3 Aspects of Navigating Government Convergence

by Chris Wiedemann, Senior Analyst

As immixGroup’s 2nd Annual Government IT Sales Summit draws closer, I want to give you an inside look at the major theme of this year’s 11^th Annual Civilian Budget Briefing: convergence. Whether in acquisition, management structure, or technology, the federal COTS market is positioned to come together in new ways this year.

Here are three broad trends the Market Intelligence organization will explore next Thursday, November 19^th at the 2^nd Annual Government IT Sales Summit:

1. Technology

Next-gen Infrastructure is much more than consolidating data centers into fewer facilities, switching to cloud-hosted environments, and utilizing shared service platforms. Advanced virtualization technologies will be taking IT environments by storm in the foreseeable future. The EPA plans to have 60 percent of their servers at the National Computing Center virtualized by the end of 2015 and the number will increase in 2016. Federal agencies are striving to reach a totally converged infrastructure, moving past routers and switches to an application-down sync across their entire stack.

2. IT Management

By now most of us are already familiar with the Federal Acquisition Information Technology Reform Act (FITARA) that states the Chief Information Officer must sign off on all of an agency’s IT related purchases. While most agencies were required to submit their implementation plans in FY16, others have already centralized IT authority to the headquarters’ level such as the Department of the Interior and Department of Homeland Security. Either way, management change will significantly affect your customer base, and you need to stay on top of the changes in your territory.

3. Go-to-Market Strategy

Centralization in management is bringing another trend with it: more and more spending through agency-specific development indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts. Having a spot on a schedule isn’t enough anymore – you need to have working relationships with the large systems integrators who are helping your customers vet technology, or you’ll get left behind. Converging your go-to-market strategy with a distributor will allow you to focus on your strengths: building demand and winning business.

To find out more about the future of government’s cutting-edge technology adoption and where your COTS solution can fit in, register today for the 2nd Annual Government IT Sales Summit. This information-packed event features three Market Intelligence briefings that will explore hot-button issues ranging from the impact of the latest government priorities to key funded opportunities and procurement drivers in FY16.