B2G Blog - Procurement

The business of business development in leaner times

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:57:00 -0400

As talking heads debate how the sequester will affect the economy, companies around the beltway are working to determine how it might damage their bottom line. Will they be directly affected? Will the “trickle down” eventually bite them? It’s very likely that many cannot afford the risk or choose not to take it, so they are looking to cushion any potential blow.

When budgets are tight it is easy to consider Business Development as overhead that should be eliminated; but just like the “trickle down” will eventually bite you, so will reduction of your Business Development resources. Though it may help with short term revenue projections, long-term growth and stability cannot be sacrificed for instant gratification. A thorough understanding of the market, especially when agencies are working tirelessly to rebalance their smaller budgets, is critical in order to get ahead of opportunities and align your internal resources.

Understanding how agencies and their budgets will be affected by the cost cutting and how they plan to absorb these cuts will not only put you ahead of the curve in terms of preparing for upcoming opportunities, but it will also inform you about what has been moved to the backburner. Resources saved are resources earned. For example, as it stands currently, the Navy’s operations and maintenance accounts will be reduced by more than $4B, its IT expenditures will be cut by 25% and at least a half dozen “new start” multi-year procurement projects will be deferred. Anticipating and knowing about these delays will prevent you from wasting business development valuable resources where they are not needed.

GovWin Consulting specializes in understanding each agency’s priorities and can work with your company to help uncover where that department or agency plans to shift its focus and funding. With less budget to go around it is critical to develop an action plan in order to best position your company’s products or solutions. Communicating the values and messages that resonate with your intended audience and understanding their current financial hardships, can be the difference in winning new business. Our team delivers in-depth strategic targeting department and agency solutions tailored to your company’s business priorities and sales goals. For more information concerning GovWin Consulting’s capabilities please visit our website.

A closer look at Mississippi?s IT hardware term contracts

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:53:00 -0400

With more than 70 statewide term contracts from Mississippi’s IT Hardware Express Products List (EPL), it’s evident that the IT hardware category is a hot one in today’s market. The state took one solicitation and created 70-plus contracts offering a wide range of products including desktop/mobile-based computers, GIS-level workstations, monitors, printers/scanners, servers, storage, and video-conferencing equipment.

Mississippi has 77 approved manufacturers and 99 resellers on the IT Hardware EPL. While there is no confirmed spend value for statewide term contracts since they are based on purchases over the course of a contract, vendors may see large returns; statewide term contracts offer a large range of products and are available for use by all Mississippi agencies, universities, colleges and governing authorities.

The state has a purchase limit for users of $200,000 per project, per fiscal year for the IT Hardware EPL, which notes the anticipated high value. Mississippi also requires customers to obtain quotes from at least two EPL sellers if their purchase will be more than $50,000, which increases vendor competition. Another benefit to the EPL is that new sellers can submit proposals to get in on the action every six months.

Mississippi’s EPL Interactive website provides in-depth contract, vendor and pricing information, specifically for the IT Hardware EPL contract, but is not as robust with spending information. The site allows users to search by category, manufacturer, and seller name. You can also search by manufacturer reseller group, where a manufacturer sets a not-to-exceed price that resellers must obey; from there, some resellers will offer discounts on that manufacturer’s price. They keep this updated as the manufacturer changes any products on their website to make sure it meets state requirements.

Displayed in Table 1 are the different IT hardware categories offered under the EPL. The audio-visual components class is offered by 20 manufacturers and 66 resellers, the most of all categories. Interactive devices, which include whiteboards, voting devices and displays, is a close second with 18 manufacturers and 64 resellers. Some vendors offer both of those top contracts, like the Visix Term Contract. Deltek’s State & Local Term Contract resource has a searchable, saveable, living record for each of the more than 70 Mississippi IT hardware contracts, and 1,200 IT hardware term contracts throughout the United States.

Key take-aways

The IT Hardware EPL contract is set to expire in June 2014, and the state has indicated a replacement RFP will be released in April 2014. If IT hardware vendors don’t want to wait for the new solicitation, they can get on this contract in the next update cycle – the due date for proposals is June 4, 2013.

Forty-six states are using term contracts as an approach to purchase IT hardware. To explore more term contracts and gain insight into competitor contracts and pricing, check out Deltek’s State and Local Term Contracts resource. Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek’s GovWin IQ database and take advantage of a free trial.

Deltek pulse: General government services April review

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:07:00 -0400

April saw the highest number of solicitation releases so far this year, with a total of 1,705 identified IT-related general government (GenGov) solicitations captured in Deltek’s Govwin IQ database. Last month showed a 10.7 percent increase in the total number of solicitations released by state and local governments from March.

From April’s solicitations, we’ve highlighted the top 11 most common IT procurement categories in the state and local market:

Software/Applications – 258 solicitations
IT Hardware/Computers/Peripherals – 227 solicitations
Maintenance & Support Services – 152 solicitations
Implementation/Integration Services – 125 solicitations
Cloud/Data Center/Big Data Solution/Services – 99 solicitations
Wireless & Telecom Equipment/Solution/Services – 63 solicitations
IT Professional /Staffing/Consulting/Project Management Services – 44 solicitations
Content/Document/Records Management Systems – 35 solicitations
Education Data/Learning Management/Student Info Systems – 24 solicitations
ERP/Human Resources/Financial Systems – 18 solicitations
Data Warehouse/Business Intelligence/Analytics – 17 solicitations

Here is a look at current tracked GenGov IT opportunities:

The state of Montana released a request for proposals (RFP) for a remediation information management system. The vision for RIMS is to improve the availability and quality of the information necessary to effectively deliver timely and accurate services to support DEQ’s remediation and associated programs, and to provide data integrity and system availability. The state is seeking a vendor to design, develop, support, and maintain the state’s new system (RIMS). Proposals are due by 2:00 MST June 11, 2013.

The California Department of Education released an RFP for its standardized account code structure system replacement project on April 9, 2013. The selected solution will integrate the functions of the four components into a single, Web-based system and will add functionality that streamlines the LEA reporting process for both LEAs and CDE FAIS staff. Questions and requests for meetings are due by June 5; draft proposals are due August 1; final questions are due Sept. 27, and final proposals are due November 8. An award is planned for January 2014, and the contract will run for a base term of three years.

The Kentucky Department of Revenue released an RFP for an electronic tobacco tax filing system on April 29, 2013. The selected solution will facilitate the licensing of cigarette and tobacco-product dealers; return filing (including supplemental data); cigarette tax stamp ordering and tracking; cross-checking between taxpayer filings and manufacturers; collection of master settlement agreement data from wholesaler filings; auditing functions and reporting. RFP responses are due by 3:00 PM EST May 17, 2013.

The state of New Jersey released an RFP seeking a budget preparation and monitoring system on April 30, 2013. The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals for the Enhanced Decision and Information System of New Jersey (EDISON) project. The new system will replace existing decision support and publishing systems used to create and monitor the statewide budget, with a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product. Questions are due May 15. An optional pre-proposal conference will also be held May 15. Proposals are due July 31, 2013.

The Wyoming Department of Education has released an RFP for an educator credentialing, assignment validation, and reporting system. RFP proposals are due by May 21, 2013. The state estimates an award date of June 24, and a contract start date of July 1, 2013.

April’s Market Analysis

Analyst Derek Johnson published an article on transparency success stories of Tacoma Public Schools (TPS), where he interviewed contract manager Steve Demel. The article focuses on the school district’s transparency efforts to make all contracts available online. More school districts and state and local governments are engaging in these types of transparency initiatives. This openness assists vendors in identifying future business opportunities by seeing what and how government entities have purchased goods and services in the past.

GovWin IQ subscribers can read further about these projects in the provided links. Non-subscribers can gain access with a GovWin IQ free trial.

Montana's 2013 spending forecast

Wed, 08 May 2013 08:49:00 -0400

Just four months into the year, Montana has already awarded 86 statewide contracts – 11 of which were IT related – according to the state’s transparency website. The state started off the year slowly, only awarding a few contracts in January and February, one of which was IT related; but with more than half of the contracts awarded in April, Montana’s procurement cycle is picking up steam.

The beginning and final months of the year are always slightly slower with contract awards, while the start and end of the fiscal year (ending in June and beginning in July for most states) prove to be much livelier for procurement.

Last year, Montana’s awarded contracts had a bell-curve distribution; Q1 started off sluggish, the majority of contracts were awarded in Q2 and Q3, and activity died down again in Q4. If this year is any reflection of last year, we should look for an active next couple of months in the state.

As awarded contracts are growing in number, the Q2 spending trend becomes evident. Oftentimes states with a June-July fiscal year see a lull in spending at the end of the fiscal year, once funds have been used up. However, they typically see spending pick back up in July as project funds are approved and allocated. Therefore, vendors should be ready for high procurement activity ahead.

Most of this year’s awarded IT contracts are for software and software systems, and awarded vendors include Dell, High Point Networks LLC, and Hewlett Packard State and Local Enterprise Service. Further IT procurements include contracts for telecommunications systems, technological equipment, and professional services, of which CenturyLink, Compview Inc, and Northslope Capital Advisors are among the awardees. All of these vendors are pretty big players in the IT market, which means Montana contracts are fairly competitive and the state tends to do business with existing vendors. Smaller and newer vendors should take note of this.

The awarded contract values range from $17,000 to $500,000, and total approximately $1 million spent on IT contracts this year. Vendors should keep an eye out for more high-value contracts in the coming months as Montana still has a lot to spend.

Additionally, state departments just submitted their proposed budgets and bills for approval, and as Governor Steve Bullock approves them, procurement activity will rise. The Governor’s Information Technology Summary mentions a few projects the state is most interested in pursuing, including a statewide voter registration system, enhancing e-services for property and state taxes, and a computerized management maintenance system. The state outlined more than $15 million for these opportunities, as well as more than $14 million in long-term IT projects. Further opportunities can be found in the Montana state profile database.

Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek’s GovWin IQ database and take advantage of a free trial.

Florida's FY 2014 Budget

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:30:00 -0400

What a difference a fiscal year makes! For the past two budget cycles (FY 2012 and FY 2013), Florida Governor Rick Scott has been requesting deep cuts to health care, education and public safety to curtail the state’s declining tax revenues and multibillion-dollar deficit. Now, Governor Scott is touting a $4 billion surplus, and the fiscal year 2014 budget recommendations Scott released on February 6 actually add funds to state programs for the first time in six years. Also, in a reversal from years passed, Scott’s top budget priorities for FY 2014 include health care and education, both of which were once on the chopping block.

The governor’s FY 2014 state budget recommendation, also called the Florida Families First budget, asks for a pay raise for K-12 teachers and state workers, an increase in funding for state universities, and, surprisingly, accepts federal funds to support the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA). If adopted, the Republican governor’s FY 2014 budget would be the largest in state history, at $74 billion.

This economic upswing has allowed Scott to tailor his budget around job creation by cutting business taxes, investing in workforce training programs, and calling for $8.3 billion in transportation projects. Scott has also added $3 billion to higher education, essentially restoring funds to pre-recession levels. Additionally, Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 7.7 percent, signifying an increase in revenue from income taxes. The combination of less spending and larger revenues has resulted in this unexpected surplus.

Now that the state is seeing a fruitful recovery, there is more push from department heads to restore services and programs and take on new projects. Despite cries for relief, Scott’s budget largely resists large-scale funding restorations; instead, he has smartly decided to split the difference by recommending a smaller increase in spending while opting to replenish the state’s once-dry emergency fund.

The top vertical increases in Scott’s FY 2014 budget recommendations (compared to FY 2013) focus on higher education (66.2 percent), transportation (33.7 percent), and public finance (24.3 percent) verticals. The Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Department within the transportation vertical received a $20.6 million increase compared to FY 2013. This increase includes a $4.9 million funding request to procure a new motorist service system that is expected to be implemented over multiple years.

The top vertical decreases in the FY 2014 budget recommendations are for natural resources (-5.8 percent), K-12 education (-7.3 percent) and social services (-9.6 percent) verticals. The bulk of losses for social services are represented by a $575 million decrease from the Elder Affairs and Children and Family Services departments, stemming from reduced public services and pending layoffs. However, the IT expenditures under the social services vertical actually see a 7.9 percent increase from FY 2013, due in large part to projects such as the state’s public assistance eligibility system and the child dependency information management system.

One of the bigger gaffes Florida faced during the 2013 fiscal year was the defunding and decommissioning of the Agency of Enterprise Information Technology (AEIT). Last year, Scott vetoed legislation that would have replaced AEIT with a new central information technology agency that would have focused more on the state’s data center consolidation effort. Scott justified the veto by stating he believed the new agency’s scope was too narrow. Even though both Scott and the legislature promised to work together for fiscal year 2014 to avoid another misstep, it seems the House and Senate have each introduced competing legislation – though each is requesting a new agency, the agencies would have differing scopes and oversight schemes. An aide in Senator Jeremy Ring’s office confirmed that, despite political maneuvering, the hope is to create a central agency to manage the state’s IT efforts and oversee nearly $51 billion in IT contracts, rather than have 19 different state agencies inefficiently managing their own.

There are two major differences in oversight and scope between the House and Senate bills. Senate Bill 1762 calls for the head of the new agency to report to the governor alone, while House Bill 5009 calls for the head of the new agency to report to the governor as well as the cabinet. There’s also a difference in scope, as the House bill would pare down the new agency’s ability to influence IT purchasing decisions, while the Senate bill would create a department with robust authority including oversight of all IT purchases that involved multiple state agencies. Ultimately, HB 5009 would really only allow the new agency to track and analyze IT purchases and draft IT strategic plans in more of an advisory role. Since Governor Scott has yet to throw his support behind either bill, this battle will likely continue into the summer.

For an extended version of this article, please go here.

For more information on Florida FY 2014 budget, visit the state profile here.

Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek’s GovWin IQ database and take advantage of a free trial.

PSAP demographics across the United States

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:58:00 -0400

Last April, Deltek utilized the Federal Communications Commission’s PSAP Registry to give vendors an overview of public safety answering points (PSAPs) in counties nationwide. Now, we’re using the current registry to detail information on consolidation efforts and other changes that have taken place across the country in the last year.

Consolidation projects have been taking place for the last few years as cities and counties work to become more efficient and, ultimately, save more money; however, the total number of PSAPs actually increased by 64 from 2012 to 2013. Still, of the 8,393 PSAPs, only 7,485 act as the primary call-taking location – 908 are considered “orphaned” and are no longer utilized. These orphaned PSAPs will not be included in future filings with the FCC.

PSAP Quick Facts 2013
U.S. Population (July 2012 estimate)	313,914,000
Total number of PSAPs	8,393
Average number of individuals served by each PSAP	37,401
State with the most PSAPs	Texas
State with the fewest PSAPs	New Hampshire
Average number of calls to 911/ year (NENA)	240,000,000
Average number of calls to 911/day	657,534

Just as in 2012, Texas has the most PSAPs (667), followed by California (587) and Illinois (422) – all three states also saw slight increases in their total number of PSAPs year to year.

New Hampshire still has the fewest PSAPs (5), and Delaware’s nine puts it second from the bottom. Washington, D.C. held that spot in 2012, but an increase from seven to 11 PSAPs now ties the district with Vermont and Hawaii for having the third lowest number.

As of April 2013, a total of 719 PSAPs have changed name, state, county or city compared to only 679 that had as of April 2012. The majority of these took place in California, followed distantly by Nebraska – providing further evidence that dispatch centers in many locations are consolidating efforts and working to cover a wider geographical span.

The below chart provides a visual representation of PSAP locations by city and county in 2012 and 2013, as well as information on where vendors can find the most opportunities.

Analyst’s Take

The number of dispatch opportunities in each of the regional areas has remained steady since 2012, with nine solicitations in the works in Los Angeles and Boston, and 12 within 100 miles of Chicago and 21 within 100 miles of New York City. This should provide some hope for vendors that cities and counties are still interested in purchasing dispatching technologies despite the tough economic climate.

Dispatch technologies are among the most vital tools that police use, and localities have little choice than to purchase new ones once they reach the end of their life cycles. This trend, along with increasing number of PSAPs, is likely to continue as individuals’ ability to report where and when crimes take place becomes easier.

Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek’s GovWin IQ database and take advantage of a free trial.

Deltek releases annual state-of-the-states analysis: Webinar to be held this Thursday

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 15:06:00 -0400

Every year, Deltek analysts carefully comb through all 50 governors’ state-of-the-state and budget addresses to identity crucial trends in rising and falling priorities. Understandably, the past few years haven’t been so fruitful, with states cutting key programs, canceling major projects and shifting efforts to stay afloat amid recession’s strapped-budget undertow.

Fortunately, states are successfully weathering the storm, and this year’s report contains a bevy of potential vendor opportunities as governors’ agendas increased project items for the first time since 2008. Overall, the total number of governor agenda items rose a sharp 11.6 percent from 2012.

In addition to the report, Deltek is presenting a free webinar this Thursday at 2 p.m. EST so vendors can learn how to align technologies with current and emerging policy trends. Go here to register for the free event.

Major take-aways from “State of the States, 2013,” include:

Governors’ renewed interest in performance-based management, particularly in education
More effort to cut corrections and incarceration costs by investing in probation, parole and electronic monitoring programs
Heavy focus on Medicaid expansion (both for and against), and how to reduce its costs
Increased dedication to developing a strong future workforce by establishing a wealth of present educational opportunities, led by digital learning platforms
Amplified justice and public safety initiatives due to natural disasters (Hurricane Sandy) and national tragedies (the Newtown shootings)
Continued plans to streamline and consolidate government operations through technology

The report also breaks down governors’ 2013 goals per vertical market, with several charts detailing the number of agenda items mentioned year to year and technology-specific projects.

The full list of report graphs include:

2013 by vertical
2011-2013 comparison by vertical
2008-2013 average by vertical
2013 Agenda Item Popularity vs. 2011-2013 average by vertical
Top 25 cross-over agenda items
Agenda items with mention of technology, 2013
Agenda items mentioned by state, 2013
Community development, economic development/regulation, natural resources/environment, and transportation agenda items, 2013
Education agenda items, 2013
General government services and public finance agenda items, 2013
Health care and social services agenda items, 2013
Justice/public safety agenda items, 2013

To read the full, 33-page report, please go here. Deltek clients that subscribe to State & Local Industry Analysis (SLIA) may also request (via their Deltek Client Advisor) the Excel workbook containing all of the agenda data compiled for the report.

Lastly, please register for our free webinar this Thursday to learn more about the initiatives and implications of 2013’s state-of-the-state addresses.

Transparency success stories: Tacoma Public Schools

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:24:00 -0400

The first step in determining what a government is going to want to purchase in the future is to get a good sense of what it purchased in the past. For this reason, the transparency initiatives undertaken by the Tacoma Public School District over the past few years should be encouraging for vendors.

According to Stevel Demel, contracts and warehouse manager, the impetus to make existing contract information more readily available stemmed from a desire to proactively respond to frequent information requests from the vendor community that bogged the procurement department down in paperwork.

“Prior to 2011, the Tacoma School District Purchasing Department would typically get 3 – 5 public disclosure requests for information per month,” said Demel in a written response to Deltek. “As a result, we spent hours copying and preparing documents for disclosure.”

The idea of making all contract information available online came after the district began utilizing online bidding technology for open procurements. This system already allowed the district to automatically post bid tabulations – a fine feature since one of the most frequent requests Deltek gets from members is who they are competing against for a particular procurement. In late 2011, the district was able to pay for the ability to upload its contracts database to the Web for public viewing, which Demel said has dramatically cut down on ad-hoc public disclosure requests.

Tacoma Public Schools provides contract transparency in three forms: inter-local, inter-district and current public contracts. This provides vendors with more or less visibility into all contracting activity for the district, past and present. Additionally, you can filter your searches to search for all contracts set to expire within the next year, making it handy for quick, lead-generating searches. In 20 minutes, I was able to assemble a table of active IT contracts the district currently holds:

“We are convinced more bidders means more competition and better prices, so ultimately our customers are benefitting from our transparency efforts as well,” said Demel.

However, the drive for transparency does have limits, and Demel is skeptical about openly discussing upcoming projects to foster competition.

“We tend to avoid [pre-RFP discussions] if doing so would limit competition or drive the specification,” he said. “We want to strike a balance between fairness and the need for discussions/information.”

Further, Demel said the best thing a vendor can do to win a contract is homework. Doing so will ultimately help them develop the best value proposal or bid. He also said the worst things a vendor can do are assume that the last bid submitted will win and failing to read the bid document carefully enough during the RFP process. Purchases below $75,000 can be limited to a list of pre-identified companies; anything over that figure should be competitively bid.

Tenth round of HIX funding released

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:03:00 -0400

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently awarded a tenth round of Health Insurance Exchange Establishment Grants. Awardees this time include Arkansas ($16.5 million), Hawaii ($128.1 million), Illinois ($115.8 million), New Hampshire ($5.4 million), and Rhode Island ($9.8 million).

States are able to use these grants to improve and enhance key functions of their insurance exchange. Each grant is made through an extensive examination of funding requested by the state, in addition to an analysis to determine reasonable funding from the federal government. Establishment grants will continue to be awarded through 2014.

Here’s a look at key insurance exchange initiatives from this month’s awardees:

Hawaii: The state will be using funds to hire staff, develop and execute contracts as it continues to develop a robust insurance exchange system. CGI was awarded a $53 million contract in December 2012 to build Hawaii’s exchange. The state has also plans to procure for a Small Business Health Insurance Options Program (SHOP) exchange in the near future.

Arkansas: The state will be using its award to fund an Arkansas In-Person Assister (IPA) Guide program to assist in the deployment of more than 500 certified IPAs to assist consumers across the state during open enrollment. The state chose the partnership model for its exchange and is currently in the process of securing health connector outreach and education campaign services.

Illinois: The state will be using funds for a variety of tasks including recommending qualified health plans, operating its IPA program, raising awareness for its exchange, and implementing systems. Illinois will also be utilizing the partnership exchange model and is in the final evaluation stages for selecting its insurance exchange project vendor.

New Hampshire: The state will be using funds to continue planning and developing its consumer partnership marketplace, which includes hiring consultants to add capacity and manage activities. New Hampshire will be moving forward with a partnership model for its exchange.

Rhode Island: The state will be using funds to assist in the design of its comprehensive IPA program, in addition to developing a product and delivery system for its state-based insurance exchange, which it awarded Deloitte a $105 million contract to build. Rhode Island is also in the process of securing contact center services for its exchange.

Want more? Be sure to check out Deltek’s latest report on insurance exchanges. Deltek’s database contains a wealth of information about states’ efforts in implementing insurance exchanges. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign for a free trial, here.

Deltek salutes national telecommunicators

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:43:00 -0400

Every April, National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week celebrates the work that telecommunicators engage in every day to keep their communities safe. These individuals are often the first line of defense in the face of tragedy and work to keep everyone calm on what may be the worst day of their lives. When a call comes in to 911, they are the ones charged with gathering salient information, determining which agencies are best to respond, and dispatching first responders.

Public safety telecommunicators also provide key instructions for individuals calling in with an emergency, whether instructing them where to hide during a home invasion or how to give CPR and clear an airway.

Telecommunicators rely not only on their extensive training and people skills, but also a complex network of technologies to ensure the appropriate help arrives at the correct emergency location as quickly as possible. In the past year, communities nationwide have recognized the importance of these essential technologies and have sought to upgrade or replace antiquated systems.

In the past year, several solicitations were released for the following technologies:

911 (Enhanced and Next Generation): 24
Records Management Systems (RMS): 19
Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD): 13
Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVL): 7
Geographic Information Systems (GIS): 6

Many public safety priorities for 2012 and 2013 emphasize increasing utilization of these systems and improving first-response efforts, which rely heavily on cooperation of neighboring jurisdictions or agencies in the event of an emergency. Increased interoperability coupled with the ability to receive information in real time has greatly enhanced overall telecommunications.

While most state and local governments manage their own dispatch centers, there is likely to be a continued focus on consolidation and partnerships between agencies to curb costs and improve efficiency. Dispatch equipment such as CAD, RMS, GIS mapping and AVL technology are typically procured through a formal solicitation process. Usually, CAD and RMS equipment are procured together, but as most of these technologies require integration, agencies may choose to procure all equipment within a technology suite. This helps agencies save time and money and allows for simultaneous upgrade and implementation processes.

The upgrade or enhancement of 911 systems to next generation has been on the radar of many governments over the past few years due to many systems becoming obsolete. Next generation 911 advancements have put pressure on agencies to incorporate new capabilities into 911 systems, such as the ability to receive text-to-911, video streaming and picture messaging. Most 911 projects are implemented through a formal procurement process, and some agencies even prefer to utilize an RFI or hire a consultant prior to formal implementation. Despite tight budgets, agencies will likely continue to put forth the effort to ensure the most efficient and advanced dispatching technologies are purchased because, like dispatchers, these systems are central to the mission of public safety agencies.

Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek’s GovWin IQ database and take advantage of a free trial.

Deltek pulse: General government services March review

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 09:15:00 -0400

March continued to follow the February trend of increased solicitation releases from state and local governments. A total of 1,539 IT-related general government solicitations were identified in Deltek’s GovWin IQ database in March, which is a 19.3 percent increase from February.

Here are March’s top 10 most common IT procurement categories in the state and local market:

Software/Applications – 320 solicitations
IT Hardware/Computers/Peripherals – 222 solicitations
Telecom/IT Maintenance and Support Services – 176 solicitations
Telecom/IT Implementation/Installation/Integration Services – 136 solicitations
IT Staffing/Consulting/Project Management Services – 72 solicitations
Data Center/Data Warehouse and Data Management/Collection – 28 solicitations
ERP/Human Resources/Financial Systems – 19 solicitations
Content/Document/Customer Relationship/Records Management Systems – 16 solicitations
Telecom Solutions/Equipment – 14 solicitations
BI/Analytics/Performance Management Solutions – 7 solicitations

Here is a look at current tracked general government IT opportunities:

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) released a request for offers (RFO) on March 8 seeking a software reseller and related services. Originally, DIR planned to release an individual RFO for Microsoft software products, but opted to consolidate a solicitation for Adobe, Novell and Microsoft products into a single RFO. Offers and vendor references are due by 2 p.m. on April 9.

The Washington Department of Licensing released the request for proposals (RFP) for a prorate fuel tax reporting system on March 13. The state is seeking a single, fully-integrated Web-based computer system for management of the state's pro-rate and fuel tax responsibilities. This system is critical to the administration of two federally mandated programs – the International Registration Plan (IRP) and International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) – and the collection of fuel tax revenues. RFP questions are due by April 16, and proposals are due by June 21. The state estimates an award in September, with a contract starting in November 2013.

The Illinois State Procurement Office released an RFP for a vendor portal. The state is seeking a Web-based, hosted solution to create a vendor portal to serve as the primary location for entering, organizing, and reviewing vendor information. Proposals are April 11. The state estimates an award date of May 6, 2013.

The Alameda County Procurement Office released a request for interest (RFI) on March 4 for a procurement card program. The county will continue to accept RFI responses until a formal RFP is issued, which is expected by April 15. Proposals are expected to be due by May 20, 2013.

Deltek’s point of contact in the Montana State Procurement Bureau confirmed that the current master contract for IT services, though set to expire on June 30, 2013, is expected to be renewed for an additional three years. The multi-vendor contract will have a new expiration of June 30, 2016, for all 37 incumbent vendors. The State Procurement Bureau confirmed that it expects to release a solicitation at that time.

Notable awards

Deltek confirmed that Florida’s Broward County Public Schools awarded a contract for its technical contract staffing project to three vendors: Key Technical Resources Inc, Millennium Technology Group LLC, and Universal System Technologies Inc. The contract is valued at $2,250,000.

The Connecticut Department of Administrative Services awarded its IT professional services project to multiple vendors: CoolSoft LLC, Hallmark Totaltech Inc, iTech Solutions Inc, On-Line Systems Inc, Pali Solutions Inc, Skylightsys, and Tri-Com Consulting Group LLC.

An assistant general counsel with Massachusetts Information Technology Division informed Deltek that its e-discovery services project was awarded to multiple vendors: Access Data Group LLC, Merrill Communications LLC, Navigant Consulting Inc, Rational Retention LLC, and Target Litigation Consulting Inc.

Deltek received confirmation from a purchasing director that a contract was signed between the Virginia Community College System and Augusoft Inc for a workforce enterprise system. The value of the contract shall not exceed $7,587,625, for a base term of five years. Vendors who submitted proposals include Destiny Solutions, Campus CE Corporation, Campus Management Corporation, Jenzabar and Augusoft.

Market analysis

Analyst Randi Powell published the State IT Transparency Report, 2013, which focuses on spending data collected from six respective state transparency sites. When analyzed, this data highlights actual dollar amounts, sales volume and usage along vertical, fiscal year, IT category, and even vendor. This IT spending data can be extremely useful for vendors looking to key in on potential state government customers to build out their pipeline with data-supported business opportunities.

GovWin IQ subscribers can read further about these projects in the provided links. Non-subscribers can gain access with a GovWin IQ free trial.

Montana Child Welfare System

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:46:00 -0400

As written last week, Deltek’s Health and Human Services Team is taking an in-depth look at Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS) across the nation. This week, we take a look at SACWIS plans shaping up in Big Sky Country.

In the FY 2014-15 biennial budget, currently winding its way through the Montana legislature, an appropriation for $350,000 exists for planning the replacement SACWIS (called the Montana Adult and Child Welfare Information System, or MACWIS). The planning appropriation contains a provision that the Department of Public Health and Human Services conclude planning efforts and report back to the legislature when it meets again in 2015. Deltek is anticipating a procurement process; however, specific plans are not yet known.

These planning efforts over the next few years line up nicely with the state’s human services technology priorities. In 2012, the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) awarded a contract to Deloitte for the combined health care information and Montana eligibility system (CHIMES). The MACWIS is next in line for replacement and will replace the current child welfare system, CAPS, which is nearly 20 years old and not SACWIS compliant.

Though the MACWIS project is now behind schedule, the allocation of funding is promising for Montana’s future protection of children from abuse and neglect. It is no small wonder that, as with most human services departments across the nation, DPHHS prioritized the replacement of legacy systems in an effort to expend state resources in an efficient and logical way.

Stay tuned this month for additional information on state efforts to replace SACWISs. Deltek’s GovWinIQ database contains a wealth of information about other SACWIS replacement and modernization projects across the nation. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign up for a free trial.

Surviving Sequestration: The 2nd Half of FY 2013 Could See $300 Billion in Federal Contract Dollars

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:49:00 -0400

Increasingly, we hear from companies in the federal marketplace that they struggle to plan and forecast their business prospects. There have been so many delays, false starts, and misaligned priorities that it is sometimes hard to know what opportunities are real and how to position your firm to compete. Now, the impacts of sequestration are beginning to ripple through an already skittish market, adding to the uncertainty. Yet, there are some things to consider that might indicate the contracting potential for the rest of fiscal 2013 and beyond.

Whenever things get unbearably uncertain it is important to have access to good data and information, plus a little creative thinking. It is the only way I know how to keep from making reactionary decisions and to get into proactive mode. So when it comes to thinking about the business prospects for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2013 it helps to build some historical context.

To get a sense of the historical pace and relative magnitude of federal spending for the remaining two fiscal quarters of 2013 I looked at the reported quarterly contract obligations across the federal government for the last five years. As I have noted in the past, we have seen a shift in federal spending to later and later in the fiscal year. Spending in Q1 and Q2 (in varying degrees) has shifted to Q3 and Q4. Even with some yearly fluctuation, the trend has been fairly stable. (See chart below.)

These shifts have occurred during a period where we have seen increasing use of continuing resolutions (CR), omnibus appropriations and other delays to funding federal agencies. FY 2013 is not particularly unique in this respect, so it does not seem unreasonable to conclude that the trend will hold this year as well.

Projected Spending for the Rest of FY 2013 – a Possible Scenario

Now that we have received data for the first two quarters of FY 2013 it becomes possible to perform some rough projections of what might be still on the table for Q3 and Q4. I used FY 2012 data as a basis to make these projections. For FY 2012, adding together Q1 and Q2 departmental obligations and then dividing that sum by the department’s total obligations gave me the relative percentage of total obligations that occurred in Q1 and Q2. (See the table below for the top 20 federal departments and agencies.)

Assuming that agency contracted spending in FY 2013 will be at least 90% of what it was in FY 2012 (sequestration may represent about a 7% cut, so this 10% difference seemed reasonable to me) I followed a similar approach to calculate estimates for Q1 and Q2 percentages and potential remaining obligations for the remainder of FY 2013.

For example, in the table below the Army had combined FY 2012 Q1 and Q2 obligations of $41.6 billion, which was 38% of their total FY 2012 obligations. The Army had a total of $17.8 billion in contract obligations for Q1 and Q2 of FY 2013, which represents 18% of the projected potential total FY 2013 spend, using my 90% of FY’12 assumption. Applying the percentage left over (i.e. 82%) to my total FY 2013 estimate results in a potential remaining obligation balance for Q3 and Q4 of $79.6 billion for the Army.

Granted, performing estimates at this macro level has its limitations and it requires certain broad assumptions for consistency, like a comparable year-over-year obligation rate and that, to some degree, these expenditures are for recurring needs. Some departments have a measure of cyclicality that is underrepresented in a chart covering just a few years. For example, Energy tends to run cyclically between 40% and 68% for Q1 and Q2 every other year or so like a pendulum. Further analysis into the specific contracts is needed to understand why.

Implications

Comparing the 2012 and 2013 percentages reveals that nearly all of the top 20 departments are behind in obligating funds, even with an assumed 10% reduction in spending from FY 2012. While the one-two punch of delayed budgets and sequestration might explain much of this it still remains that these agencies will need to obligate their remaining budgets by the end of the fiscal year. Even (or especially) in this uncertain budgetary environment, agencies will not likely leave money unspent. It is still a “use it or lose it” world out there. So there may likely be some significant pent-up demand that we could see play out in the remaining two quarters.

If this simple analysis holds even close to reality the potential remaining total contract obligations across all federal departments and agencies could be over $300 billion in Q3 and Q4, or 70% of total FY 2013 contract obligations. The second half of fiscal 2013 could potentially see federal contract dollars really flow.

Deltek pulse: justice/public safety and homeland security March review

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 17:44:00 -0400

The most common terms appearing in justice/public safety and homeland security solicitations during March were fire alarm and alerting, camera/surveillance and consultant. The below word cloud provides a visual interpretation of key term frequency.

Number of Public Safety Bids: 946
Top three states (by number of solicitations released): California (116), Pennsylvania (65) and Texas (65)
Top three keywords: fire alarm and alerting, camera/surveillance and consultant

Frequency of terms:

Radio: 8 (6 local and 2 state)
911: 1 (1 state, 1 local)

Compared to the flurry of activity in February, March proved to be a slow month for procurement across the country. One trend that carried over, unfortunately, was that of canceled projects. Governments continue to be concerned with sequestration and the potential funding impact it may have, which was especially evident in early March. The majority of canceled projects were at the state level, which is expected to get the most immediate impact of sequestration.

New Jersey’s Department of the Treasury canceled its requirement for statewide 911 telecommunications equipment, and West Virginia canceled its video surveillance system project. Some locations are even putting aside critical systems replacements in favor of cheaper upgrade options, as Sacramento, Calif., did with its radio system project.

Very little uniformity was seen in March in terms of the types of projects procured across states and localities. Fear of increased spending cuts has likely caused purchasers to create even more rigid priority lists and focus only on the most essential items first. Sandy Springs, Ga., for example, released a solicitation for its unified radio system project management opportunity, which will cover several cities in north Fulton County. The city plans to purchase the system off of a statewide contract once the project manager makes its recommendation. Likewise, Charleston County, S.C., released a long-awaited RFP for its public safety software system after releasing two RFIs for the project beginning in 2010. The project has undergone significant transformation from the original RFIs, with entities and systems joining and being removed over the last three years, as is common in projects that take significant time to finish.

Analyst’s Take

The evolution of projects from an initial RFI will be important for vendors to remember considering RFIs were particularly abundant in March for both state and local governments. The technologies sought through these RFIs vary widely and provide opportunities for vendors across the board. Orange County, Fla., released an RFI for thermal imaging cameras, while the Florida State Courts System released one for remote court interpreting technology. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) released an RFI for a new radio system, and the state of Iowa released one for digital radios and communications devices.

The prevalence of RFIs continues to be an encouraging sign that the market may pick up; however, vendors should still practice cautious optimism. As seen in Charleston County, it can take several years before funding is secured for projects mentioned in RFIs, and the scope can shift significantly. Agencies often use RFIs as a way to estimate the cost of their projects and are often forced to cut back on the physical scope or requirements upon learning the true cost.

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Achieving comprehensive case management with SACWIS

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:59:00 -0400

This month, Deltek’s Health Care and Social Services team is taking a closer look at Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS). A SACWIS provides an official case record on all children and families served by the Title IV-B/IV-E State agency. According to the National Resource Center for Child Welfare Data & Technology, “By law, a SACWIS is required to support the reporting of data to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS), the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD).” Furthermore, “A SACWIS/TACWIS is expected to have a bi-directional interface with a state's or tribe's title IV-A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), title XIX (Medicaid), and title IV-D (Child Support) systems. SACWIS/TACWIS also must collect and manage the information necessary to facilitate the delivery of child welfare support services, including family support and family preservation.”

According to our data, 24 states have active procurement plans related to SACWIS, while 36 states and the District of Columbia have an operational SACWIS. One state moving toward implementation of a federally compliant SACWIS is Mississippi. Last month, the state’s Department of Human Services (MDHS) released an RFP for independent verification and validation (IV&V) services. The selected IV&V vendor will assist the state in the procurement of a design, development and implementation (DDI) vendor and will oversee the DDI vendor’s replacement of the legacy system, in place since 2001.

Deltek’s GovWinIQ database contents a wealth of information about other SACWIS replacement and modernization projects across the nation. Not a Deltek subscriber? Learn more and sign up for a free trial here!

Stay tuned throughout the month for additional blogs featuring SACWIS projects taking place around the nation!