Deltek pulse: general government January review

A new year always brings a flurry of excitement. A new date on the calendar, New Year’s resolutions, and a fresh perspective on the year ahead; the first month of the New Year brought a flurry of procurement. Although the fiscal year has been underway for several months, January kick started projects that had been put on hold over the holiday months.

Over 2,800 bids were released in the General Government vertical in January 2014. Once broken down within the vertical, most of the bids were related to education. Following behind education were natural resources and economic development. A majority of the bids released were relating to management system software. Document management systems, student information systems, and records management systems were some of the most common.

The state of New York Office of General Services released a solicitation for Information Technology Governance Transformation Support Systems. This solicitation adds to a bigger project that will touch about 4-6 other opportunities in the state. Proposals are due April 10, 2014.

New Hampshire released a solicitation for an Automated Form Submittal Tool. The solicitation is also part of a bigger project where New Hampshire will be releasing a Business Intelligence tool bid in the future. Proposals are due March 4, 2014.

Alaska released the long anticipated Statewide Longitudinal Data System RFP. The state released an RFI for the project in 2012 and has been working towards an RFP ever since. This statewide system will house data and provide analysis from multiple agencies and organizations. Proposals are due February 3, 2014.

Another widely-anticipated solicitation that was released was the Statewide Satellite Phones and Equipment Services RFP in Utah. This RFP is for Western States Contracting Alliance (WSCA) and Utah is the lead state. The solicitation will establish contracts for both equipment and services for any WSCA state interested in participating. Proposals are due by February 13, 2014.

California and Texas released the most bids last month with Virginia and Florida following not far behind. Alabama, Nevada, and Wyoming released the fewest bids last month, each with fewer than 10 active bids. These states may not be the best place to look for business in the upcoming months.

Overall, January was an active month for procurement. After the November and December lull, states are back on track with projects and releasing bids.

• I neeVendors playing in the software space should take advantage of the flurry of procurement activity as many entities look to wrap up procurements prior to the next fiscal cycle (both proposed and approved FY15 budgets). This is especially true for the education market where funding is scarce and impact is large.
• While it may be appealing for vendors to dive into large states like California or Texas, sometimes carving out a niche in low-profile entities offers a greater chance for long term revenue. It also keeps competition down and increases win rates. This is especially noteworthy for small businesses that are new to the market.
• February is poised to be equally active and it will be important for vendors to start formulating proposal teams, identifying back-up funding streams, and taking stock of RFP developments. With the flurry of procurement activity, it is also a good time to start collecting competitive intelligence on the types and number of bidders for major IT projects.

You can learn more about current procurement opportunities in the GovWin IQ State and Local Opportunities database. Not a Deltek subscriber? Click here to learn more about Deltek's GovWin IQ service and gain access to a free trial.