Customer service is one of the most important aspects of a successful company. Good customer service can increase company sales, raise competition, and enhance the image of a company. These same attributes can be applied to government agencies as well. Good customer service will enhance the public’s image of government, and give citizens a sense of support and security from their government agencies.

Having trouble with Windows XP? Always having troubleshooting problems and need help adjusting and migrating to the update? This April, Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP, and as a result, government agencies are quickly migrating to Windows 7.

During the duration of the government shutdown, there are a few things that can be done by government contractors to improve the position of their firm(s) in the Federal marketplace and realign their offerings with more essential government functions. Government contractors can use this downtime to reassess company goals and government sales strategies. As a result, government contractors will be able to create more business value for public sector customers in the next Fiscal Year 2014 while improving on their overall performance. It is important for government contractors to understand what the government shutdown means for their company, and how counteracting the problems presented by the shutdown will be critical to their success.

Contrary to popular belief, teenagers are not the only ones posting pictures and content on social media platforms. Federal, state, and local government agencies have been implementing commercially provided media technologies to promote their services and support their missions. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted several distinct methods that 23 of 24 major agencies are using to increase citizen engagement through social media platforms. Such activities include reposting information available on official agency websites, posting information not available on agency websites, soliciting comments from the public, responding to comments on content, and providing links to non-government websites.

The city of San Mateo, California is witnessing booming growth in both its population and infrastructure development. Since the year 2008, San Mateo has experienced an 8% increase in population, and home sales have jumped a staggering 28%. Consequently, the municipal government of San Mateo is faced with the enormous task of managing and overseeing the recent expansion while operating on an outdated help desk system. Their objective: maintain networks and PCs for 600 users spread across 22 facilities in a diverse and rapidly growing high-tech city. In order to adapt to these challenges, a new help desk alternative needed to be implemented to better serve citizens.

If you are a government contractor, you should be familiar with the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). CPARS is the suite of web-enabled applications that are used to document contractor performance. CPARS assesses a contractor’s performance and provides a record, both positive and negative that government officials use to assess companies and potentially use as a determining factor when awarding government contracts to vendors. Information entered into this system is strictly limited to unclassified information only. Assessments in the CPARS are objective facts supported by program and contract management data. These reports include: cost performance reports, quality reviews, financial solvency assessments, and earned contract incentives.