 23, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Texas Will Likely Spend More than $330B in Biennial Budget

Budget bills filed Wednesday reflect overall spending to include $150 billion in general revenue with hundreds of millions in tech spending for some agencies.

Insider
January 23, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

San Antonio Contracts Storm Drainage Upkeep at $1.6M Per Year

AG3 Group will provide video inspections, data input, GIS and related technical assistance for preventative maintenance and repairs.

Insider
January 14, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Texas Makes Bank: Biennial Revenue Estimate Comes in at $194.6B

Although the 2026-27 budget estimate is 1.1 percent lower than last biennium, the Legislature convenes Tuesday with a $23.8 billion cash carry over — meaning the state remains in surplus.

Insider
January 14, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Tarrant County Looks to Enhance Cyber Posture With New RFP

The state’s third-largest county by population is seeking a Microsoft-verified partner to contract for a managed extended detection and response solution.

Insider
January 10, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Houston Approves $61.9M in Telecommunications Spending

Contracts with Verizon and AT&T are among the technology spending in the state’s largest city, and various contracts for software, services and hardware will benefit multiple departments.

Insider
January 09, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Railroad Commission Continues to Infuse Tech Into Vast Operations

The oldest regulatory agency, which is responsible for the oil and gas industry, is asking for more than $27 million in exceptional IT items and $40.8 million in capital expenditures.

Insider
January 07, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Juvenile Justice Department Plans Big Lifts for Biennium

Among the agency’s exceptional item requests are $9 million for application modernization, $5 million for data, $3.2 million for 14 additional IT staff members, and $1 million for digitizing records.

Insider
January 03, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

DIR Readies for GIS and Related IT Procurement

The agency expects to publish a request for offers in late March, resulting in a cooperative contracts vehicle.

Insider
January 02, 2025
· Rae D. DeShong
News

TABC Wants to Add a Business Intelligence Office

The Alcoholic Beverage Commission oversees a growing alcohol industry in Texas and is asking for $1.9 million to expand data management and enable state code compliance. IT is asking the Legislature for at least $7.1 million in its exceptional items request.

Insider
December 19, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

New Dallas County CIO Brings Private- and Public-Sector Experience

The county has named Justine Tran to the position, which was vacant for more than a year. Her work includes IT leadership in multiple industries — from telecommunications to automotive — and for the city of Dallas.

December 17, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

HHSC Publishes Aging Services Data Opportunity

The Health and Human Services Commission is looking to update its means of gathering data on aging populations and has published an RFO due Jan. 23.

Insider
December 17, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

DFW Airport Continues Crossing Bridges in Digital Journey

Airport leadership has recognized construction and design tech firm Autodesk for its part in launching automated and real-time processes.

Insider
December 13, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Harris County Extends Deadline for Staff Augmentation RFP Responses

The county added almost a month for its request for proposals seeking Universal Services contract-to-hire staff.

Insider
December 13, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

UT Health Center in San Antonio Requests Website Build

A University of Texas health and learning hub is looking for an experienced vendor to build modern, accessible oncology and health-care websites.

Insider
December 12, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Tarrant County Seeks to Simplify Child Visitation

The Domestic Relations Office would like to implement a cloud-based system that enables scheduling, communication, identity verification and check-in/checkout processes for families, guardians and staff.

Insider
December 10, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

JPS Health Network Seeks Monitoring and Tracking Via IoT

The network wants to implement real-time tracking to keep up with patients, staff, assets and compliance practices such as hand washing.

Insider
December 05, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Collin County Budgets More Than $10M for IT and GIS

The North Texas county is the state’s sixth most populous at 1.1 million residents, and its adopted budget goals include infusing technology throughout operations.

Insider
December 03, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Tracking the Spend: Agencies Spent $574M With DIR in FY24

The Department of Information Resources provides the statewide technology center and other services for which they receive payment. Meanwhile, Deloitte and Rackspace continue to head the state IT spending list.

Insider
December 03, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Harris County Contracting for Staff Augmentation

The county has issued a request for proposals seeking vendors that will help fill contract-to-hire IT positions.

Insider
November 27, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

State Expects a January SLCGP Application Round

Texas completed its first-round State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program applications in March; a report indicates the next opens in the new year.

Insider
November 26, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

Heather Hall Named CIO of the Year

The Texas Workforce Commission CIO was recognized for her industry involvement and leading through swift change and modernization at the agency and beyond.

November 22, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

HHSC Looks to Stand Up Reporting System in a Year

The Health and Human Services Commission released a request for offers regarding a federally compliant critical incident reporting system that brings data together.

Insider
November 21, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong
News

DIR’s Legislative Recommendations Include Statewide Privacy Officer

The Department of Information Resources released its state performance report last week, highlighting legislative recommendations aligning with strategic goals.

Insider
November 20, 2024
· Rae D. DeShong