Business Insights

Home to nearly 28 million people, Texas is the 2^nd-largest state in the U.S. by area. To meet the needs of citizens and to develop and maintain the communications infrastructure needed to connect distant areas of the state, Texas - along with hundreds of Texan municipalities, counties and special districts – requires third-party vendors to provide goods and services in all areas of Information Technology (IT) procurement. State and local governments need reliable IT products and services in many different subsectors, including telecommunications, IT architecture and infrastructure, hardware and office equipment, software development, and audio/video systems, the majority of which must be sourced from private contractors.

Infrastructure in Southern California is constantly being evaluated by authorities to determine how best to meet the needs of the population. As more people choose to work and live in this densely-populated area, additional stress is put on existing public facilities, including roads and utilities. The process of evaluating, planning, developing and implementing improvements to public infrastructure can be long, and require many revisions before construction actually begins. From the earliest stages of any infrastructure project, related bids are posted by state and local government offices, which can lead to new business opportunities for vendors.

Across the Sunshine State, the need for conventional and specialized construction services continues to grow as new projects and aging infrastructure require the attention and expertise of qualified construction vendors. Design engineers, civil engineers, architects, and project management specialists are needed to handle the planning and implementation of major building and infrastructure projects, while roofing, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, drywall, flooring, interior design and finishing specialists must provide their services once the major structures of a project are completed.

Over the past two decades, advances in communication technology have changed the way people do business. Meetings once conducted over analog phone lines are now processed by fiber optic cables, allowing parties to connect visually and virtually between offices located anywhere in the world. Thanks to the widespread adoption of such technology, the number of public sector contracts available in the Information Technology (IT) field continues to increase, creating an unprecedented number of opportunities for third-party vendors. 

For residents of Texas and Florida, the devastation wrought by hurricanes Harvey and Irma have thrust those states’ respective infrastructure challenges into the spotlight, raising questions about how cities and states can prepare for the next extreme weather event.

In July 2017 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations approved the 2018 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Funding Bill, which provides billions of dollars for community development projects across the United States.  Covering a wide range of initiatives from urban planning to toxic material cleanup, these projects will generate new government bidding opportunities at the state, local and federal levels.

A large portion of the money used for capital improvement across the United States is provided by legislation passed through the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. In July 2017 the committee approved the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Funding Bill for 2018, which will provide funding for capital improvement projects in every region of the country and create new bidding opportunities for third-party vendors at state, local and federal levels.

The Purchasing Division of the San Antonio government is the point of contact for businesses looking for contract opportunities with the city. Responsible for the procurement of all goods and services for the various departments of city government, the Purchasing Division is the only government department in San Antonio that can issue contracts over $3,000. For government purchases valued at over $50,000, the Purchasing Division issues solicitations that require City Council approval before vendors can bid on them. [i]

Every four years, people around the world gather to cheer on their country’s top athletes as they compete in the Summer Olympics. In the years leading up to an Olympic Summer Games, cities across the globe are also in intense competition as they craft proposals that they hope will convince Olympic organizers to let them host the Games. These plans are submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the governing body that decides which city will host the upcoming edition of the Olympics.

The automotive industry is evolving at a rapid pace, and one of the most visible examples of this evolution is the increasing popularity of electric cars. The desire for electric-powered vehicles has been growing steadily for years, but high prices for the vehicles have acted as a barrier to entry for the average consumer. But two announcements made in July 2017 that could change all of that.