Overview
San Diego County is the local government for roughly 3.3 million residents — California's second-most-populous county, behind only Los Angeles — and one of the largest public-sector technology buyers in the state. Its technology is coordinated centrally by the County Technology Office (CTO), which is distinctive for a long-running outsourced operating model: rather than running most IT in-house, the county delivers help desk, applications, desktop, network, and data-center services through an outsourced contract (currently held by Peraton, with roughly 300 contractor staff across those five service frameworks). The CTO sets strategy, governance, security, and AI policy while the prime contractor and subcontractors deliver day-to-day services.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted the FY2026-27 budget of about $9.16B all-funds on June 25, 2026 — roughly a 6% (~$522M) increase over 2025-26, effective July 1, 2026.
For a Dell SLG seller, the defining dynamic is the once-in-a-decade re-compete of the county's primary IT services contract: the county issued a Request for Information ahead of a competitive process for a new agreement expected to start around 2028, and has signaled it may move from a single prime to multiple vendors. That re-compete, the centralized CTO buying center, and an active AI-governance push are the near-term shapers of how and through whom hardware, infrastructure, and security dollars flow.
- County Technology Office (CTO) is the technology buying center — CIO Eric Shiotsugu owns IT strategy, governance, security, and AI policy
- The outsourcing prime (currently Peraton, ~300 contractor staff) delivers day-to-day help desk, apps, desktop, network, and data-center services — engage as the OEM behind the prime, not only direct to the county
- Board of Supervisors approves the budget and major contracts — the gate for the IT re-compete and any large award
- Fastest compliant paths: NASPO ValuePoint / OMNIA cooperative contracts or California CMAS/LPA schedules; register for direct business via Purchasing & Contracting's BuyNet
Where Dell Can Play
- Anchor the relationship with the CTO buying center — CIO Eric Shiotsugu and the County Technology Office — and confirm current incumbencies before mapping the org and forecasting.
- Treat the IT services re-compete (toward ~2028, potentially multi-vendor) as the central play: position Dell as the OEM behind whichever prime(s) win and engage early via the RFI/competitive process and through Purchasing & Contracting.
- Lead with data-center, server/storage, and end-user compute modernization plus as-a-service consumption tied to the county's IT Strategy — a steady lifecycle motion independent of the delivery vendor.
- Build the security and AI motion with the CTO around the county's AI-governance framework and data-protection priorities — endpoint, identity, and infrastructure resilience for governed AI workloads.
- Verify Dell's cooperative coverage (NASPO ValuePoint, OMNIA) and California CMAS/LPA scope, register on BuyNet, and time the motion around the June 25, 2026 budget vote and the IT contract timeline.
Budget & Fiscal
San Diego County's FY2026-27 budget is about $9.16B all-funds, unanimously adopted by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 2026 (effective July 1), up roughly 6% (~$522M) over the 2025-26 budget; the CAO first released a ~$9.1B recommended budget on May 18, 2026 and revised it upward via a 'change letter.' IT spend isn't published as a single public line — much of it is embedded in the outsourced IT services contract and in the budgets of the operating groups the CTO serves (Health & Human Services, Public Safety, Land Use, Finance & General Government), so the buying signal sits in the contract re-compete and in group modernization plans rather than a standalone IT appropriation.
- IT is delivered largely through an outsourced services contract rather than a single large in-house IT general-revenue line — the contract value and its re-compete are the dominant spend signal.
- Program and modernization dollars sit with the operating business groups (HHSA, Public Safety, Land Use & Environment, Finance & General Government) — map the funded group initiative, not just the CTO.
Initiatives & Priorities
The county's primary IT services contract is reaching the end of its term. A Request for Information opened the path to a competitive procurement (RFI comment window through Feb 15, 2026), with a new agreement expected to begin around 2028. The county has signaled it may shift from a single prime to multiple vendors — the single biggest near-term factor in who delivers, and supplies, county IT.
Procurement Outsourcing Re-competeThe CTO and a Board ad-hoc subcommittee have advanced an AI policy and governance framework emphasizing transparency, accountability, equity, and data protection across county operations, with direction to fold AI requirements into the upcoming IT contract. The county has also joined the GovAI Coalition (a 300+ government-agency network for safe, transparent AI). Signals appetite for governed AI deployment and the infrastructure, data, and security work that surrounds it.
AI GovernanceThe county's Information Technology Strategy frames a digital ecosystem for innovative, customer-centric services. As a centralized buyer, the CTO carries ongoing data-center, network, end-user compute, and application modernization — a steady lifecycle-and-resilience motion regardless of which delivery vendor is in place.
Modernization Data CenterSecurity and privacy are recurring CTO priorities, embedded in both the IT strategy and the AI framework's data-protection emphasis. A durable entry point for endpoint, identity, and infrastructure-security offerings across a large, multi-group county footprint.
CybersecurityProcurement
Selling to San Diego County runs through the Department of Purchasing & Contracting, which manages solicitations and vendor registration via its BuyNet portal — and, critically for IT, through the prime IT outsourcing contract under which much delivery flows. Two paths shorten the cycle: the county's use of cooperative purchasing (riding awards another public agency already competed) and California statewide leveraged agreements the county can buy off without a fresh RFP.
| Vehicle / gate | What it means for Dell |
|---|---|
| Purchasing & Contracting (BuyNet) | The central buying department for county solicitations, terms, and supplier registration via BuyNet (no registration fee) — the front door for direct county business. |
| IT outsourcing services contract | Much county IT is delivered and procured through the prime IT services contract (currently Peraton). The active re-compete toward ~2028 — potentially multi-vendor — is the path most infrastructure and services dollars route through; engage as a partner/subcontractor and as an OEM behind the prime. |
| Cooperative & California statewide vehicles (NASPO ValuePoint, OMNIA, CMAS / Cal eProcure) | The county leverages cooperative awards and California leveraged procurement agreements to buy off pre-competed contracts. Confirm Dell's cooperative coverage and CMAS/LPA scope are active and correctly scoped. |
Spend Signals
GovSpend · as of Aug 10, 2026Dell vs. competitors (spend, payee)
Expiring contracts (re-compete)
| Contract | Vendor | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| Dell Computer Hardware | Dell Marketing LP | Sep 2, 2026 |
| Smartsheet Business Plan License | Smartsheet Inc | Sep 3, 2026 |
| Socrata Software Subscription Services / Open Data Initiative | Socrata Inc | Sep 30, 2026 |
| BPA for Multiple IT Goods | Carahsoft Technology Corporation | Dec 19, 2026 |
| Gotham software systems for Sheriff/SD-LECC | Palantir Technologies Inc | Dec 30, 2026 |
| Record Management System - NicheRMS Software | Niche Technology USA Limited | Dec 31, 2026 |
| Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) on software products and licensing | Dell Marketing LP | Dec 31, 2026 |
Open bids / RFPs
| Solicitation | Due |
|---|---|
| Online Software License Subscription for Self-Directed CPR Training County of San Diego | Aug 17, 2026 |
| Case Management System (CMS) Modernization Technical Assistance County of San Diego | Aug 18, 2026 |
| Collections, Chat and Call Center Services County of San Diego | Aug 20, 2026 |
- expiringContracts/openBids refreshed 2026-08-10 (corrected from an earlier 2026-08-05 pass, window now 2026-08-10–2027-02-28): the prior openBids entry (Tipping Point/Trend Micro renewal, dueDate 2026-07-31) had already expired and was replaced; the prior "BPA for multiple IT goods" (Carahsoft, endDate 2026-12-19) no longer appears in the current contract feed and was replaced with a newly found Dell Marketing LP hardware contract. Two more contracts (Automated mugshot identification system, Dataworks Inc; CCTV security system services, A 3 Communications Inc — both endDate 2026-08-09) briefly appeared in the 2026-08-05 pass but had also already expired by the corrected date; they were dropped and replaced with an as-needed electronic security systems contract (Brault Inc, endDate 2026-08-10) and a cloud-based forensic testing software contract (Biddle Consulting Group, endDate 2026-08-11).
- California county fiscal year runs July–June; window reflects PO issue dates 2022-07-01 through 2025-06-30 (FY2023–FY2025).
- GovSpend PO data is dominated by the county's IT-outsourcing prime — Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services (~$115.7M, FY23) and current prime Peraton — so most hardware/software rides inside that managed-services contract rather than appearing as separate manufacturer line items; Dell/competitor product-text footprint reads thin as a result.
- Excluded evident false positives: "Safety Zone Holdings" (matched "Zones") and "Verizon Connect Nwf" (matched "Connection") from vendor spend; "A B Hashmi" (a produce/food distributor, matched "apple" as fruit) from the Apple brand search; "Gerstel" and "VWR International" (lab-equipment vendors, matched "precision") from the Dell footprint search.
- Dell Marketing LP's own direct PO spend in this window (~$55K) sits under the $100K vendorSpend threshold, but Dell Marketing LP separately holds the county's Microsoft Enterprise Agreement reseller contract and a direct Dell hardware contract (see expiringContracts) — live, named Dell relationships despite the small PO total.
- Figures are estimates: text-matching can include false positives and source contract dollar amounts are often unpublished; treat every number as a floor. brandFootprint and categories are omitted — no brand cleared the $100K product-text threshold and LineItem.Category returned department/fund names rather than IT commodity categories for this agency.
- expiringContracts re-floored 2026-08-10 to a two-week runway (endDate on or after 2026-08-24, up from same-day). The Peraton IT/Telecom prime contract and an Aviat microwave-network contract (both endDate 2026-08-10) were removed for falling under the new floor. A broader keyword search turned up enough additional IT-relevant contracts to bring the panel from 5 back to a full 7 without padding: Smartsheet, Socrata (open-data subscription), Niche Technology's NicheRMS software, and — despite the 2026-08-05 note above — the Carahsoft "BPA for Multiple IT Goods" (endDate 2026-12-19), which has reappeared in the GovSpend contract feed.
Power Structure
| Decision-maker | Why they matter |
|---|---|
| Ebony N. Shelton Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) | Top of the county administration and budget; the CTO and all business groups report up through the CAO. Sets the spending frame and released the FY2026-27 budget the Board adopted June 25, 2026. Confirmed current as of June 2026. |
| Eric Shiotsugu Chief Information Officer (County Technology Office) | Appointed CIO effective December 2025 after serving in an acting role — owns county IT strategy, the CTO organization, and the IT contract re-compete. The central technology relationship; confirm current incumbency before forecasting. |
| County Technology Office (CTO) Central IT strategy, security & AI policy | The governance and buying center that sets strategy, manages the outsourced delivery model, and owns security and AI policy — the org to map for endpoint, infrastructure, and security plays. |
| Department of Purchasing & Contracting Procurement & vendor registration (BuyNet) | Owns solicitations, terms, and supplier onboarding — the contracting path for direct county business and the IT contract re-compete. |
| Board of Supervisors Five-member governing board | Adopts the county budget and approves major contracts, including the upcoming IT services award — unanimously adopted the ~$9.16B FY2026-27 budget on June 25, 2026. |
News & Signals
Sources
- County of San Diego — County Technology Office (CTO)
- County of San Diego — IT Outsourcing Contract
- County of San Diego — Artificial Intelligence
- KPBS — County CAO releases $9.1B recommended budget, 6% increase
- County News Center — County adopts balanced $9.16B budget (June 25, 2026)
- FOX 5 San Diego — San Diego County adopts $9.16B budget for 2026-27
- Engage San Diego County — The County and Artificial Intelligence (GovAI Coalition)
- Engage San Diego County — IT Outsourcing (ITO) Contract re-compete
- GovTech — San Diego County Names New Chief Information Officer (Eric Shiotsugu)
- County of San Diego — Ebony N. Shelton, Chief Administrative Officer
- County of San Diego — Purchasing & Contracting (BuyNet)