How federal tech policy leans on speed, efficiency and commercial approaches
The pace of change is accelerating in the market, which means we can always take a step back to understand where those changes have come from and how that drives business activities.Bill Wright, head of global government affairs at Elastic, joins for this episode to explain how the fundamentals of the Trump administration’s approach to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity line up with those from the Biden Administration.Yes many things are different, but several others are not as well. For Wright, this shows just how critical cyber and AI are to the federal government. As he tells Editor Nick Wakeman, the Trump administration is looking to expand the government's AI and cyber strategy with a greater emphasis on commercial technology.And of course, speed and efficiency are key points Wright addresses too. As he explains, understanding where customers have come from and where they want to go is step one in finding growth opportunities across today’s market.Here are the tech takeaways from Trump’s budget proposal‘Just wait’ to see how CISA reforms play out, DHS head tells cyber communityIndustry awaits how OMB AI guidance on paper will be implemented in practiceWhat the federal workforce could look like with AI government employees
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21:10
All about termination reversals and GSA’s consolidation push
In typical times, there is no going back after an agency tells a company their contract is being terminated for convenience of the government, which starts a settlement process cycle.But this episode featuring Jeff Shapiro, government contracting advisory and regulatory assurance partner at CohnReznick, serves as a reminder that these are not typical times in GovCon.As Shapiro explains to our Ross Wilkers, contractors have a Yes/No question of whether or not to go back to work after a termination reversal. If the answer is Yes, a new cycle begins that Shapiro talks through in detail.The General Services Administration’s push to centralize much of civilian procurement under its roof features in part two of their discussion.Trump orders structural changes to rules covering $1T in federal spendingGSA to ‘quadruple' in size to centralize procurement across the governmentProactive responses to termination for convenience or stop-work ordersYour contract termination has been reversed. Now what?
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21:13
Our EIC Frank Konkel on GSA, Google and the government as a single whole customer
Google set off quite the reaction when the tech giant’s offer to discount its cloud-based productivity suite at 71% for all federal agencies was accepted by the General Services Administration, on behalf of those agencies.Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for all GovExec publications including WT, went under the hood of that agreement and joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to take listeners there as well.As Frank explains: this pact unique because it essentially treats the federal government as a single whole customer. The agreement also foreshadows more like it to make certain commercial technologies more accessible for federal agencies.Naturally, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency also feature in the conversation between Frank and Ross.
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19:24
How software shapes the market's M&A landscape
The nature of mergers and acquisitions in the government market is changing and our 2024 roundup of closed transactions further illustrates that evolution toward technology-enabled capabilities, which are largely driven by software.Jean Stack and John Song, co-managing directors of the defense and government practice at the investment bank Baird & Co., join for this episode to discuss what drove transactions over the past year and what they expect in the year ahead.A new administration in the White House means there is plenty of change and uncertainty in the market.But as Stack and Song told Editor Nick Wakeman, these fundamentals of M&A activity will not change:Artificial intelligence, cloud and software-defined solutions are in hot demandPrivate equity buyers will continue to drive volumeStrategic buyers, including the public companies, will remain pickyAlso listen out for their predictions on how the coming year will shake out.
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36:22
All about private equity’s past, present and future in GovCon
Public company acquirers (unicorns) certainly get everyone’s attention, but our 2024 M&A Roundup shows how the private equity collective continues to be the majority buyer and builder of midsized GovCon businesses over the years.Greg Nossaman and Greg Woodford, co-founders and managing directors at their investment bank G Squared Capital Partners, join this episode to review PE’s past and present activity in the market.The Gregs’ conversation with our Ross Wilkers then shifts to the future of private equity in GovCon and the questions on many business leaders’ minds highlighted by these two:How do I go about searching for a PE firm to back my company? What does PE look for in its investments?
WT 360 is where the conversation takes place on what’s driving the federal government market now and where the sector is going. Editor-In-Chief Nick Wakeman and Senior Staff Reporter Ross Wilkers look at the market from all angles through interviews with industry executives and informed observers of the sector.
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