The General Services Administration (GSA) held its annual Industry Days for Schedules 56, 66, and 73 on February 21st and 22nd this year in Fort Worth, TX. Invitations are sent out in advance to current Schedule contract holders, and this event provides a forum for open discussion about managing a contract on these schedules, communication with buying agencies and networking with other contractors. Sometimes for contractors, it can feel like you’re working against GSA to maintain and manage your contract; but this event highlights the importance of the relationship GSA has with its contractors and their mutual desire for success and sales.

Just a few days into 2018, it’s clear that blockchain technology and cryptocurrency are hot topics whose popularity will continue to surge. In 2017, at times it seemed impossible to escape a discussion with peers about how we wish we’d invested in Bitcoin starting in 2009. The spike in public interest in blockchain-based cryptocurrency has nearly everyone taking note – now even the U.S. Government. What makes cryptocurrency so valuable is the underlying technology it depends on, called blockchain. Blockchain could have a dramatic impact on internet security and communications moving forward.

Though the GSA tried to make doing business with its Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts easier, the process is still complex. Per GSA, “A mass modification is a government-initiated modification that occurs when a uniform change occurs schedule-wide.”[1] A mass mod is a schedule-wide update to a contract’s terms that require the contractor’s acceptance. Often, these modifications are all-encompassing updates that incorporate new government regulations or legislation. One recent example is mod A509 for the new Transactional Data Reporting system.