The issue of "offshoring" ? moving work from the United States to lower-cost locations overseas ? is taking off. Presidential candidates are talking about it; Congress has taken small steps toward banning it on federal contracts; and analysts of all stripes have weighed in with their perspectives.
Some companies get how to sell to the federal government. Some don't. "They don't help me understand how they can solve the business problems the department has," said <b>Mike Sade</b>, senior procurement executive at the Commerce Department. Those that get it, Sade said, have embraced the procurement reforms now guiding federal agencies. Washington Technology talked to companies at the top of their game in connecting with government and found out how they do it.
State and local governments will continue their full-scale retreat from offshore outsourcing this year to avoid the political backlash that often accompanies the loss of government jobs to overseas sites, industry and government officials said.
Government Micro Resources Inc. has proven to be a reliable small business, bringing in about $100 million from its government work each year. Although the company graduated from the SBA's 8(a) development program five years ago, it still qualified for small-business set-aside contracts. That will change Jan. 28, when a new procurement rule goes into effect that says small IT VARs must have 150 or fewer employees.
<b>New Hampshire Administrative Services Department</b><br><b>Project: </b>Statewide Enterprise Resource Planning System<br><b>Term:</b> TBD<br><b>Estimated value:</b> TBD<br><b>RFP release:</b> January <br>The department has a requirement for a statewide ERP system that will include budget and finance, human resources and electronic purchasing modules.
For three top-tier government contractors ? the Boeing Co., Computer Sciences Corp. and Electronic Data Systems Corp. ? the new year provides a chance for correction following an unpleasant end to 2003.
Making predictions is easy. Getting them right is ... well, not so easy. Just ask the guys who predicted that the stock market would reach 36,000.But that doesn't mean you can't get a useful sense of directions and trends. For our annual look at the year ahead, the Washington Technology staff talked to experts in government and industry and found widespread agreement on several important issues.
Everyone's new year starts with a long list of resolutions and goals. For these government and industry executives, that list also includes challenges and problems that will have repercussions beyond their own companies or organizations. The government IT community will be marking closely their successes and failures.
The Department of Education is looking for research proposals from small businesses in the areas of consulting at the state and local level and development of educational products.
Beginning Jan. 1, small businesses will no longer need to register in both the Small Business Administration's Pro-Net, a database of small businesses, and the Central Contractor Registration, the government's database of all contractors.
Market valuations for publicly traded government IT companies rose an average of 17 percent over the last six months, according to Input Inc., a Reston, Va.-based IT market research firm.
Washington revolves around relationships. Knowing the right people and belonging to the right organizations are critical to getting business done. <b>Steve Charles</b>, executive vice president of immixGroup Inc., wants to join the Coalition for Government Procurement, a well-connected industry group representing companies that hold contract schedules with the General Services Administration. The coalition's close ties with GSA make it a key organization for schedule-holders such as immixGroup. But the coalition won't let immixGroup join, Charles said.
In October, the Agriculture Department issued a report on its competitive sourcing program, from which one could infer that competition at DoA is, indeed, DOA.
While Congress has not yet completed its appropriations work for fiscal 2004, one market research firm believes the upcoming year is going to be a strong one for information technology and technology-based services.
While Congress has not yet completed its appropriations work for fiscal 2004, one market research firm believes the upcoming year is going to be a strong one for information technology and technology-based services.
