Government Contracting Blog

The U.S. federal government has become increasingly connected in the digital age. This affords great opportunities but also requires a significant investment in cybersecurity. Every organization has information that it needs to keep private, but the federal government has especially sensitive data that needs to be heavily guarded. A single leak could cause rampant issues from identity theft to leakage of confidential information. To keep information secure in our constantly changing digital world, the Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) Special Item Number (SIN) was created under the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. 

One of the most common Special Item Numbers (SINs) on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) is the OLM SIN. You may have added this SIN to your GSA Schedule and not given it much thought, as it was added through a Mass Modification. So what exactly is the OLM SIN and how does it work?

The sudden disruption to business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to rethink their business strategies either out of necessity or a desire for more stability. One of the few areas with a sense of certainty in this chaos has been government procurement. While selling to the federal government comes with its own challenges, being a government contractor provides the assurance that you can sell to one of the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world.

The federal government is known for the mountains of red tape it can take to do business with. Fortunately for GSA Schedule contractors, several barriers have been removed over the years. However, there are still many compliance risks you need to be aware of. 

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the General Services Acquisition Manual (GSAM) are the primary bodies of regulation used by GSA in the federal marketplace. Knowing the basics of these regulations is important to understanding the requirements of being a successfully compliant GSA Schedule contractor. During the course of contracting, if you find a reference to a FAR or GSAM clause that starts with an acronym you are unfamiliar with, you should check out Acquisition.gov and you will likely be able to find it. But trying to learn and remember all the clauses for GSA contractors is nearly impossible— no one has the time to muddle through all the fine print.

Major disruptions have a way of accelerating changes, like the recent large-scale adoption of work-from-home policies. With a sudden and likely lasting rise in teleworking due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to get IT solutions and services to the federal government. As an IT GSA Schedule contractor, now is the time to step up your marketing to federal agencies.