Today’s times represent an ongoing shift in the federal services marketplace. The changes are broad and include shifts in technology; acquisition methods; and the economics of being a contractor with significant hurdles and barriers to success. These market dynamics will play out over the coming months and years – here’s a rundown of the most significant of those changes now well underway.
1. Cloud Computing Continues to Absorb IT Services Opportunities
Federal agencies have moved beyond the 2010 Cloud-First mandate to adopt cloud computing, and have begun embracing the cloud to support their business and mission objectives. Cloud computing represents a significant change to the way that the federal government had done business. Cloud computing permits the customer to spend less time managing complex IT resources and more time investing in core mission work. Companies that have cloud-based offerings are winning significant business away from providers that have historically supported “in-house” solutions.
An estimated $20 billion of the federal government’s $80 billion in IT spending is a potential target for migration to cloud computing solutions, according to the White House’s Federal Cloud Computing Strategy. The size and scope of cloud programs are becoming larger, driven in part by the success of smaller projects, and by the manifestation of supporting policies, including FedRAMP, a security “stamp of approval” that lets government agencies know a solution has an appropriate and detailed security plan in place. To date, 48 systems have been authorized FedRAMP compliant. With the cost of a FedRAMP certification reaching as high as $300,000 and authorizations taking 9 to 15 months, gaining certification is a major commitment for any company. As a result, many firms, especially small businesses, may be locked out of this segment of the market.
Read all 4 contracting trends to watch in 2016 at: http://www.washingtonexec.com/2015/10/guest-column-4-government-contracting-trends-to-watch-in-2016-by-mark-abel/
