The Inside Guide to the Federal IT Market

The Inside Guide to the Federal IT Market

by David Perera, Steve Charles
Released October 2012
Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 9781567263763

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Book description

Unlock the Door to the Federal IT Marketplace
Here's your key to selling IT goods and services to the government. David Perera and Steve Charles present the ins and outs of successfully competing for—and winning—a share of the tens of billions of dollars the federal government spends each year on IT. Getting a piece of that business is not easy—it takes accurate knowledge of systems and procedures, as well as sharp insight into the structure and details of government procurement.
The Inside Guide to the Federal IT Market penetrates the haze of jargon and apparent complexity to reveal the inner workings of the IT contracting process. Whether you're just setting out or seek a bigger share, this comprehensive book provides valuable information you can put to immediate use. The Inside Guide to the Federal IT Market covers:
• Technology standards
• Basic contracting concepts
• Advanced contracting concepts, such as getting on and staying on the GSA schedules
• The effect of the federal budget process on the sales cycle
• What you need to know about ethics to earn business fairly, without avoidable delays and hassle
This book's focus on the IT market makes it a unique reference on federal procurement for private companies. Government procurement personnel will also find the depth and breadth of coverage useful in reviewing and evaluating IT offerings.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. About the Authors
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Chapter 1 The Ecosystem
    1. How Big a Market?
    2. Why Agencies Buy Information Technology
    3. Federal Attitudes Toward Technology
    4. The Rise of Services
    5. Who in Government Buys IT
  10. Chapter 2 Strictly Business
    1. The Eight-Step Acquisition Process
    2. The Four Dimensions of the Federal IT Market: POET
    3. Getting Started
    4. The Art of the Approach
    5. Get in Sync with the Acquisition Process
    6. Grow from the Inside
    7. Consultants and Research Firms
    8. Be Strategic
    9. Marketing
    10. Final Note
  11. Chapter 3 The Basics
    1. Get Into the System
    2. Know the Rules and the Players
    3. Start Prospecting
    4. Consider Getting a GSA Schedule Contract
    5. Get Paid
    6. Final Note
  12. Chapter 4 Hoops and Hurdles
    1. Cybersecurity
    2. Approved Products List
    3. Section 508
    4. SmartBuy
    5. Special Considerations for Selling Open Source Software to the Government
    6. Final Note
  13. Chapter 5 The Best Relationships Are Based on Contracts
    1. Contracting Methods
    2. Evaluation Criteria
    3. Fair and Reasonable Pricing
    4. Contract Types
    5. Contract Vehicles
    6. Agreements
    7. Contract Changes and Equitable Adjustment
    8. Final Note
  14. Chapter 6 Sign with Caution
    1. Protect Your Proprietary Information
    2. Stand Up for Your Rights
    3. SAFETY Act
    4. Tell the Truth (Even If Somebody’s Been Fooling You)
    5. Handling Terminations
  15. Chapter 7 Keep Your Nose Clean
    1. Suspension and Debarment
    2. Basic Ethics Requirements
    3. Interactions with Individual Federal Employees
    4. Interactions with the Government
    5. Interactions with Your Employees
    6. Interactions with Third Parties
  16. Chapter 8 When You Lose
    1. Debriefs
    2. Protests
    3. Protest Forum: The GAO
    4. Protest Forum: Court of Federal Claims
    5. Final Note
  17. Chapter 9 Import with Care
    1. Buy American Act
    2. Trade Agreements Act
    3. Domestic Preferences for Defense Department Contractors
    4. Determining Country of Origin of a Product or Service
    5. Domestic Preferences for Small Business Set-Asides
    6. Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence
    7. Final Note
  18. Chapter 10 Getting On a GSA Schedule
    1. What the Schedules Are and Aren’t
    2. The Case For and Against a Schedule Contract
    3. Basic Price Considerations
    4. The Industrial Funding Fee
    5. At the Center of the Vortex: Most Favored Customer and the Price Reduction Clause
    6. Schedule Proposal Nuts and Bolts
    7. Taming Most Favored Customer: The CSP-1
    8. Taming Most Favored Customer: The Labor Rate Matrix
    9. Taming the Price Reduction Clause
    10. Price Adjustment
    11. Schedule Administration
    12. Final Note
  19. Chapter 11 Let’s Get Small
    1. Federal Small Business Basics
    2. You Must Be This Small
    3. Types of Socioeconomically Defined Small Businesses
    4. The 8(a) Business Development Program
    5. Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer
    6. Protests
    7. Life as a Small Business Subcontractor
    8. Growing Your Small Business
    9. Final Note
  20. Chapter 12 The Root of All Money
    1. On Any Given First Monday of February
    2. Authorizers and Appropriators
    3. All Systems Big and Small
    4. Life During a Continuing Resolution
    5. Effect of the Budget Cycle on Sales
    6. Final Note
  21. Index
  22. Complement Your Library with These Additional Resources from:

Product information

  • Title: The Inside Guide to the Federal IT Market
  • Author(s): David Perera, Steve Charles
  • Release date: October 2012
  • Publisher(s): Berrett-Koehler Publishers
  • ISBN: 9781567263763