Opinion
How to bring satellite interoperability down to Earth
The Pentagon’s push for multiple satellite networks only pays off if troops can switch between them quickly. Open, optical ground stations built to common standards are the missing piece., writes Jean-François Morizur , CEO of Cailabs.
Opinion
How Amy Gilliland remade General Dynamics IT
Her exit announcement was brief and skipped past a decade of transformation. Here is what unfolded over that timeframe.
Opinion
What industry must get right to accelerate technology adoption in the IC
To succeed, contractors must align with a mission need, plan for security and integration, understand the budget and contracting path, and identify who will own the capability if it succeeds, writes Shelby Pierson, principal at Deep Water Point Associates.
Opinion
Hope is not a plan: Get ready for SBA's new size standards now
File your comments but expect some version of the proposal to take effect in 2027. The best players are already mapping which contracts will flip to set-asides, studying their new competitors and recruiting teammates, writes Kevin Cooley, CEO of Resource Management Concepts.
Opinion
Your capture plan is fine, but no one is executing it
Most companies plan customer engagement well but carry it out poorly. Here's how to close that gap, writes growth expert Nic Coppings.
Opinion
Why every small GovCon needs a board of advisors
Shifting budgets, tougher compliance rules and competition from big primes make it easy to get stuck in an echo chamber but an advisory board brings in experience, contacts and credibility without the legal baggage of a board of directors, writes market expert Mark Amtower.
Opinion
The defense industrial base’s disappearing middle
Raising small-business size standards is a good start. But if we want more competition at the top of the defense market, we need to stop eliminating tomorrow’s competitors on their way there, writes Matthew Kasberg, CEO of Odyssey Systems.
Opinion
How agentic systems are reshaping government contracting
Treat autonomy as a dial, not a switch: start narrow, log everything and let AI agents earn trust overtime, writes Atul Arya, founder and CEO of Blackstraw AI.
Opinion
DIU is now the Pentagon’s one door for drone tech – here’s how to walk through
DOD has consolidated unmanned systems programs under one office with the Defense Innovation Unit as the commercial gateway. Here’s what that means for contract strategy, data rights, and supply chains, writes Raymond Jones of Spencer Fane LLP.
Opinion
SBA's size standards overhaul means bigger thresholds, fewer exceptions, real winners and real losers
The proposed rules would collapse nearly 1,000 size standards into 338 and shift many industries to headcount. You have until Sept. 21 to make your voice heard, writes attorney Ray Jones of Spencer Fane.
Opinion
You own 100% of the growth number but control none of the people who decide it
Recompetes and on-contract growth make up most of what GovCon companies pursue, but the people who hear the earliest signals report to the COO, not the CGO. Here's how to close the gap, writes growth expert Nic Coppings.
Opinion
Mixed signals on acquisition are creating a confused market
The market will adapt to change but there is too much uncertainty and confusion about the direction and pace of that change, writes Stan Soloway, former president of the Professional Services Council.
Opinion
Evaluating contract bids with AI? Prepare to be challenged.
A $450M bid protest over an alleged AI hallucination is a preview of what's coming for every agency using AI in source selection, writes David Smalley with defense AI firm Seekr.
Opinion
When ‘small’ gets bigger, who gets left behind?
SBA’s proposed size-standard overhaul might help growing firm but it raises hard questions about competition, the mid-tier, and how to define small, writes Kristina Messner, CEO of Messner Media Group.
Opinion
CMMC phase II is paused, but the adversary threats are not
Contractors still holding sensitive defense data need visibility, segmentation, and containment — CMMC or not.
Opinion
How a continuous learning cycle will redefine national advantage
Artificial intelligence is accelerating engineering, but America’s long-term advantage will depend on how effectively government and industry connect digital innovation, physical testing and engineering expertise into a continuous learning cycle. writes Artie Mabbett, CEO of North Wind.
Opinion
AI tokens are a consumable. The Pentagon should manage them like one.
The Pentagon must build an allocation structure to precede its purchases of artificial intelligence tokens, writes John Mark Suhy, chief technology officer at Greystones Group.
Opinion
How contractors can keep AI missions on track despite supply chain volatility
Contractors play a critical role in helping agencies apply artificial intelligence as concerns grow about the data infrastructure underlying it all, writes Katherine Hennessey of Everpure.
Opinion
CMMC works. Now let’s sharpen it.
Katie Arrington, who led the creation of the Cybersecurity Maturity model Certification, writes that the requirements behind the cyber and supply chain security standard should not change.
Opinion