As a customer-focused partner, VITA procurement aims to ensure agencies have the ability to navigate IT procurements, including procedures, rules and regulations. Our goal is for our customer agencies to gain essential knowledge and improve their skills through training.
Training for agencies is available twice a year. Training topics offered include:
- IT Foundations
- Procurement methods and required VITA governance steps
- Sourcing strategy and building solicitation requirements
- Overview of VITA's role in conducting IT procurement oversight and governance
- Cloud services sourcing
- Risk management
- Statements of work and development of project milestones and deliverables, and
- Performance measures including service level agreements and contracts
If you are interested in virtual or in-person training for your agency on any of the topics above, please direct your request to scminfo@vita.virginia.gov.
IT Procurement Training - Sept. 22, 23, 24 and 25, 2026
9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. daily
Location: Beaufont Springs Drive Richmond, Virginia 23225, VITA training room #108, or offered virtually and by registration only via Zoom.
Agenda: The final agenda is currently being finalized. Please check back soon for a complete four-day overview. Topics that will be discussed include the following:
- IT Foundations and VITA Overview: During this session, we will explore and explain why purchasing IT goods and services is unique from other public purchases, why and how VITA serves as the Commonwealth's central IT procurement body, and how VITA's governance framework enables VITA to fulfill the duties of the Commonwealth chief information officer (CIO).
- Methods and Governance in IT Public Procurement: This session will provide an overview of the different methods of procurement available to public bodies under the Virginia Public Procurement Act (VPPA) and provide a detailed description of the required governance steps and best practices when utilizing each procurement method.
- Cloud Services Sourcing Process: Experts from our cloud sourcing services team will provide an overview of the COV Ramp process, explain when COV Ramp is applicable, how to best navigate the cloud sourcing process, and how successfully negotiate cloud terms and conditions. This session will also explore cloud sourcing process improvements.
- VITA Statewide Contracts Overview: Our VITA statewide sourcing team will provide an overview of their program, which will include an overview of category management, the benefits of utilizing our statewide contracts, and how to find and utilize the statewide contracts. The team will also provide informational sessions on two statewide contracts - the software value added resellers (VAR) contracts and the IT contingent labor (ITCL) program contract.
- Sourcing Strategy Development and Building Solicitation Requirements: This session will provide an overview of how to develop an effective IT sourcing strategy and translate it into clear, actionable solicitation requirements. The session will explore best practices in conducting IT market research, explore key considerations, such as aligning sourcing decisions with organizational goals, assessing technology needs, evaluating procurement options, and defining requirements that are complete, compliant and vendor‑neutral.
Registration details - Closes Sept. 21, 2026
Registration is through the Virginia Institute of Procurement, Learning Management System (LMS). If you do not have an account, you will need to create one before registering by selecting Log in in the upper-right hand corner and choosing Sign up. Please follow the instructions for registering after creating an account:
Registration is through the Department of General Services (DGS), Virginia Institute of Procurement, learning management system (LMS). Please follow the instructions for registration below:
- Log in to your account to the LMS portal, located here: Public Dashboard | Virginia Institute of Procurement.
- If you do not have an account, you will need to create one before registering for training by selecting Log in in the upper-right hand corner and choosing Sign up.
- Once logged in, select the Catalog tile
- Select the VITA Courses tile. This will direct you to the VITA 2026 First Quarter (Q1) IT Procurement Training Courses landing page
- Select Enroll
- Select Start. This will take you to the landing page for Day 1, 2, 3 and 4 of training
- Select either the in-person or virtual session option for each day of training. Note: please only select ONE option -- either in-person or virtual -- for each training day you wish to attend)
- Complete registration for each day you wish to attend the training. Note: Once you make your selection of an in-person or virtual session, it can only be changed by contacting DGS - VIP by Sept. 18 and requesting another option.
- You should receive an automated email from LMS stating you have either successfully registered for each day of training you wish to attend, have been waitlisted for each day of training you wish to attend, and any cancelations or changes made to the training. If you do not receive any communications from LMS after completing registration, please contact DGS - VIP as soon as possible.
Watch video tutorials
Interested in our training, but need more information on what will be covered, or do you need a brief refresher on what we have covered in past trainings? Check out some of our recorded sessions below!
For a taste of the topics that will be covered at our upcoming training session, check out select recorded sessions from our June 2025 training. (NOTE: The videos below are not representative of all the topics covered during our 3-day quarterly training, just examples of what topics will be covered over the course of the training. Some of the material covered in these videos may be updated, changed, or removed during any subsequent training. These videos are posted for the convenience of our customers only – viewing these videos does not constitute or merit receipt of VIP credits towards any certifications. To receive the full benefits of our training program, please register for a spot at our upcoming training event using the instructions listed above).
What Makes a Procurement IT?
This section will cover the distinctions between general and IT procurement, including general IT procurement categories and examples, and how to begin the VITA IT procurement oversight process.
VITA Statewide Contracts Overview
Our SCM Sourcing experts will provide an in-depth review of the will provide an in-depth review of the statewide contracts available to customers, including how to utilize our IT Contingent Labor (ITCL) contract with Computer Aid, inc. This section will also provide a high-level overview of Category Management and the overall strategy for managing VITA’s statewide contracts and leveraging the Commonwealth’s buying power.
VITA Procurement Reviews
In this section, we will provide an overview of VITA’s Major IT Project and High-Risk Review processes, including the required reviews and approvals and what to expect from the review processes. We will also provide tips and guidance for completing a successful and efficient high-risk review.
Performance Measures and Enforcement Provisions
In this section, we will provide detailed guidance and examples for creating clear and distinct performance measures and enforcement provisions, including remedies for IT contracts. We will also provide guidance on how to create a Service Level Agreement (SLA), what to include in your SLA, and how to enforce the SLA to mitigate risk for your IT investment.
Contract Terms and Conditions
Since IT procurements differ from general procurements, they also require contract terms that are created specifically for IT products and services. This section will provide an overview of VITA’s IT contract templates, and a breakdown of key IT terms and conditions contained in the templates.
Other Resources
Having problems with a supplier?
We encourage you to work with your supplier to resolve issues. If you need SCM's assistance, please send a summary to scminfo@vita.virginia.gov.