Procurement Professional's Guide to DIR
DIR establishes Statewide Technology Contracts following the guidance set forth in the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts’ (CPA’s) Procurement and Contract Management Guide and in compliance with Texas state statutes and rules for procurements. All Texas State Agencies are required to shop DIR first for Automated Information Systems (AIS) commodities and services. Remember, #DIRisIT.
Customer Eligibility
DIR serves a wide range of customers. However, before buying through DIR, learn more about your agency's eligibility to purchase through DIR.
Procurement Thresholds for State Agencies
State Agencies are required through Gov’t Code 2157.068 to meet bid threshold requirements for IT commodity purchases for hardware, software, and technology services. Thresholds apply to all purchases through the Cooperative Contracts Program.
These thresholds are the minimum number of vendors that are required to solicit. There are instances where soliciting additional vendors would be beneficial. Vendors to be solicited must hold a relevant Cooperative Contract.
*Note - The following thresholds only apply for State Agencies and do not apply to other customer types, such as local governments, K-12, Higher Ed, Out of State, or other volunteer customers. Find out more about your agency's Customer Eligibility.
Threshold requirements do not apply to contracts procured through Shared Technology Services or Communications Technology Services, such as TEX-AN Services and Managed Services for Telecommunications.
| Contract Value | # of Vendors |
|---|---|
| Up to $50,000 | State Agencies may directly award a contract to DIR Cooperative Contracts vendor(s) or reseller(s) in the category to which the contract relates. |
| Over $50,000 but not exceeding $1 Million | State Agencies must submit a request for pricing to at least three (3) DIR vendors or resellers in the category to which the contract relates. |
| Over $1 Million but not exceeding $5 Million | State Agencies must submit a request for pricing to at least six (6) DIR vendors or resellers in the category to which the contract relates. |
| Over $5 Million but not exceeding $10 Million |
State Agencies have the option to enter into a contract through the DIR Cooperative Contracts program. If using DIR contracts, state agencies must submit a request for pricing to at least six (6) DIR vendors or resellers in the category to which the contract relates. |
| Over $10 Million | May not enter into a contract through the DIR cooperative contracts program to purchase a commodity item |
Helpful Resources
Learn more about upcoming solicitation opportunities that DIR is preparing. Solicitations include those that are in the Planning, Pre-Solicitation, Posting, Negotiation, and Evaluation Phase.
See training resources and how to access outreach opportunities for your agency.
Learn more about mandatory cybersecurity training that will keep you informed.
Take advantage of limited-time Bulk Purchasing opportunities that enable even deeper discounts.
Learn more about the SOW, development techniques, templates, and other resources.
View upcoming DIR events
Subscribe to discussion groups
Looking for Expired Contracts?
Procurement Professionals will need to access expired contracts from time to time. Here are simple instructions to access your documents:
- Navigate to the Contracts Search
- Search for the Contract Number of the Expired contract
- Toggle the 'Include Expired Contracts' to On
- Click on the Expired Contract page to access the contract and retrieve any information needed (contract details, contract documents, etc).
Note - the contract information and documents displayed for the expired contract is what was available at the time of expiration.
Please contact CPO with any questions.
Learn more about our Program Areas
Cooperative Contracts
Cooperative contracts, which include offerings for:
- Hardware Products and Related Services
- Software Products and Related Services
- Technology Services, including
- Branded Contracts
Communications Technology Services (Telecom) and TEX-AN
DIR also has offerings to meet all of your telecommunication needs. Our Telecommunication and Tex-AN Contracts include Network Access/Connectivity (Wired and Wireless, Voice and Data, Public Safety, Next Gen 911), Managed Network Services including facility, power, and HVAC solutions, Integrated conferencing Services, Software defined networks (SDN)/software defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) / network virtualization (solutions, not managed services), and Fiber-based solutions.
Generally, the Cooperative contracts and Telecommunications/Tex-AN contracts are structured to be self-service contracts. Customers solicit and award purchase orders/Statements of Work (SOWs) under these master contracts and oversee the management of those awards. Customers are required to manage their own procurement process and are responsible for negotiating with the selected DIR Vendor, in addition to managing their contract and addressing any vendor performance issues.
Shared Technology Services (STS) & Data Center Services
The DIR Shared Technology Services (STS) program offers fully-managed suite of contracts to assist Customers with their IT needs. These services include highly secure public and private cloud solutions, application development and maintenance, managed security services, Texas.gov digital commerce and more. To minimize risk and ensure highest quality, each service is provided by best-in-class vendors, and each incorporates leading industry standards and proven best practices. Customers enter into inter-agency or inter-local agreements to participate in the program while DIR oversees the entire contract lifecycle from procurement through contract close-out.
Procurement Templates
DIR is currently producing procurement templates and will update this section as they become available.