Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog.  While many of us are taking time off during this holiday week, the reality is that government still needs to be fully operational – even during the dog days of the July 4th holiday.  So, for all those government and contractor employees working this week, we have compiled all the actionable news you need to kick-start the workweek. Washington-Area Agencies Open After Severe Weekend Storm Federal agencies are open today in the wake of the severe storm that caused widespread power outages in the Washington area over the weekend, ...

Gaining honest feedback from clients and customers is vital for enhancing overall performance.  Though getting this type of feedback can be challenging. For government contractors who are often embedded with their clients on a daily basis, it can be difficult to gather constructive feedback needed to ensure re-compete contract wins.   And, it is easy for contractors to make false assumptions about their perceived performance that could actually jeopardize contracts. Winning government contractors are using the results of customer satisfaction research to increase competitiveness and achieve business growth during these austere times. Market Connections’ 2012 Government Contractor Study found that contractors with higher win ...

There is a major shift happening in the government contractor community and, for many, it is a sign that troubled waters lie ahead:  senior leaders are stepping down.  Contractors like Lockheed Martin, CSC and General Dynamics, among others, have announced the departure of their senior leadership. Though as Nick Wakeman points out in a recent Federal Computer Week article, these changes are due to a number of factors, including actual retirements, shrinking defense budgets and restructuring. Without a doubt, we are headed into a tumultuous time in the government contractor world.  As was highlighted in the recent 2013 Contractor Outlook event, by ...

Our friends at Welz & Weisel recently interviews Molly Huie, Senior Research Analyst, Market Connections, Inc., about the federal mobile technology market.  Following is a re-posting of the podcast interview with Molly.  Mobility makes the federal worker more productive. Mobility helps government organizations save significantly on costs. Hence, greater mobility is something that public sector managers and their employees would like to incorporate at their agencies. So what’s stopping them? A recent Market Connections-commissioned survey conducted by AOL Government reveals answers. The resulting AOL Government Federal Mobile Technology study ultimately demonstrates that government technology purchase decision-makers will need to spend money to save money. If you’re an ...

The Department of Defense (DoD) recently released its mobile device strategy, which outlines key priorities for speeding secure adoption of government-issued and employee-owned smarthphones and tablet computers. In an interview with FederalTimes.com, chief information officer Teri Takai of the DoD stated that at the forefront of the DoD’s strategy, the department would: Improve wireless access and capabilities to support voice, video and data sharing via mobile devices. This includes evolving DoD’s virtual private network technologies and addressing bandwidth limitations. Create mobile policies and standards. DoD will define acceptable use of personally owned devices and acceptable personal use of DoD’s devices. Promote the development and ...

Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog.  We would like to thank everyone who attended the Market Connections/Government Marketing Forum 2013 Contractor Outlook Event last Thursday.  It was a spectacular panel discussion that showcased what it takes to be a winning government contractor in today’s business climate.  Stay tuned for more posts containing media coverage and photos from the event.  In the meantime, here’s the next round of all the actionable news you need to kick-start the workweek. Big Data Presents Unique Challenges to Agencies Big data may be on everyone’s lips, but as agencies begin ...

Market Connections, Inc. Releases 2012 Government Contractor Study Chantilly, Va. – June 21, 2012 – Government contractors with higher contract win rates are expecting to see continued growth in the future, especially for those who assess opportunities in cyber and cloud early. In addition, trade shows, conferences and thought leadership marketing play major roles in winning contractors’ positioning and success strategies. Market Connections, Inc. will release these findings from the 2012 Government Contractor Study tonight at the Government Marketing Forum 2013 Contractor Outlook Event at the Tysons Corner Marriott in Vienna, Va. “We are heartened to see 62% of survey respondents projecting at ...

We came across a blog post from GovSupervisor about the concept of ‘effort inflation’ that absolutely caught our attention. Is your organization dealing with a lack of strategic alignment, resulting in unfocused employees using their energy on the wrong things? It was an exhausted Friday night and, full disclosure, the only fuel left in the tank was directed to channel surfing. I came across a rockumentary on Iron Maiden and noticed a comment by one of the band members that on tour in South America they had to play “at 150%.” This was striking because 24 hours earlier in a coaching session ...

Federal Blue Print, the official blog for Blue Coat Federal, recently ran a post about the Obama Administration’s new mobile directive for federal agencies.  The post highlighted data from the recent Market Connections/AOL Government study that showcases how feds believe that the investment into this mobile initiative is lacking.  Be sure to check out excerpts from that post below. The Obama Administration recently issued a directive requiring each major Federal agency to make at least two of their services available on mobile phones within the next 12 months.  The Administration is also aiming to help entrepreneurs develop new mobile services and ...

Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog. Market Connections is hosting its 2013 Contractor Outlook Event on Thursday evening, which is going to highlight what it takes to be a winning contractor (don’t miss out!).  As such, we have pulled together all the actionable news about the state of business for government contractors leading up to the event.   See you all Thursday night! Is the Sky Falling on Government Contractors? When reading the news about the state of government contracting, it often feels like Henny Penny is doing all of the reporting and the outlook ...