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Chapter 11 - IT Procurement Planning and Strategic Sourcing

11.0 Introduction

Effective information technology (IT) procurement planning produces more efficient and economical acquisitions which result in cost-efficient and timely contracts for IT products or services. Procurement planning is the process by which all personnel responsible for significant aspects of a project have adopted specific roles and responsibilities and are integrated in a comprehensive manner. Procurement planning begins with the recognition of a specific IT business need. Procurement planning includes identification of what is needed, when it is needed, how it will be acquired and by whom. The amount of time necessary for the planning process is dependent upon the dollar value, risk, complexity and criticality of the proposed purchase. Procurement planning must also include budget planning. In general, the more costly and complex the IT procurement is, the more essential the need will be for a rigorous, well-planned, structured and disciplined procurement process.

VITA may have an existing mandatory-use or optional-use statewide contract that would serve your IT procurement need. Agencies subject to VITA's IT procurement authority must determine whether one is available as a first step in the planning process. Using a statewide contract(s) may significantly reduce the time and cost for the IT acquisition, as these contracts are competitively procured as a result of the VPPA-required procurement process and the contracts are VPPA compliant. Current VITA statewide contracts may be found at this link: https://vita.cobblestonesystems.com/public/

In addition, the procurement planning process must allow for the time necessary to comply with all Code-required VITA, CIO, Project Management Division (PMD), Enterprise Cloud Oversight Services (ECOS), Security and approvals and governance and oversight requirements for agency IT procurements covered in § 2.2-2007 through § 2.2-2021 of the Code of Virginia.