Commentary

What the Anthropic-DOD breakup teaches government contractors

The warning signs were surely there long before the public feud, and versions of this conflict play out in GovCon every year, writes BD expert Nic Coppings.

SBA is coming for your 8(a) certification: What targeted firms need to know

Businesses facing termination need to meet their deadlines, scrutinize SBA’s calculations, and preserve their right to appeal, writes Stephen Bacon, an attorney with the law firm Rogers Joseph O’Donnell.

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What you need to know about GSA's new CUI security framework

The implications of GSA's new IT security guidance are significant and is a different approach to protecting controlled unclassified information than DOD's CMMC standard, writes Summit7's Jacob Horne.

DOD’s $66B IT budget pivots to AI and efficiency

immixGroup Senior Analyst Joshua Iseler describes how DOD’s budget is evolving and where the spending priorities are.

FPDS looks old and clunky but that only masks its power

With the Federal Procurement Data System set for decommissioning this month, market research guru Lisa Shea Mundt makes the case that we’ll miss FPDS and not just because we’ll feel nostalgic.

The workforce capability GovCon leaders are underestimating

Under the Pentagon's new portfolio structure, delivery teams who can't gather competitive intelligence are now a business risk, and most executives don't realize how exposed they are, writes BD and capture expert Nic Coppings.

Why some organizations accelerate while others stall

Under the Pentagon's new Portfolio Acquisition Executive model, success depends on relationship intelligence and workforce capability—not just technical prowess, writes BD and capture expert Nic Coppings.

The hidden risk in the Army’s new ‘speed to capability’ doctrine

Most defense contractors have aligned their pipelines to the Warfighting Acquisition System but almost none have prepared their program managers, writes Nic Coppings, BD and capture expert.

When it comes to Feds, LinkedIn is much more than a Rolodex

With 2.7 million federal employees on the platform, contractors who treat agency pages as intelligence feeds can grab a decisive advantage, writes marketing expert Mark Amtower.

The CMMC compliance gap is now a competitive risk

As enforcement ramps up and primes tighten supplier requirements, contractors face a choice: prepare now or lose access to DOD work.

The missing middle: America’s overlooked weakness in defense innovation

Federal funding flows to research labs and prime contractors, but the companies best positioned to turn prototypes into production are starving for capital — and that's a strategic vulnerability the U.S. can't afford, writes Stephen Empedocles, CEO of Clark Street Associates.

The irrefutable connection between agency modernization and FedRAMP cloud adoption

Vendors must embrace security from day one as FedRAMP 20x and multi-cloud strategies gain momemtum, writes Irina Denisenko, CEO of Knox Systems.

The marketing lessons learned for government contractors in year 1 of Trump 2.0

After a year of evidence, the winning message is clear: outcomes over features, efficiency as strategy, and AI as a practical tool, writes Sean O’Leary of Susan Davis International

OPINION: Federal equity investments raise troubling questions about picking winners and losers

From L3Harris Technologies to Intel, the Trump administration is taking stakes in defense companies with little transparency and no clear conflict-of-interest safeguards.

AI agents are ready for government work – if agencies are ready for them

Agentic systems can handle complex tasks end-to-end, but industry must help agencies build the governance frameworks and adoption strategies to scale responsibly, writes Tria Federal’s CTO Murali Mallina.

Slapping ‘commercial’ on a contract does not make it so

A new Air Force sources sought notice on supporting nuclear missiles highlights gaps between rhetoric and reality.

Securing Golden Dome: tackling cyber vulnerabilities in a ‘system of systems’

Contractors must demonstrate how their solutions contribute to integrated domain awareness across the Pentagon's most complex missile defense effort.