Competing in the federal market can be difficult, especially if you don’t have the right tools and knowledge to properly market your GSA contract. As a small business, there are so many opportunities in the federal marketplace, but it’s up to you to know where to find them. You may know your industry commercially, but it’s crucial that you understand the government side of marketing.

With an increasing market in Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems, GSA wants to make sure your system is secure enough to support a potential threat. Even if you are not competing in the IT and Information Systems market, it’s important to make sure your entity and server is protected from cybersecurity attacks. We have seen an increase in harmful cyberattacks the past few years, and the federal government is focused now more than ever on improving the nation’s cybersecurity.

Under the General Service Administration (GSA), there are several ways of contracting that can help your business win awards from the government. Some come in the form of competitive awards such as small business set asides and Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs). While you are in an elite group of contractors in the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program, you still have to compete with other contractors to get awards from both federal and state and local governments. However, there is the rare exception when competition is removed from the equation. Occasionally, there’s an instance where only one contractor can fulfill a government agency’s needs. These are called sole source contracts.

The federal government offers a lot of support for small businesses looking to enter the public sector. This includes small businesses owned by women, economically disadvantaged businesses, and veteran-owned businesses. Here at Winvale, we have several clients who are Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs), and that’s why we want to acknowledge resources available to these businesses as they navigate the federal marketplace. The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are among several federal administrations that promote veteran entrepreneurship, and it’s important you take advantage of these resources if you are a veteran business and a GSA Schedule contractor.

On August 31, 2021, GSA proposed a rule to help GSA Schedule contractors perform on Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) orders beyond their contract term. This proposed rule would amend the GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) to include an internal GSA policy of extending FSS orders for 5 years beyond the terms of an FSS contract. As a reminder, the GSA Schedule is also referred to as the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) and the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), so this order directly affects GSA contractors.

We live in the digital era and as we have seen with the pandemic, more and more aspects of life are becoming digitized. This does not exclude our federal entities, so it’s imperative that our federal government is protected from the threats that come with the digital age. As a result, GSA created a HACS (Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services) SIN which is dedicated to preventing leaks and cyberattacks. Before an entity can obtain a HACS SIN, they must show that they are qualified to provide thorough and extensive cybersecurity. A main part of the qualification for the HACS SIN is determined by an Assessment Evaluation and Standardization (AES) High Value Asset (HVA) assessment. Let’s dive into the HVA assessment and what it entails.