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of San Mateo is faced with the enormous task of managing and overseeing the recent expansion while operating on an outdated help desk system.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.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for IT Help desks is no longer a foreign concept to government agencies. This solution can help provide improved government service to citizens from an environment entirely in the cloud. However, many questions of cost benefit and scalability still remain. With the long term ramifications of budget cuts and sequestration slowly taking a strangling hold on government procurement, agencies are scrambling to find new ways to “save a buck.”

There are only 24 days left before the end of the Federal Fiscal Year. Right now, the government buying season is at peak time. Last year, over $9.8 Billion was spent through General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule Contracts in the last quarter alone. To ensure maximum sales, GSA contractors need to ensure their GSA Price List is accurate and up to date.