Consolidation Vendor Forums - FAQ Document
In July of this year, state agencies and departments will be completing the first iteration of their IT consolidation planning. The consolidation planning exercise will be guided by the Consolidation Reference Manual (pdf) and its accompanying templates. In order to help agency and department IT executives complete the consolidation activity and contribute to the state's consolidation goals, the California Technology Agency is holding a series of consolidation vendor forums.
The Consolidation Vendor forums are a chance for IT vendors to present and engage California IT executives on different ways to consolidate "core" category areas - described in the Consolidation Reference Manual. For Vendors wanting to present, the California Technology Agency has supplemented the Reference Manual with the below FAQs. Together, these two documents offer guidance on how to approach the Consolidation Vendor forums.
The vendor presentation should not be sales directed but rather informative discussions geared towards helping the audience understand solutions and experiences known to help in consolidation initiatives. Each topic chosen should be addressed from a technical and business perspective in terms of consolidation.
- What is the format for the consolidation vendor forums?
The vendor forums will consist of half day events (potentially one for each category) of scheduled vendor presentations. Each approved submittal will have 30 minutes to present with no extra time given. By creating an agenda of scheduled presentations, California Technology Agency is ensuring that only state IT personnel will be in the office. No other vendors will be able to listen or review materials provided by another vendor. - When will the vendor forums be scheduled?
California Technology Agency is anticipating scheduling the forums in early August. - According to the Consolidation Reference Manual the agency and department consolidation plans are due on mid July. How will these events be beneficial if the plans are already submitted?
The agency and department consolidation plans are due in July as the first step into agencies strategically looking at their IT organizations. We expect these forums in late July/early August to provide further information for agencies to continue to refine their plans as they discover better/different ways of achieving their consolidation goals. In short, the deadline in July is the beginning ... not the end of the process. - Who will notify the submitting companies if they are scheduled to present?
California Technology Agency's enterprise architecture committee will look at the submissions and decide which technologies, methodologies, and strategies adhere to the direction the state is moving. The California Technology Agency will then notify the contact person listed on the submittal and work towards scheduling a specific agenda time, on the day of that category's vendor forum, for that company's presentation. - What is the audience for the vendor presentations?
The audience will consist of state IT management across various departments and agencies, including AIOs and CIOs.