Executive Summary
Ohio enters the FY2026–27 biennium with a record ~$200B all-funds operating budget (HB 96, signed June 30, 2025) and a technology story dominated by one theme: AI infrastructure. Central Ohio has become one of the nation's densest data-center corridors — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are all building — anchored by Intel's $28B 'Ohio One' semiconductor campus in New Albany. Two structural shifts matter most to sellers. First, the economics are being re-litigated: Intel has pushed its first fab to 2030–31, and in May 2026 Governor DeWine paused the state's data-center sales-tax exemption after it cost ~$1.6B in 2025 (12x the estimate), with the legislature studying a permanent change. Second, governance is tightening — DAS stood up a statewide AI Council and Generative AI sandbox, and HB 96 imposed new cybersecurity standards (ORC 9.64) on every local government effective September 30, 2025. For Dell, the buying motion runs through the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and its State Term Schedules / cooperative purchasing, with Katrina Flory as the long-tenured state CIO.
- AI-infrastructure demand across the central Ohio data-center corridor and university research computing (PowerEdge, networking, storage, services).
- Statewide AI adoption under the DAS AI Council and GenAI sandbox — a chance to lead with governed, private/on-prem AI for sensitive state workloads.
- Local-government cybersecurity uplift driven by the new ORC 9.64 mandate — endpoint, backup/recovery, and managed-security needs across 3,800+ subdivisions.
- Endpoint, client, and lifecycle refresh across a record general-government budget and DAS enterprise shared services.
Dell Action Plan
- Lead the AI-infrastructure conversation: tie Dell ISG / AI Factory offerings to the central Ohio data-center corridor and Ohio State / university research computing.
- Engage local governments on the new ORC 9.64 cyber mandate — bundle endpoint security, resilient backup/recovery, and managed services for the 3,800+ subdivisions now required to comply.
- Validate that Dell's DAS State Term Schedule coverage and reseller listings are current and correctly scoped, and confirm whether target categories are locked to a mandatory-use contract.
- Position governed, private/on-prem AI for sensitive workloads as the DAS AI Council and GenAI sandbox move from pilots to approved use cases.
- Track the Joint Data Center Committee and the tax-exemption pause — the incentive math for new builds is in flux, so time AI-infrastructure pursuits to where projects are already funded and underway.
Budget & Fiscal
Ohio budgets on a two-year (biennial) cycle running July 1 to June 30. HB 96, signed June 30, 2025, sets the FY2026–27 operating budget — roughly $60B/year in the General Revenue Fund and ~$200B all-funds across the biennium, the largest in state history. There is no single 'state IT budget' line; technology spend is distributed across agencies and delivered through DAS Office of Information Technology enterprise shared services, plus a set of named technology, broadband, and security programs.
- Budget figures are biennial unless noted; the ~$200B all-funds total spans two fiscal years.
- The data-center tax pause (June 2026) does not claw back exemptions for projects already in progress — but it reshapes the incentive math for new builds. Track the legislature's Joint Data Center Committee.
All fund groups (GRF + federal + dedicated/other), LSC appropriation spreadsheets, main operating budget bill only Statewide: $190.71B → $200.12B (+4.9%). Top 12 movers of 99 agencies.
| Agency | Prior | Current | Δ $ | Δ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Department of Medicaid | $75.53B | $82B | +$6.47B | +8.6% |
| State Revenue Distributions | $18.3B | $20.17B | +$1.87B | +10.2% |
| Department of Developmental Disabilities | $9.72B | $11.11B | +$1.39B | +14.3% |
| Department of Development | $3.91B | $2.97B | −$938.6M | -24.0% |
| Department of Taxation | $6.21B | $6.96B | +$748.5M | +12.1% |
| Employee Benefits Funds | $4.22B | $4.95B | +$730.9M | +17.3% |
| Ohio Department of Transportation | $654.2M | $151.6M | −$502.7M | -76.8% |
| Department of Children and Youth | $4.51B | $4.97B | +$458.2M | +10.2% |
| Department of Rehabilitation and Correction | $4.68B | $5.04B | +$362.9M | +7.8% |
| Ohio Facilities Construction Commission | $966.7M | $646.4M | −$320.3M | -33.1% |
| Commissioners of the Sinking Fund | $2.18B | $1.87B | −$309.4M | -14.2% |
| Department of Administrative Services | $1.93B | $1.67B | −$265.4M | -13.7% |
- Amounts are biennium totals across all fund groups from LSC's agency summary tables for the main operating budget bill; separate transportation, BWC, and Industrial Commission budget bills are excluded (Dept. of Transportation figures here reflect only its main-operating-bill share).
- FY2024 and FY2025 are final appropriations as enacted in HB 33. Per the July 2026 LSC edition of the HB 96 spreadsheet, FY2026 amounts are actual expenditures and FY2027 amounts are final appropriations.
- Department of Behavioral Health was named Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in HB 33 (same agency, code MHA). Department of Children and Youth was newly created in the FY2024-25 biennium.
- Ohio Department of Medicaid totals include federal Medicaid reimbursement (roughly two-thirds of the agency's all-funds total).
Source: Ohio LSC, H.B. 96 Appropriation Spreadsheet, As Enacted (136th G.A., July 2026 edition) · Ohio LSC, H.B. 33 Appropriation Spreadsheet, As Enacted (135th G.A.)
Initiatives & Policy
Central Ohio Data-Center & AI Buildout6
Accelerating (with friction)Central Ohio is one of the densest hyperscale corridors in the country — Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are all building near Columbus/New Albany. PUCO's 2025 AEP Ohio data-center tariff (large customers pay for 85%+ of subscribed energy) and a May 2026 pause on the sales-tax exemption add friction, but demand remains the strongest Dell ISG / AI Factory tailwind in the Midwest.
Intel 'Ohio One' Semiconductor Campus5
Delayed to 2030–31Intel's $28B New Albany campus is the largest private investment in Ohio history, but the first fab has slipped to 2030 with production in 2030–31 and a second fab in 2032. Site work continues. The long horizon tempers near-term supplier demand, yet the campus continues to anchor Ohio's identity as a chip and AI-hardware hub and draw an ecosystem of suppliers and data centers.
DAS AI Council & GenAI Sandbox9
ActiveThe Ohio Department of Administrative Services established a statewide AI Council and a Generative AI 'sandbox' to vet use cases, set legal guardrails for third-party AI services, and build a central repository of approved GenAI use cases. Ohio also requires every K-12 school to adopt an AI policy by July 1, 2026. Agencies need governed, auditable AI — an opening for private/on-prem AI on sensitive data.
Local-Government Cybersecurity Mandate (ORC 9.64)10
In effect Sep 30, 2025HB 96 added ORC 9.64, requiring Ohio political subdivisions to adopt cybersecurity standards, run risk assessments, train staff, maintain tested incident-response plans, and report ransomware incidents. With 3,800+ subdivisions now on the hook, this drives broad demand for endpoint security, resilient backup/recovery, and managed services — backed by the Ohio Cyber Reserve and Affordable Access to Cybersecurity aggregated purchasing.
Procurement & Competition
The Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) is the central procurement and IT authority. DAS Office of Information Technology sets statewide IT direction and runs enterprise shared services (OAKS, the InnovateOhio Platform, Ohio Business Gateway). Most technology buys run through DAS State Term Schedules (STS) and Master Maintenance/Master Agreements; non-state entities, higher ed, and local governments can buy through DAS Cooperative Purchasing.
| Vehicle / gate | What it means for Dell |
|---|---|
| DAS State Term Schedules (STS) | Primary vehicle. Pre-competed price schedules; agencies and cooperative members buy approved products/services without their own RFP. Confirm Dell schedules and reseller listings are current and correctly scoped. |
| DAS Cooperative Purchasing | Extends state contracts to counties, cities, schools, higher ed, and other public entities — a wide reach across Ohio's 3,800+ subdivisions. |
| Mandatory-use contracts (GDC/LDC/MAC/RFP) | Take precedence over State Term Schedules for covered categories — verify whether a target category is locked to a mandatory contract before forecasting. |
| Key buying entity | Role |
|---|---|
| DAS Office of Information Technology | Central IT procurement, policy, AI governance, and enterprise shared services — leads the statewide technology motion. |
| Ohio Dept of Job & Family Services / Medicaid | Among the largest agency IT spenders; data-heavy modernization. |
| BroadbandOhio (within DAS/Development) | Drives statewide fiber expansion and affordable-access programs. |
| The Ohio State University & university systems | Large independent research-computing and AI-infrastructure buyers. |
Ohio is a competitive, contract-driven market — incumbents hold DAS State Term Schedules across compute, networking, and services. Differentiation comes from AI-infrastructure capability tied to the data-center corridor, governed-AI offerings that fit the DAS AI Council, and local-government security/backup bundles that map to the new ORC 9.64 mandate rather than price alone.
Power Structure
| Decision-maker | Why they matter |
|---|---|
| Mike DeWine1 Governor · State of Ohio | Signed HB 96 with a record 67 line-item vetoes; paused the data-center tax exemption in 2026. Term-limited — open-seat race Nov. 3, 2026 (Ramaswamy R vs. Acton D); new administration in Jan. 2027 may reset cabinet. |
| Katrina Flory4 State CIO & DAS Assistant Director · DAS Office of Information Technology | Permanent CIO since June 2021; long-tenured (deputy since 2011). Owns statewide IT direction, shared services, and AI governance (92 AI use cases approved as of mid-2026). Re-verified current June 2026. |
| Matthew Hemker16 Interim State CISO (hedge: acting) · DAS Office of Information Technology | Deputy CISO stepped in as interim state CISO after Holly Drake departed in Dec. 2025 for the University of Central Florida. Permanent backfill not yet confirmed — treat as interim. |
| DAS / Office of Procurement Services Central procurement authority · State of Ohio | Approves State Term Schedule vendors and runs cooperative purchasing — the gate for most tech buys. |
| Joint Data Center Committee8 Legislative study committee · Ohio General Assembly | Bipartisan committee weighing the future of data-center incentives. June 2026 reform bill (Chavez) stalled over House-Senate disagreement; no action expected until after the Nov. 3 election — watch for tax-policy shifts affecting the buildout. |
News & Signals
Sources
- WFMJ — DeWine signs FY2026–27 operating budget (HB 96)
- Vorys — Ohio Budget Bill Brings Significant Changes (HB 96)
- StateNews.org — Two-year, $60B Ohio budget off to Gov. DeWine
- GovTech — Ohio appoints Katrina Flory permanent CIO
- Manufacturing Dive — Intel delays Ohio chip project to 2031
- ABC6 — Ohio's data center building boom: nearly 80 more could be on the way
- PUCO — Orders AEP Ohio to create data-center-specific tariff
- Office of the Governor — DeWine announces pause of data center tax exemption
- Community Solutions — DAS releases policy governing use of AI
- Clark Schaefer Hackett — New Ohio cybersecurity law for local governments
- Ohio — 2025 Comprehensive Cybersecurity Plan (CyberOhio)
- Statehouse News Bureau — Questions left unanswered after big-tech hearing on data centers in Ohio (June 4, 2026)
- Ohio Capital Journal — Ohio lawmakers introduce sweeping new data center legislation (June 10, 2026)
- Signal Ohio — Two last Ohio data centers get a $42M tax break before moratorium
- Wikipedia — 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election (Ramaswamy vs. Acton)
- GovTech — Top Ohio cybersecurity official (Holly Drake) returning to academia; Hemker interim
- RGA — Republican Governors Sign President Trump's Ratepayer Protection Pledge (July 23, 2026)
- The Statehouse News Bureau — Democrat running for Ohio governor calls for conditional moratorium on new data centers (July 27, 2026)