During the government’s Fiscal Year 2017, federal agencies purchased nearly $70 billion worth of professional services making it the second-largest category of Government Spend. The General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) Professional Services Schedule (PSS) currently holds 4,258 awarded federal contractors to provide government customers with professional services, and new contractors are being added continuously, but only after what has become an average 12-month review wait time for New Offers under the PSS Solicitation.

Applying for a GSA Schedule can be a great way to grow your business, but it is not an easy and quick task, as many companies already know. What’s surprising is that the “fun” part, in the full sense of the word, begins after your contract has been awarded. Many companies achieve successful sales and retain their contract with the Government for 20 years, while others don’t even last 2 years or less from the inception date.

As a GSA MAS Schedule Contract holder, it’s important to stay current with all solicitation refreshes and potential changes to your Schedule contract. Each Schedule undergoes updates via refreshes periodically, and often, GSA will release a Request for Information to compile feedback and pertinent data from those whom the changes directly affect.

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.

In an effort to create a new online portal to procure commercial goods, the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued a notice announcing their interest in opening public dialogue. In the notice, GSA and OMB sent a request for information from industry stakeholders about Section 846 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2018. Section 846, dubbed the “Amazon Amendment”, would give government agencies the opportunity to procure commercial off-the-shelf products through online commercial portals such as Amazon, Overstock and Staples. The undertaking would provide agencies with a new alternative to GSA’s decades-old procurement vehicles such as GSA Advantage!, GSA eBuy, GSA Global Supply, and the Federal Supply Schedule.

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.