WT 360: The market from all angles

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All about SMX's digital transformation thesis Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

SMX can trace its history back to 1995 and that timeline includes the name Smartronix, a marker represented in the current name that seeks to balance recognizing history with continuous evolution.

Digital transformation remains the core focal point of the new SMX's strategy and a main topic of this episode featuring chief executive Peter LaMontagne, who joined in 2020 as OceanSound Partners acquired the business.

LaMontagne also shared with our Ross Wilkers his view on what private equity investors like OceanSound do for the government market's middle tier and how SMX defines digital transformation for its strategy.

As LaMontagne sees things, cloud computing is absolutely part of that but far from exclusive to it. The conversation closes with LaMontagne's perspectives on the Pentagon's National Defense Industrial Strategy and what companies should do to make it a success.

How GovCon's 'Rule of Two' is poised to grow in scope Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

Multiple-award contract vehicles are where a majority of the government's buying activity seems to take place these days, but the "Rule of Two" that tells agencies how to work with small businesses did not apply there.

The White House has started to work on changing that through a Jan. 31 memo that tells agencies to use that golden rule of government contracting for multiple-award vehicles and their task order business.

What that means for small businesses is the focal point of this episode featuring Stephen Bacon, government contracts attorney at the law firm Rogers Joseph O'Donnell.

Bacon tells our Ross Wilkers all about what the memo does and doesn't do, plus what comes next for the directive to become final and how small businesses can use it as an informational tool for their customers.

These links below have more on the Rule of Two expansion memo:

Stephen Bacon on LinkedIn: OFPP Memo Small Business Participation on MACs

GovCon's 'rule of two' is about to widen in scope

CMMC lessons from the voluntary assessment program Feb 05, 2024

Show notes

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification regulation may not be final for at least another year, but the Defense Department has been running a voluntary program for companies to go through a third-party assessment.

That test looks at how compliant companies are with the standards at the heart of CMMC, which will formalize how contractors should protect controlled unclassified information in their systems.

This episode features Editor Nick Wakeman's conversation with Derek Kernus, director of cybersecurity operations at professional services firm DTS, who explains how his company became compliant with the National Institute of Standards and Technology's 800-171 standard that is the basis for CMMC.

Kernus led DTS and one of its clients, IVA’AL, through DOD’s Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment program that measures their processes against the NIST standard.

DTS and IVA'AL got perfect scores and that will get them an automatic CMMC Level 2 certification when the rule goes into effect, probably in early 2025.

Kernus shares what they went through, what they learned and what comes next.

How the auto industry informs DMI's federal strategy Jan 29, 2024

Show notes

DMI was born as a mobility solutions provider in 2002 and that remains a core component of its approach to digital transformation work with federal agencies.

But another much faster-moving sector of the economy looms large in DMI's strategy for public sector. In this episode, DMI's chief executive Rocky Thurston explains to our Ross Wilkers what the auto industry teaches the company about taking modern technology into federal environments.

Think connectivity and automation in particular when listening to Thurston describe how DMI draws lessons learned from the auto industry. DMI's overall strategy and the role of its private equity backer Oceansound Partners are also on the discussion agenda.

How emerging tech drives change across the market and more mission focus Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

The rise of artificial intelligence, heightened demand for improved customer experience and the relentless pace of change are all continuing to drive the market here in 2024.

In this interview with Editor Nick Wakeman, ACT-IAC's CEO David Wennergren describes both the challenges ahead for agencies and contractors, plus the for optimism.

One key piece of advice from Wennergren stands out: There are many serious issues to resolve, but there are no excuses for individuals and companies not to get involved with each other and more importantly their government customers and with each other.

Industry also needs to put more focus on mission outcomes. Look for opportunities to make significant changes.

A look inside GovCon's crystal ball for 2024 Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

Getting out the crystal ball to predict future developments is a hazardous exercise, but a first look at topics and conversations happening across the government contracting ecosystem can help in preparation.

Our first episode of 2024 serves as that initial glimpse into what is important for the government market in this new year with the insights from Stephanie Smith, GovCon industry senior analyst and valuation services director at the global professional services firm RSM.

Smith told our Ross Wilkers that she and her colleagues at RSM are fielding many questions from clients about the evolving interest rate environment, which touches every aspect of the economy and certainly something GovCon has to take note of.

They also go over investment activity among non-traditional financing sources and the business opportunities for contractors in these three buckets: the industrial base's new CMMC cyber standard, the government's push to go green and defense on the global stage.

The drivers of M&A in 2023 and what lies ahead Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

We live in a world where there are challenges on multiple fronts – the war in Ukraine, China and a continuing terrorist threat. Those challenges drive federal budgets and defense spending, which in turn set the tone for mergers and acquisitions.

This episode has Jean Stack, co-lead of the investment bank Baird's defense and government services practice, join WT Editor Nick Wakeman to discuss how M&A activity can explain priorities and trends across the federal market and some subtle changes she sees taking place.

Her outlook covers what to watch for in venture capital and private equity involvement, as well as the potential for more privately-held companies going public.

An initial glimpse at 2024's GovCon budget and policy landscape Dec 13, 2023

Show notes

An unusual set of circumstances looms over the entire public sector landscape with two sets of federal funding slated to run out on different dates in early 2024.

What those deadlines mean for government contractors is the starting point for this episode featuring David Berteau, CEO of the Professional Services Council, one of the main trade associations representing the GovCon industry.

A second major signpost on GovCon's roadmap for 2024 is the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification, the emerging industry-wide standard for protecting information and systems. Berteau tells our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers all about what contractors are looking for in the final version of CMMC's draft rule, whenever the Defense Department is ready to unveil it.

The agenda for this episode also includes discussion about technology trends and the National Defense Authorization Act, a key piece of policy legislation that also helps set the tone for how contractors work with their agency customers.

ASRC Federal's vision highlighted by supply chain, tech and talent Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

A great amount of planning went into ASRC Federal's acquisitions of a supply chain and logistics business from Science Applications International Corp. and Broadleaf, an IT services firm. The transactions closed within two weeks of one another.

What led ASRC Federal to those two businesses and where does it want to go next? In this episode, ASRC Federal's chief executive Jennifer Felix describes the strategy and market-wide trends behind both of those moves.

In speaking with our Ross Wilkers, Felix also explains how federal agencies are working with companies like ASRC Federal to position for the future in terms of supply chain reliability and the adoption of next-generation technologies.

The pace of change across the entire federal landscape is not getting slower, but the partnership between government and industry is ramping up as Felix described it.

A roadmap to knowing the customer's buyer profile Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Price and cost will always be a factor for U.S. government agencies in deciding who to choose for a contract, but not all of them just go with the lowest-bidding company for an award.

How the government buyer goes about its purchasing is of equal importance to knowing what the customer is asking for, as explained in this episode featuring FedSavvy Strategies' founder and managing principal Brian Lindholm.

In speaking with our Ross Wilkers, Lindholm goes over the work that business development teams can do in understanding the buyer profiles of prospective customers before starting to write proposals. That pre-bid exercise also shapes business decisions on whether to compete for a certain contract or not.

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