Getting onto major government contract vehicles is a huge milestone for small businesses. Whether you are a prime contractor or a sub, these contract vehicles, when positioned correctly, could bring in steady revenue and solid past performance. Every small business should also be aware of the major contract vehicles that have been set aside for small businesses. These competitive contracts are geared towards fulfilling the agencies small business goals. If marketed correctly, awardees of these contracts could graduate from small business to large business during the course of the period of performance. Below are four major contracts that all small businesses should be aware through 2015.

Government marketing can be defined as supporting business development and sales through promoting a company's expertise, their relevant solutions, qualifications, mentions in the news, partnerships, past performance and contract vehicles to help: Gain awareness in the federal market Create an image of credibility Shorten the federal sales cycle And to successfully market your company to the government, it is oftimes necessary to federalize yourself.

If you are an IT government contractor – this is for you! Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) are required to be FedRAMP certified by June 2014. Current deployments of cloud-based services in use by Federal agencies must be compliant with FedRAMP guidelines by June 2014. Commercial providers that offered cloud-based services to the Federal government or in the acquisition process prior to June 5, 2012, must have a FedRAMP P-ATO. Government agencies have to move one system to a cloud provider within 12 months of project start, and two more systems within 18 months of launch, by the end of 2015.

Expiring government contracts are a great way for government contractors to compete for government business. These are viable opportunities that are currently being funded. When reviewing an expiring contract, make sure to review and understand six specific contract areas:

On December 10, 2013 the congressional budget negotiators reached a compromise on 2014 Defense spending. The compromise allows for more clarity in defense spending for the current and next fiscal years (FY2014 and FY2015).

Government agencies are ditching their old habits and implementing new service desk software in hopes of more cost effective solutions to consolidate and optimize their help desk. The Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) based in Ohio, “The Buckeye State” was established to maintain applications for roughly 2,000 employees and provide customer support for over 10,000 customers. These customers ranged from county employees, developmentally disabled children and their parents, and service providers across the state.