How TMF helps agencies fund IT Modernization

March 10, 2022 by Leave a comment

By Tara Franzonello, Program Development Manager

Improved cyber security is a priority for government agencies, which is why IT Modernization products and services are becoming so important. Unfortunately, agencies may not have sufficient funds for mission-critical IT.

That’s where the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) comes in.

TMF bridges the gap in IT Modernization between what agencies want and Congress expects. In the last several months alone, the TMF has approved seven new projects totaling over $300M in new funding.

To help address immediate security and capability gaps, suppliers must have a better understanding of the TMF. Agency customers will be better positioned for TMF money if you can explain how products and services map to TMF priorities, and how they provide solutions to pressing IT issues. 

Shaping the TMF proposal

TMF is an “innovative funding vehicle” authorized by the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017. It provides agencies with resources to secure systems and data, and to deliver services to citizens.

The Technology Modernization Board of TMF evaluates project proposals, provides funding recommendations, and monitors progress and performance of approved projects. Project proposals are submitted through a two-phased approval process – an Initial Project Proposal (IPP) and a Full Project Proposal (FPP). 

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Most valuable types of information you can provide to government IT decision-makers

September 23, 2021 by Leave a comment

By Jimmy Baker, Public Sector Marketing Strategist

The last federal fiscal year was truly one for the history books and COVID-19 has changed the way government decision-makers receive and monitor information.

Like many marketing professionals around the country, I stay up to date on the latest trends in government policy, spending and marketing. With a FY22 technology budget of approximately $95B, I want to make sure the assets I create deliver value and resonate with government stakeholders.  

For the last several years, Market Connections has published the Content Marketing Review. This study is truly one of the best surveys out there on what and where the public sector is going for information. This report takes the time to break down the differences (in terms of content preference) between the federal government, state and local government and the education marketplaces.  

Here are the top three things I learned about the federal government from the 2021 Content Marketing Review:  

  1. 81% of government leaders will read research reports 
  2. 72% of government leaders will read white papers 
  3. 61% of government leaders attend webinars 

We have all heard the phrase “content is king.” However, the government needs some precise information before looking at a vendor’s content. This report provides vital insights and details that is a must read to anyone that markets and sells technology products and services to the public sector.  

Please make plans to read my blog next month as I interview Market Connection’s Mari Canizales Coache and go deeper into the results of the latest surveys on where government decision-makers go to learn more about technology products and services.  

Keep on top of the latest trends in government IT. Subscribe to immixGroup’s Government Sales Insider blog now!

Learn more about Market Connections’ 2021 Content Market Review.

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Key Opportunities in Electronic Records Management

September 18, 2019 by Leave a comment

By Jessica Parks, Analyst

Good news for those who have been trying to sell solutions that facilitate digital government. A little over 2 months ago, OMB and the National Archives (NARA) issued memo M-19-21, informing federal agencies that they must manage all permanent and temporary records electronically by 2022. While this memo is not out of the blue – it was built upon the previous M-18-12 directive – it does lay out a specific timeline for agencies to follow.

Here are a couple of key technologies playing a role in the government’s transition to fully electronic records and how you can approach potential customers.

Automation
Automation will likely play a big part and may even free up agencies to explore emerging technologies such as AI. As agencies face a large volume of records to digitize and then manage, technology that reduces the amount of manual work will be a plus. For example, CMS recently implemented a robotic process automation-based tool to review medical records for Medicare payments. In combination with AI and ML algorithms, this tool has drastically reduced the time it takes to find the necessary data, from about one hour per document to just one minute. Read more of this post

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Preparing for the Promise of 5G in the Federal Government

September 11, 2019 by Leave a comment

By Toné Mason, Senior Analyst

5G is here – still in its infancy, but here. The 5G that we hear about in day-to-day life is marketed for the general public: Faster phone service, quicker download times, seamless streaming. It’s a race to see which provider can get the service to your city first and which has the best new 5G-enabled phone.

The real promise of 5G, however, is the intelligence that it can enable and the lives that can be saved or enhanced by that intelligence. The biggest customer for intelligence enabled by 5G is, of course, the federal government. 5G can grow and reach its full potential through various applications in our government, heading ultimately towards real-time actionable information for virtually seamless decision-making.

Low latency and high bandwidth are the two most important things that are arriving with 5G. Low to near non-existent latency will allow for millisecond response times, reliable transmissions and multi-access edge computing. The increased bandwidth provided by 5G will be important in enhancing security measures and data encryption with minimal impact on network throughput speeds. Increased bandwidth also will lend itself to the further growth of the internet of things (IoT), allowing that technology to reach its full potential as well. Read more of this post

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Federal IT Needs a Culture Shift

May 22, 2019 by Leave a comment

Tom O'Keefe

By Tom O’Keefe, Consultant

At many of the events I’ve been attending around the beltway lately, a common theme in federal IT keeps coming up – culture as an impediment to change. Many of the CXOs I hear speaking all mention that to modernize outdated federal systems, the culture within an agency and around its technology has got to change.

That’s not to say that agencies are dismissive of their workforce, or that they don’t value their employees – on the contrary, many leaders recognize that their teams are the most valuable resource they have. But to transform federal IT, to unlock the value of data and to fully embrace the move to the cloud, agency IT leaders know they need to drag their workforce kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

At AFCEA Bethesda’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Technology Forum, Sonny Bhagowalia, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Office of Information Technology at Customs and Border Protection, highlighted the five things that federal IT leaders need to take into consideration: Read more of this post

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Data Centricity: The Heart of Federal IT

April 17, 2019 by Leave a comment

Tom O'Keefe

By Tom O’Keefe, Consultant

If there’s been a common theme I’ve been hearing lately, it’s data centricity.

It’s a fundamental shift in federal IT that’s been building for a few years that could have broad implications for the types of technology investments agencies will look to make in the future. Federal agencies are beginning to realize that not only is data their core asset, they know they need to make start making investments in the stewardship and utilization of that data. It’s not enough to just have data or protect data, that data needs to be operationalized and transformed from data to knowledge to action – and support the execution of the mission.

At an AFCEA Bethesda breakfast I attended in March, speakers from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security affirmed the increasing understanding within their agency of the value of the data they capture throughout the course of their operations. It’s fair to note here that agencies have been talking about making better use of their data for years, but much like we’ve seen the slow and steady progression to cloud adoption, I believe we’re seeing a steady progression toward realizing the importance of data and turning it into actionable intelligence to enable the mission. Read more of this post

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Summing Up the Government IT Sales Summit

November 20, 2018 by 1 Comment

By Tim Larkins, Director, Market Intelligence

The 2018 immixGroup Government IT Sales Summit has come to an end. Despite an unwelcomed surprise from mother nature, hundreds of suppliers, partners, systems integrators and government employees flocked to the event to attend sessions, share knowledge and network. A diverse array of topics was discussed, and while content varied from room to room, many consistencies were noticeable.

Among them were government agencies’ imperatives for modernization, optimization and meaningful use of data. About half of the agencies are funded with new appropriations in FY19, with the other half on a CR through early December. Of the agencies with new money, most of them are seeing an uptick in their IT budgets – with which they will be purchasing COTS software and hardware to help them meet the aforementioned imperatives.

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Truths and Lies About Year-End Funding

August 21, 2018 by 1 Comment

Chris Wiedemann

By Chris Wiedemann, consultant

The end of another government fiscal year means another September, with all the craziness and excitement that it brings. As we’ve noted before, the government doles out an average of 40 percent of its annual IT expenditure in the final month of the fiscal year. In fact, given the relatively late arrival of this year’s appropriations, we might see that share go up this year. The conditions are ripe for a hectic four-week period, where we should all expect long hours to make sure every order gets filled.

You’ll also want to make sure you’re keeping an eye on the phones, no matter when they ring — September is the month for blue birds, but you need to be responsive to land those last-minute deals and capture year-end money. Steve Charles, one of immixGroup’s co-founders, has a great video running down other best practices for the end of the government fiscal year you might want to review.

All that said, I do want to address a common misconception about year-end money: in most cases, customers aren’t going to identify any new requirements for FY18. One of the most common requests our market intelligence team gets is to help reps “find” year-end deals — but the realities of the government buying cycle make it impossible to accurately track which customers have the right combination of unfulfilled requirements and unspent budget. Don’t add to the stress of the month by chasing new deals – instead, keep the following tips in mind:

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5 Ways to Lead a Team to Profits

May 10, 2016 by Leave a comment

Steve Headshot 65 x 85IES-Sales ImageBy Steve Charles, immixGroup Co-Founder

Ask anyone who’s run a company or a large division about their management style, and you’ll likely walk away with some new strategies for getting people to do what you want them to do.

immixGroup leader Art Richer and I were recently interviewed by Sales Initiative magazine, the largest sales-focused publication in the UK, about our management styles. In a month, we’ll be honored, along with immixGroup co-founder Jeff Copeland, with a lifetime achievement award from the Institute for Excellence in Sales.

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