Project 38: The Future Of Federal Contracting

As one of the federal government's primary carriers, Lumen Technologies also takes on the mantle of layering the latest innovations on top of the core network to make it more complete and well-rounded.Jason Schulman, national vice president of federal government sales at Lumen Technologies, explains in this episode how the company works with agencies to make that happen regardless of where they are in their innovation comfort levels.For Company No. 38 on our 2024 Top 100, that also means looking beyond the current Enterprise Infrastructure contract vehicle as the government is already thinking about its successor. Schulman tells our Ross Wilkers all about how the work begins now on that front for carriers and agencies alike.Dive into the rankings and more surrounding them by clicking the links below:The 2024 Washington Technology Top 100How we got our numbersTrends driving today's Top 100Diversity gaps persist among the Top 100 C-suites

Even with this year's Top 100 rankings out for all to see, sometimes it's never too early to start looking at next year's when we have certainty over how two companies will feature on it.For this second in a two-part episode, Nick and Ross pick up where they left off in part one by highlighting how the complex merger of Amentum with Jacobs' government services businesses will affect the 2025 ranking. This is one of several examples they highlight of how mergers and acquisitions affect the rankings every year.Nick and Ross also highlight how just about every IT systems integrator ties their strategy to working well with global commercial tech providers. Company No. 100 on the ranking also gets the spotlight in their discussion.As a reminder, dive into the rankings and more surrounding them by clicking the link below:The 2024 Washington Technology Top 100

Edition number 31 of the Washington Technology Top 100 rankings is now live for all to use as a resource for more than just the numbers behind the federal market's largest technology and services contractors.This latest episode of WT 360 has Nick and Ross start their talking through the companies and numbers that feature on the ranking, but particularly what they tell us about the government market's directions.Here is *some* of what was on their agenda for this first in a two-episode series on the Top 100:The top quadrant's significant market share concentrationHow tech implementation and consulting are becoming more intertwinedWhat Science Applications International Corp.'s new CEO wants the company (No. 11) to grow intoWe will post the second half of the discussion next Monday morning. Same time, same place.In the meantime, dive into the rankings and more surrounding them by clicking the link below:The 2024 Washington Technology Top 100

Initial public offerings in the government market are a rare event, so it was natural to focus much attention on Telos Corp.'s IPO in the fall of 2020 and where the company wanted to go next.Telos' chief executive John Wood spoke to us shortly after the completion of that IPO and returns for this episode to provide an update on the security technology company's execution since then.A significant aspect of Telos' journey as a public company can be characterized as a transition. As Wood describes to our Ross Wilkers, that also involves going toward a destination and not just an exit from something.The overall security landscape for government and industry also features prominently in their discussion, both in the cyber realm and elsewhere.PROJECT 38: Inside Telos' path to its IPO and what's nextTelos lays out plan for its year of transitionWhere to now for Telos & its IPO proceeds?Why Telos decided the time is now for its IPOAlready somewhat public, Telos' IPO further illuminates strategy

It is the law of the land that says federal agencies cannot simply discard any of the data they take in, no matter how much they already have and regardless of whether it is digital or physical.Melissa Carson, vice president and general manager of Iron Mountain's government solutions business, starts out this episode with facts and figures to help quantify the volume challenge agencies have with one mind-boggling number on government forms to pay attention to.She then tells our Ross Wilkers all about how the government, and companies like Iron Mountain, are connecting efforts to make data management easier with the overall customer experience agenda.That work includes turning physical assets into the digital form, which is no easy feat, but becoming more so with the advent of generative artificial intelligence and other AI techniques. Having the right guardrails in place is key to making that a success though, according to Carson.

Dave Zolet, CEO of the newly-formed Astrion, has set an aggressive goal to double its annual revenue to around $1.5 billion in three years. That’s the needed size and scale to be a formidable mid-tier player today and fill a sweet spot in the market, Zolet says in this episode.The 2,800-employee company was created through a pair of acquisitions by private equity firm Brightstar Capital. Zolet is busy creating a new company culture that he calls the "Astrion Way" -- a blend of technical skills with deep customer knowledge and focus. As Zolet tells our Editor Nick Wakeman, he wants Astrion to be a company that can look around the corner and see what's coming so it can bring solutions to customers that help them meet their missions faster and more efficiently.Zolet shares the company strategy and future plans in this conversation.This is episode three in our 2024 series on mergers and acquisitions across the government market.

BlueHalo as the market knows it today is around four years old with a strategy centered around space, cyber, directed energy and other key tech priority areas for the U.S. military and allied forces.Now the defense technology integrator is joining forces with another like it that has the same private equity owner in Arlington Capital Partners. In this episode, BlueHalo's chief executive Jonathan Moneymaker explains the decision to combine with Eqlipse Technologies and the overall demand landscape that is behind the move."Transforming the Future of Global Defense" is the tagline all over BlueHalo's website and other promotional materials, and one Moneymaker spoke to us about in 2021 early on in the journey. Moneymaker returns now to tell our Ross Wilkers about what that transformation looks like here in 2024 and shares some first-hand anecdotes of how he has seen it.This is episode two in our 2024 series on mergers and acquisitions across the government market.BlueHalo to combine with Eqlipse TechnologiesPROJE

Guidehouse was owned by one of the government market's most active private equity firms in Veritas Capital until its December sale to one of the investment world's cornerstone names.In this episode, Guidehouse's chief executive Scott McIntyre describes the blueprint laid out by the company and its new owners Bain Capital with respect to what's next and how they plan to get there.A bulk of that can be seen in how Guidehouse has adopted this approach for itself – "Building our next-generation consultancy." McIntyre explains what that means to our Ross Wilkers, plus how consulting is now much more than just providing clients advice, and the ways Guidehouse works with customers that are regulators and among the regulated.This is episode one in our 2024 series on mergers and acquisitions across the government market.Private equity drives high transaction volume in 20232024 M&A Round UpGuidehouse to get a more global private equity owner

Google's cloud environment now has license to host secret and top secret data, which is a must-have for the company in its pursuit of large opportunities at defense and intelligence agencies especially.Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for GovExec's publications including us, had a front-row seat to that announcement and at Google's flagship cloud conference April 9-11 in Las Vegas.In this episode, Frank joins our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers to explain what Google's receipt of that key security authorization means for both the tech giant itself and the larger cloud computing landscape with respect to federal.Google had much to share at its Cloud Next conference and Frank had much to talk about with key government and industry leaders there: conversations on all things cloud and artificial intelligence that he provides a glimpse into for Nick and Ross.Google is now authorized to host classified data in the cloudGoogle Public Sector ‘hitting our stride’ in government market, CEO saysGoogle centers public sector s

Once passed and signed into law, the National Defense Authorization Act lays out the Pentagon's policy priorities and dictates how and where its appropriated funds are to be used.The NDAA also functions as a roadmap for companies to shape their business strategies as explained in this episode featuring Luis Avila and Stephanie Smith, government contracting market analysts at RSM.Avila and Smith take our Ross Wilkers through some key signposts of the legislation that they believe contractors should take particular note of. Procurement, the industry's pool of participants, supply chains, data rights and artificial intelligence are on the discussion agenda.This fiscal year's NDAA comes out to around 3,100 pages, but as Avila and Smith explain: doing the homework on what is in the law helps contractors know their customer before it's time to pursue the contract.

The Defense Department has a new industrial cybersecurity strategy in place to help contractors improve their data and network security postures with a particular focus on small businesses.DOD's emphasis on cyber through that strategy and beyond is an ongoing storyline that Lauren Williams stays on top of for Defense One, a sibling publication of Washington Technology.For this episode, Lauren explains the vision and goals of that new strategy in conversation with our Ross Wilkers.Lauren also provides a snapshot of what she found in the Army Applications Lab -- a technology incubator that the service branch stood up in 2019 to grow the network of startups it works with.The Pentagon wants to help boost cybersecurity for small contractorsMeet the Army’s tech incubator

It definitely feels like the tide is turning against noncompete agreements across the country: five states ban them outright, while many others have restrictions on when they can be enforced and on whom.The Federal Trade Commission's effort to make these pacts illegal in the U.S. has a long runway ahead of it before becoming official, but is still a move that the government contracting ecosystem should take note of as it unfolds.In this episode, attorneys Marlena Ewald and Grace Williams of the national security-focused law firm Fluet explain the bigger economic-wide picture of the FTC's push to ban noncompetes and then take the conversation to GovCon.Both attorneys told our Ross Wilkers that questions about what this already means and could mean for the employer-employee relationship are starting to come up, so they provide some answers to them here. They also provide some key signposts to watch as the FTC's effort progresses.The Proposed Nationwide Ban on Non-Competition Agreements by the Federal Trade Comm

The federal government has several large technology initiatives underway such as improving customer experience and leveraging artificial intelligence. Those issues are at the heart of what Natalie Alms writes about for NextGov/FCW, one of several sibling publications for Washington Technology.She dives into those topics and more in this conversation with WT Editor Nick Wakeman. From her perch, Natalie has a unique perspective on the challenges agencies face in trying to modernize how they provide services to citizens. She explains that while AI holds great promise to improve how the government operates, there are also many hurdles to clear.Related articles:IRS touts launch of Direct File pilotWhite House stalls on digital identity mandate, despite billions in fraudExperts warn that OMB’s AI guidance could slow federal adoption of the emerging techOn the heels of Biden's executive order, agencies get White House directive on implementing AIThe CX executive order turns one

The final Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification rule is still months or maybe even a full year away, but the heart of rule will not change: standard 800-171 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.In this episode, Fortinet's federal chief technology officer Felipe Fernandez tells Editor Nick Wakeman that companies should focus their efforts around the standard shaping the rule regardless of how CMMC evolves.Companies have checklists and questionnaires available to them for use before they go through a third-party assessment. For those that prepare early, there may be an opportunity to separate themselves from competitors.Fernandez shares insights on that preparation and more as he and Wakeman dive into CMMC as it moves through the rulemaking process.

Rebrandings are a constant in the government market and the company now known as Everfox is the newest example of that after its acquisition by one of the world's largest investment firms.The cybersecurity business formerly known as Forcepoint Federal, and before that as Websense, now exclusively focuses on global government and critical infrastructure clients as a portfolio company of TPG. In this episode, Everfox's chief executive Sean Berg goes over some of the 700-employee company's investment priorities and the overall cyber landscape's current state of play.Everfox has two decades of history behind it and to say that cyber has changed over that timeframe would be an understatement, but the emergence of nation-state actors is one of the trends Berg explains to our Ross Wilkers.Also on their agenda: the new name itself of course, commonalities between Everfox's government and critical infrastructure customers, how and where the company plans to grow its talent base.

LMI was chartered during the Kennedy administration in 1961 as a provider of logistics management services and research to the federal government, work that remains core to the firm's vision and strategy.That has not changed for LMI, but its change in 2022 from being a nonprofit to for-profit appears significant on the surface. In this episode, LMI's chief executive Doug Wagoner explains the rationale for making that shift and who the investors in the company are.Of course, the conversation between Wagoner and our Ross Wilkers works its way toward what LMI plans to do with its private capital backing. LMI now has more resources for acquisitions and support for its continued push to lead in logistics, an area that has become paramount for federal agencies in light of all that has happened to supply chains during the past three years.

The presence of private equity firms continues to grow in the government market because as Zach Hester says in this conversation with Editor Nick Wakeman: “It just works." Plain and simple.Most of the largest companies in the market have used acquisitions as a catalyst for organic growth. But according to Hester, the director of merger and acquisition strategy and deal generation at Bluestone Investment Partners, there are plenty of opportunities for the small and midsized players to be active in M&A as well.Hester says the critical element a mission focus and using that to drive your acquisition choices. Buyers can add capabilities, talent and broaden your depth. It can send a signal to customers that you can take on larger opportunities.The volume of deals may ebb and flow from year to year, but there is little doubt that M&A has become a powerful force.

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.

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

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