The department presents the events periodically as a way of sharing news and updates with the vendor community and to gather feedback from those doing business in technology with state government.
Speakers for the event will include the top two state executives in IT governance — state Chief Information Officer Amy Tong and state Deputy CIO Russ Nichols. Tong is the department’s director, and Nichols is chief deputy director. Also scheduled to speak are Ana Lasso, director of the Department of General Services; and John Kirkham, CIO for the Department of Rehabilitation.
The online event this year will run from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Registration is available online.
Tong and Nichols are scheduled to deliver opening remarks and announcements, followed by procurement-related updates of interest to the industry. The Virtual Vendor Fair will then commence, followed by a discussion about Cal-Secure, the state’s “first multi-year cybersecurity roadmap.” The state published the blueprint last month, and state Chief Information Security Officer Vitaliy Panych described it as “a foundational doc which outlines where our public-sector entities are at, where they’re going, and how they’re going to get there in terms of maturing their cybersecurity posture.”
Also on the agenda are discussions on “Closing Out 2021” and “What’s Next in 2022.”
The event will conclude with a question-and-answer period from vendors, always a popular part of the forums.
