Acquisition

The Capabilities, Convenience and Cost of Federal Talent Acquisition Systems

A look into how and why one HR technology has managed to dominate the Federal talent acquisition market despite increasing numbers of competitors, their superior capabilities, and the Economy Act. The US Federal Government’s recruitment processes have been supported by HR technologies more than any other HR function.  They have become indispensable tools to helpRead… Read more »

Small Businesses: Let Gov Help You!

There are loads of benefits to supporting small businesses. They can be friendlier, more transparent, more accessible, and less hierarchical. Plus, they can provide the government with great services – just as good as larger businesses who engage in acquisitions with the U.S. government. The only caveat is that small businesses need a little bitRead… Read more »

Can The Federal Government Innovate IT Buying? Yes, If…

On March 27, 2015, OMB posted a job announcement for the first-ever Information Technology Category Manager. Category management is the Federal Government’s approach to rationalizing and streamlining acquisitions. The IT Category Manager (ITCM) will be responsible for managing IT acquisition as a category, for the first time. Kudos to OMB, OFPP, the Federal CIO, GSA,Read… Read more »

What Innovating Acquisition Should Mean – And Should Not

Talk of innovating Federal acquisition is widespread. Change is needed, and many smart people are hard at work on it. Confusion accompanies the conversation, however, and clarification is needed. If you’re involved in an acquisition innovation effort, ask yourself the following questions. What do we mean by innovating acquisition? Broadly, it seems the government canRead… Read more »

A Government Acquisitions Supercenter

Superstores like Target, Walmart, and Costco are hugely popular. You make one stop, and you can get everything on your list – from car tires, to fresh produce, to a sofa, to a pair of sneakers. However, it can be exhausting to wander around and find a particular item, especially when there doesn’t seem toRead… Read more »

Government Managers as Risk-Takers? Not So Much

Wunderkind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about risk taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.[1]” And yet a recent government-industry conference[2] included a discussion on the question of whether federal leaders will take onRead… Read more »

Overcoming Barriers to Cloud Procurement

The government is taking it steady in its relationship with cloud services. It started off with basic awareness but now govies are almost in the mindset to adopt cloud on a wide scale. There has been a significant amount of federal government spending on cloud solutions in recent years and the GSA has even releasedRead… Read more »

Fire, Army and Cloud – What They Have in Common

The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! Ok, not the roof, but during GovLoop, Vion and Hitachi Data Systems’ federal cloud procurement event, the basement was literally on fire. And while the jokes were obvious – a topic so hot it burst into flames – the fiery atmosphere did cut the wonderful eventRead… Read more »