This has been an unprecedented year for state government agencies as they have worked endlessly to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and historic wildfires — but, as in the case of one high-level state government emergency agency, these endeavors aren’t immediately obvious in their IT services buys.
From Jan. 1-June 30, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) spent $2,710,000 on its five most expensive purchases of IT services. Here’s more information, with rounding, on what the office spent:
• $895,000 with QualApps Inc. for a “FY 19/20 Collaboration Tool” in a 21.5-month contract that began Jan. 15. Sacramento-based QualApps offers consulting and technology services that include IT infrastructure, system integration and Web/mobile app development. With its focus, it’s possible this contract could have greatly enabled remote work during the pandemic.
• $765,000 with RAND Corp. for a “Disinformation Contract 19/20,” likely another reference to the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year. The contract runs almost exactly one year, from March 5-March 1, 2021. The Santa Monica-based RAND is no stranger to research on the state and its communities — it has done analysis in areas including health, security and transportation, and it began working last fall to encourage participation in the 2020 U.S. Census.
• $500,000 with Intuitive Visual Communications Inc. for audio-visual upgrades to the media room, again in FY 19/20. This contract, too, is for almost exactly 12 months, from March 26-March 23, 2021. Founded in 2010, the Sacramento-based company goes beyond audio-visual offerings to offer “an overall event experience,” per its website.
• $300,000 with RadioSoft Inc. for “FY 19/20 Frequency Coordination Services.” This contract runs almost 36 months, from April 13-March 31, 2023. Typically, frequency coordination regulates interference between different radio systems on the same frequency. RadioSoft began developing its propagation software solution in 1985 and is considered a leader in radio mapping technology, according to its website.
• $250,000 with Celer Systems Inc. for project management in a contract of slightly more than 14 months, from Jan. 2, 2020, to March 31, 2021. The company, near Folsom, Calif., offers “strategic staffing and managed services for the IT community,” according to its website.
