https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Co-op Solutions


Adobe Stock

Article

Local governments need flexible procurement policies as they work to acquire up-to-date technology

Local governments need flexible procurement policies as they work to acquire up-to-date technology

  • Written by Michael Keating
  • 9th June 2022

Streamlining procurement processes is a top 10 priority among local government IT officials. That’s one of the findings in the new “2022 CompTIA Public Technology Institute (PTI) State of City and County IT National Survey” from CompTIA.

“Our latest 2022 local government survey has procurement as one of its top priorities for the first time—ranked number eight,” says Dr. Alan R. Shark, vice president public sector and executive director of the CompTIA Public Technology Institute (PTI). The survey shows the following as the top three city/county CIO technology priorities over the next two years:

  1. Cybersecurity/data loss prevention
    2. Modernizing outdated IT systems
    3. Innovation

On the subject of IT procurement, Shark says it is crucial that an agency’s procurement rules allow for expediting purchases as well as permitting more sole-source opportunities. “Today’s IT environment requires flexibility and being agile. Such flexibility also includes the recognition that sole-source can often be the best solution, especially when it is well documented, and time is of the essence.”

Shark spotlights some key considerations for cities-counties when they buy technology. “The most important thing for local governments is to have some degree of flexibility when making purchases and recognizing that the cheapest solution can often be the poorer choice.” He adds that local governments need to do a better job of understanding the total cost of a product or service which includes ongoing required upgrades, training and maintenance. “There is a need for greater flexibility in choosing various product configurations taking into account volume discounts as well as speed of delivery.”

Local governments typically operate under state purchasing regulations as well as local policies when they do technology buys. Shark says he’s heard complaints that purchasing policies and procedures are often outdated, too restrictive and in some instances, out of sync with state procedures. “The ideal situation would be for CIOs and purchasing officers to work towards having a stronger and more meaningful working relationship. There can be friction on both sides where a better working relationship could iron out miscommunication, lack of awareness as to what a particular problem might be and seeking common strategies for obtaining the best IT solutions.”

Shark says that for the past decade, cybersecurity has been the No. 1 concern for all IT managers. What’s more, the threat landscape is growing faster than IT managers can keep up with. His conclusion: “Cybersecurity requests must receive special priority attention to help identify solutions that can scale up and down and have the ability to adjust along the way.”

He notes that many IT leaders have been forced to outsource some or all their cybersecurity monitoring and mitigation services. “This places an extra load and burden on annual operating budgets as opposed to capital budgets where products and services can be amortized over a period of time.”

Shark says most IT managers in the public sector are switching to a more agile way of carrying out their responsibilities. “This means they need a long-term vision with incremental and flexible spending plans. There are few long-term solutions today as the technology is changing ever faster; as is the way it is being deployed.” Shark’s group advises local government IT administrators to avoid inflexible long-term commitments when making technology buys.

Shark says recent trends and events show governments’ ongoing need for current technology. “The pandemic certainly proved the need for greater mobility and the need to pivot to a largely remote workforce. Many of the improvised practices are now becoming institutionalized. As a result, local governments are more dependent on technology than at any time in history.” He adds that it is imperative for cities and counties to stay up to date in their technology profiles to serve their citizens and internal customers with the higher level of service they have come to expect.

Shark believes cooperative procurement agreements can play a role in technology buys. He notes, however, that while cooperative purchasing deals are great for commodity-based products, they do little for customized solutions. “Smaller, self-developed ad-hoc agreements among a small but focused group are often a better alternative,” is his conclusion.

Shark has broad experience serving the public sector, having led the PTI in Washington D.C. since 2004. He is a fellow of the National Academy for Public Administration and chair of the Standing Panel on Technology Leadership, as well as an associate professor for the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, and is course developer/instructor at Rutgers University’s Center for Government Services. Shark also the host of the bi-monthly podcast, Sharkbytes.

Shark’s group is all about making public sector connections at all levels of government. CompTIA, parent to PTI, provides a Public Sector Procurement Council that connects members with policy and decision-makers in federal, state and local government. “The council works closely with agencies, Congress, and the White House to help define, outline, and implement an IT-focused modernized acquisition framework,” Shark tells Co-op Solutions. CompTIA PTI will hold its annual Local Government Cyber Leader Summit on October 26, 2022 in Washington D.C.

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].

Tags: homepage-featured-1 homepage-featured-2 homepage-featured-3 homepage-featured-4 Cooperative Purchasing Procurement Co-op Solutions Co-op Solutions Article

Most Recent


  • hybrid technology
    Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making
    There’s one kind of technology that state and local governments covet, says Rob Carey, president of Cloudera Government Solutions. “While supporting multiple state and local government agencies, our team has noticed an increase in the need for hybrid cloud solutions.” A hybrid cloud is the combination of both public and private cloud deployment models. In […]
  • purchase
    Buying smart solutions: Technology is now part of (almost) every government purchase
    When municipalities first moved toward automation, early purchases concentrated on delineated silos between technology and non-mechanized purchases. With today’s purchasing trends, there seems to be a computer chip or automation component involved in almost every government purchase. Changing apparel industry Whether it’s uniforms for safety personnel, custodians or park rangers, work apparel is a long-standing […]
  • procurement IT
    The beauty of the beast: Why the pandemic & cybersecurity might actually improve procurement and IT collaboration
    For well over decade, IT managers have listed cybersecurity as their number one concern. Both the CompTIA Public Technology Institute (PTI) and the National Association of State Information Officers (NASCIO) have been tracking top trends in IT management, policy, governance and operational issues as they relate to state and local government. Only recently has “procurement” […]
  • procurement
    De-siloing procurement: Empowering purchasing with new data and perspectives
    While private sector companies leverage community, partnerships and knowledge sharing to drive growth, their ability to do so is limited by the competitive landscape. The number and scope of their partnerships are limited by the need to maintain competitive advantage. For governments, and specifically procurement departments, the rising tide of shared perspectives—and ideally information—lifts all […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • procurement
    Public procurement resource is expanding its tools and offerings to purchasers everywhere
  • cooperative procurement
    Replacing cumbersome purchasing processes with digital tools can aid in rating and evaluating cooperative contracts
  • Global sustainability network helps local governments share green procurement practices
  • Procurement staffers have gone the extra mile to keep governments supplied during COVID-19

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Seamless Cooperative Experience Saves Indiana City Exponentially in Time and Money dlvr.it/SSxp95

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 best large cities for fishing dlvr.it/SSxbSZ

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Generational differences present an opportunity to reinvent public sector service delivery dlvr.it/SSxbN7

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Local and state governments are facing a retention crisis; the worst could be yet to come dlvr.it/SSnmS7

24th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid an unprecedented increase in federal spending, cities and counties stand to benefit from partnerships dlvr.it/SSkGBn

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Governments using technology to harness data and improve decision-making dlvr.it/SSk3H0

23rd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Infrastructure highlighted by city leaders as top priority in analysis of 60 mayoral addresses dlvr.it/SSgBck

22nd June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Oklahoma City puts the focus on employees when implementing changes in office technology dlvr.it/SSfyns

22nd June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X