Q&A: Marv Gordner, Senior Program Manager, Mission Support Solutions, MorganFranklin, Discusses Burgeoning Growth in Vendor Vetting
August 16, 2012
One of the biggest challenges of providing reconstruction dollars to war-torn areas and government contracts across the globe is the risk of hostile organizations gaining access to and using this funding in nefarious ways. MorganFranklin Corporation, a provider of national security program and mission support services and C4ISR solutions, has emerged as the leading expert in a growing field known as Vendor Vetting, which entails identifying threats and preventing hostile organizations from using reconstruction contracting dollars to fund operations. The FedPulse blog recently spoke with Marv Gordner, Senior Program Manager in MorganFranklin’s Mission Support Solutions practice, about the topic of vendor vetting ... Read moreOpportunities in Cybersecurity and Health IT Lay Ahead, Despite Government IT Budget Cuts
August 15, 2012
In today’s government budget climate, contractors are continually looking for that silver lining. With sequestration looming and government IT spending to decrease from $121 billion in 2012 to $113 billion by 2017, contractors need to find a ray of light that will guide them through this turbulence. Our friends at Deltek recently issued a GovWin IQ study that highlights where contractors can achieve positive business growth. As expected, and as showcased in the Market Connections’ 2012 Government Contractor Study, contractors can see growth opportunities in the areas of cybersecurity, cloud computing and health IT. The GovWin IQ study also points out how ... Read moreGAO Report Signals Opportunity for Contractors in Agile Software Development
August 14, 2012
Applying agile software development methods to IT projects has been a hot topic as of late at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency recently unveiled a report highlighting its 32 tips for applying agile development to help improve how the federal government will develop and implement IT infrastructure projects. Specifically, these tips focus on key areas that will help long-term software development projects from becoming obsolete and/or going over budget, which includes addressing impediments, gaining continuous stakeholder feedback, empowering cross-functional teams and tracking progress daily. As we recently highlighted, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs (DoD/VA ... Read moreMonday Morning News Kick Off: Republicans Urge Obama to Avoid Sequestration; Paul Ryan Originally Voted for Defense Cuts; and OMB Performance Management
August 13, 2012
Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog. The Presidential election heated up this weekend with Mitt Romney choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, and the overall government budget issue has become top-of-mind. So, once again, sequestration is dominating the news cycle, along with plenty of other agency and contractor news. Happy Monday. Republicans Call on White House to Avoid Sequestration Republicans are calling on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate to act before sequestration takes place. Paul Ryan: Budget Hawk, But Not on Defense Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan oppose sequestration, though Ryan backed the sequester ... Read moreWashingtonExec: Q&A with David McClure, USA Search, FedRAMP and Real-Time Big Data Capability
August 10, 2012
Our friends at WashingtonExec recently ran a Q&A with David McClure, Associate Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies (OCIST), that caught our attention. With big data being a burgeoning area for government contractors, it is always ideal to hear about new challenges and innovations from the government executives driving this new movement. You can check out the full Q&A here. Read moreA Doctor’s Perspective Can Help Contractors Developing Health IT Solutions
August 9, 2012
Sarah Wholey, Research Analyst, Market Connections, Inc. As many contractors are broadening their offerings into the Health IT arena – to augment potential losses from the defense sector – it is critical for them to fully understand how health care practitioners can benefit from new innovations in this burgeoning arena. As part two of a series of posts based on the insights gained from the recent Federal Computer Week- and immixGroup-hosted seminar called “Applying Technology for Improved Health Information Management,” I wanted to highlight the value of Health IT from a doctor’s perspective. Dr. Thomas Lee, Internist, Cardiologist, and Network President, Partners Healthcare ... Read moreKnowledge is Power: Key to Overcoming Sequestration Uncertainty
August 8, 2012
Sarah Wholey, Research Analyst, Market Connections, Inc. It’s no secret that the government contracting industry is in a state of paralysis right now thanks to sequestration. The government news cycle is promoting and selling fear and many contractors are letting this influence how they will do business over the next six months. While we are all facing uncertain times, it is critical for contractors to continue to focus on their core businesses, develop and use the right market research and focus on new and innovative capture processes. Contracting software and information solutions provider Deltek recently hosted an event called “Trends and Drivers in ... Read moreAgencies Under Scrutiny to Provide Better Customer Service
August 7, 2012
Providing the highest level of customer service is paramount for any industry. For the federal government – whether it’s the I.R.S or the Department of Veterans Affairs – a diverse audience of citizens, military personnel and other government employees make the requirements of good customer service more complex than in other businesses. A new bipartisan bill, introduced July 30 by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), calls for federal agencies to develop specific standards for customer service. The Government Customer Service Act would establish what Senator Warner calls a “SWAT team,” driven by the Office of Management and Budget ... Read moreMonday Morning News Kick Off: Feds ‘Under Attack’ with Sequestration; Audit the Pentagon Act; SAIC Potential Lay Offs; and FCW 2012 Rising Stars
August 6, 2012
Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog. Many are now experiencing the ‘dog days’ of summer with nice beach vacations and shortened workweeks with good old summer Fridays. However, with the future of the government contracting sector in question, no one is really resting easy this summer. The best way to deal with significant change is to arm yourself with knowledge, which we aim to do each week with our Monday Morning News Kick Off post. Happy Monday. Proposed Law to Shed Sunlight on DOD Budget Sen. Tom Coburn (R-.Okla.) is sponsoring the bipartisan Audit the ... Read moreState & Local Vs. Federal: A Comparison of Winning Social Media Strategies
August 2, 2012
Deltek and Market Connections, Inc. recently collaborated on data sharing and analysis for the recent GovWin social media in state and local government report. As such, Cynthia Poole, Director of Research Services, and Melissa Burgess, Research Analyst at Market Connections, recently contributed a series of blog posts for GovWin on the topic of social media and government. The most recent post compared winning social media strategies from both the federal and state and local sectors – with the big takeaway being that the federal government could enhance its social media efforts by taking a page from state and local government. Be sure to ... Read more