Contracts/Awards

  • The never-ending talk about cloud computing makes it seem like agencies have fully bought in and everything is going to the cloud. But a recent event with several federal technology executives showed just how far cloud and open source have to go.

    July 27, 2015
  • The long and twisting road that is the Homeland Security Department’s continuous diagnostics and mitigation (CDM) program got a nice jolt earlier this month. The Government Accountability Office resolved a bid protest that has impacted the implementation of new cyber tools and services.

    July 27, 2015
  • Small business success for the federal government in the latest contracting numbers as the government as a whole hits its small business contracting goal. The government also hit some other goals in minority contracting. Joe Jordan is CEO of FedBid, and former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that he likes what he sees in the latest numbers.

    July 22, 2015
  • Bloomberg Government\'s Brian Friel and Cameron Leuthy join host Roger Waldron to discuss the current federal budget landscape, and provide an overview of multiple award contracts across government. July 21, 2015

    July 21, 2015
  • A new piece of cybersecurity technology is out from the Homeland Security Department's Science and Technology Directorate. The Network Mapping System tells users what's connected to their networks so they know how to protect them best. It's the third technology out of the S&T Directorate's Transition to Practice program. DHS is licensing the system to Cambridge Global Advisors in Arlington. Michael Pozmantier is in the Transition to Practice office at the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose how the system works.

    July 21, 2015
  • Following discovery of its data breach, the Office of Personnel Management was criticized for awarding a identity protection contract within 36 hours. But in fact, fast-track procurement makes sense in contingency situations. In reality, the government contracting community is too reluctant to use many of the authorities and flexibilities it has. Stan Soloway is the president and CEO of the Professional Services Council; Jonathan Aberman is the managing director of Amplifier Ventures and chairman of Tandem NSI. They joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explore the topic of contingency contracting, and explain why OPM awarded that original contract so quickly.

    July 21, 2015
  • Bob Lohfeld and Lisa Pafe of Lohfeld Consulting, join host Mark Amtower to discuss what you can do to help your company win more government business. July 20, 2015

    July 20, 2015
  • Three federal contractors' associations are asking the Supreme Court to settle a disagreement among circuit courts involving an interpretation of the False Claims Act. Several contractors have been bitten by what they say is an extravagant interpretation of something called implied certification. Alan Chvotkin is the executive vice president and counsel at the Professional Services Council. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain the issues and what's at stake.

    July 20, 2015
  • Winvale and its subcontractor CSID want to bid on the larger contract to help the 21.5 million people affected by the breach of OPM's security-clearance database, Winvale CEO Kevin Lancaster said. "We'd absolutely go again for it. We have capacity," he said. "We've got the right solutions, the right lessons learned from this one." Not everyone is convinced.

    July 17, 2015
  • Believe it or not, there are only two and half months, or about 50 shopping days, left in the 2015 federal fiscal year. That means suppliers are gearing up to sell, and agency contracting officers are preparing to buy. Bob Lohfeld is the CEO of the Lohfeld Consulting Group and a long-time federal sales expert. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with some tips on managing the upcoming year-end rush.

    July 17, 2015
  • The Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system is offline now while the Office of Personnel Management tries to fix its cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Those vulnerabilities were discovered during the investigation into the recent data breach, in whch hackers stole personal information for 21.5 million people. And while much of the attention has focused on the OPM crisis' impact on federal workers, contractors are impacted too in a big way, and they're certain to be impacted by the backlog now building up while eQIP is offline Stan Soloway is the president and CEO of the Professional Services Council. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu about the effects contractors are feeling -- and what they expect.

    July 16, 2015
  • Agencies will likely go a relative spending spree between now and the end of the fiscal year. But some small companies could be missing out on potential contracts. Marci Love Thomas is a senior counsel in the government contracts practice at General Counsel, and a former senior attorney advisor for the Small Business Adminstration. She tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that there are two things that could impact companies in the small business 8(a) program, and also small businesses more generally.

    July 16, 2015
  • Competition in the federal market is up for the third year in a row. And some contractors with skin already in the game don't have as many advantages anymore. For example, the rate at which incumbents are winning is down more than 20 percent since fiscal 2014, according to a new report from Bloomberg Government. Brian Friel is a government contracts analyst for Bloomberg. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that some agencies are especially hard on incumbents.

    July 09, 2015
  • When is a subcontractor not a subcontractor? Answer: When the prime is so dependent on the sub that, in effect, the sub really is the prime. But it's not always easy to tell. That's the gist of a recent case involving an Army services contract. In this week's Legal Loop, Joe Petrillo, a partner at the law firm Petrillo and Powell, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more.

    July 09, 2015