NextGen Takes Off

by Kevin Shaker, Analyst, Market Intelligence

In FY15, the President requested $3.3B for IT operations at Department of Transportation (DOT), with a whopping 88% dispensed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The remaining budget, just under $400 million, is left to be distributed amongst other DOT agencies and headquarters. This means that you’ll definitely want to focus on the FAA within the Department of Transportation. There are several opportunities awaiting within the NextGen projects and it’s a great time to get your company involved with the DOT’s IT plans.

Most opportunities applicable to the FAA are found within the NextGen project, which is the agency’s initiative to modernize how the U.S. engages air travel. No matter what your company sells to the government, you may find opportunities within the NextGen project — having an entire R&D portfolio containing more than $160 million in pure development funding.

Here are some important projects you’ll want to familiarize yourself with in FY15:

The Big Deal with DataComm

If you sell infrastructure and telecommunications products or solutions you’ll want to get involved with the DataComm initiative. DataComm, one of the NextGen support programs, allows for telecommunications and information to travel across the various FAA systems. Recently, DataComm increased its budget from $118.3 million in FY14 to $152.9 million in FY15, which is good news for the COTS vendor community. Expect an RFI posting regarding the development of A and B Level design documents for the TDLS and ERAM sub-systems, which is going to include application lifecycle management, integration, and systems development requirements.

The 411 on SIs and the ADS-B Program

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) program, collects, analyzes, and sends air traffic information to pilots and air traffic controllers. This year specific requirements for application development and testing have been issued. In FY15, the program is also seeking assistance with the development of the Ground Interval Management – Spacing (GIM-S) component. The program requested a funding level of $260 million in FY15. ADS-B is looking for all sorts of capabilities from database solutions to system development and integration. Teaming up with long term system integrators on this project such as Lockheed Martin and ITT Corporation might be necessary to get your foot in the door. Lockheed is working on engineering and the technical support component and ITT Corporation is doing much of the development of the actual system.

It’s one of the most exciting times to get involved with NextGen investments! ADS-B and DataComm are only a couple of opportunities that reside within NextGen projects at FAA. It’s time to take initiative and reach out to the NextGen system integrators or contact FAA representatives individually. Learn about who’s making the decisions at the FAA by reaching out to immixGroup’s MI team today!