Director's Corner

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Office of Management Budget’s (OMB) 2019 budget document, over 80 percent of all information technology (IT) spending is on the Operations and Maintenance of "aging legacy systems, which pose efficiency, cybersecurity, and mission risk issues, such as ever-rising costs to maintain them and an inability to meet current or expected mission requirements."

A 2019 memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget directs agencies to increase their use of Best in Class (BIC) contracts. But the case for BIC solutions goes well beyond any mandate.

As Congress continues to deliberate on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), many small business contractors are wondering if the reforms started in 2018 will continue. The FY 2018 and 2019 NDAA both contained positive provisions for small businesses.

Is setting up an IDIQ right for your agency?

In U.S. Federal government contracting, IDIQ is an abbreviation of the term indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity. This is a type of contract that provides for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period. IDIQs are also sometimes called "Task Orders" or "Delivery Order Contracts."

Every day the federal government fends off tens of thousands of cyberattacks from adversaries. Some of these attacks are simple – phishing emails aimed at hopefully tricking an unassuming federal employee – to more sophisticated attacks targeting the nation’s most precious data assets.

At NITAAC, we are not only fueling modernization across the government, we are leading by example. As one of the federal government’s top sources for ‘everything IT,’ NITAAC has taken the message of modernization to heart and is proud to launch a refreshed experience that will change how agencies acquire new technology. NITAAC’s three easy-to-use, easy-to-understand, Best in Class GWACs – CIO-SP3, CIO-SP3 Small Business, and CIO-CS – provide any agency, government-wide, with an easy and accessible method for acquiring more effective citizen service or mission delivery.

With 8(a) STARS II reaching its contract ceiling, many agencies that relied on the 8(a) STARS II GWAC, must now begin the process of seeking alternative GWACs to meet their socioeconomic requirements. 

With over 31,000 cybersecurity incidents affecting government agencies in 2018 alone, it is no surprise that government and industry come together for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) every October to inform Americans about the importance of cybersecurity. And while this year’s NCSAM is over, the need for cybersecurity solutions is not.