A lot of GSA Schedule contractors think they can only sell their products and services to the federal government, but did you know you can sell to state, local, educational, and tribal entities too? Under certain state and local programs, you can offer the same products and services you sell to these entities, greatly expanding the marketplace for your company. One of the most widely used programs is Cooperative Purchasing, which applies to IT and Security and Protections contractors.

We live in an increasingly digitally connected age, and the federal government is no exception. If your business is in the Information Technology (IT) field, you may be leaving money on the table if you are not actively marketing your products and services to the federal government. While often thought of as out of date in terms of its technology, it’s worth noting that the federal government spends billions on new IT hardware, software, solutions, and services every year. Not only that, but it is also increasing its expenditures in an attempt to create a more connected and secure federal cyber infrastructure.

As a government contractor, you have to stay vigilant about certain regulations so you are staying within the guidelines of the federal government. However, it’s not always an easy guidebook to follow. Some contractors are subject to additional policies if they handle certain types of information. If you are a government contractor within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), or you handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), there are certain regulations and clauses you have to follow. Here’s what you need to know about the security requirements for safeguarding CUI.

While we are welcoming 2023, there are some aspects following us into the New Year. 2023 is not only the the year of the rabbit, but also the years of major IT Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs). The Information Technology (IT) community has been tracking major solicitations as they sit in protest purgatory or as they are in process of releasing draft and final Request for Proposals (RFPs). Let’s go through these opportunities and their journey into 2023.

Once you are awarded a GSA Schedule contract, you are granted access to many platforms and resources to assist in growing your company’s presence in the public sector. As a GSA Schedule contractor, websites like SAM.gov, GSA Advantage!, GSA eLibrary, and more become important assets for success in the federal market. The issue is contractors and government buyers aren’t the only ones that see these resources as valuable. While these sites are crucial for contractors, it also makes their company highly visible with non-confidential information such as email address, numbers, address, and therefore susceptible to a cybersecurity breach.

GSA has been developing a slew of Information Technology (IT)-related contracts recently from Polaris, to the Ascend Cloud Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) and now Alliant 3. GSA has recently released the draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for Alliant 3, one of the largest contracts in the works that will focus on the acquisition of advanced and emerging IT technologies. Alliant 3, a follow on from Alliant 2, will be a government-wide Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Best-in-Class (BIC) contract, with an estimated ceiling of $75 billion. Since all questions and comments on the draft RFP are due on January 6, 2023, we’re going to cover what you need to know about this upcoming contract vehicle so your company can get involved early on.