What's Driving Federal IT Spending? Three Top Government Technology Contracting Trends to Watch

GovWin’s research staff of more than 100 federal and state, local, and education (SLED) market analysts provide in-depth research reports, timely articles, webinars, presentations, and consultations to help clients build business development plans and navigate the government market effectively.

In this feature we highlight recent analysis from our federal research team tied to prominent information technology (IT) spending trends to watch in 2021. This includes new policies from the Biden Administration, IT spending focuses from the Department of Defense (DoD) and more.

Prepare for CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification)

The DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program is beginning to ramp up, and will continue to evolve over the next 6-12 months and beyond – and while this is particularly relevant for IT vendors, it’s also something contractors in every area of federal government sales need to be aware of.

Fortunately, vendors can learn what they need to know in a related webinar, How to Minimize Competitive Barriers and Grow Your Federal Business Through CMMC Preparation, hosted by Todd Walker, VP of GovCon Product Management for Deltek along with Katie Arrington, Chief Information Security Officer for Acquisition and Sustainment for the DoD and Matt Gilbert, CMMC Provisional Assessor and Principal at Baker Tilly.

Understand the Biden Administration Focus on Federal IT Spending

A number of rules, regulations and policies are set to impact the government contracting landscape now that President Biden and his administration have begun to settle in. A large number of these have a significant impact on the IT contracting community.

GovWin recently hosted a webinar that is now available on demand, Early Insights on the New Administration, to provide a fresh look at the first few months of Biden’s plans and policies. Deltek’s SVP of Information Solutions Kevin Plexico and Director of Federal Market Analysis Deniece Peterson break down what contractors should be looking out for in the coming months from the administration, with a specific focus on highlighting critical updates that are important for the contracting community to understand.

Recently, Peterson and Deltek Senior Director of Research Carey Webster discussed some of these topics in their most recent Deltek Inner Circle video, which you can view below. In it, you'll hear expert opinions on the federal contracting marketplace relevant to vendors of all types and sizes.

Learn Why Defense Government Technology Contracting Trends Upward in 2021

The Department of Defense (DOD) information technology is likely to continue to operate with a robust budget, even within what will likely be a flat overall DOD budget in the Biden Administration, according to Deltek’s Defense IT Priorities and Strategies, 2020-2022 report produced by the GovWin Federal Market Analysis team.

The national security threat landscape, data proliferation and evolving warfighter needs have created more demand for advanced technologies such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Three areas in particular from the report were found to be key:

1. Cybersecurity. Recent funding for defense cyber budgets is at historic highs in response to growing threats from bad actors and state-level adversaries.
2. Cloud services. DOD’s commitment to commercial cloud is firming up. An estimated $299M of the planned FY 2021 cloud budget will be spent with commercial providers.
3. Emerging technologies. A growing appetite for emerging technologies such as big data solutions, Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain is providing more government business opportunities for both traditional federal government contractors and non-traditional industry partners alike.

“Contractors must be proactive in ensuring their cybersecurity practices meet rising DOD standards in order to remain competitive in the market.”

John Slye, Advisory Research Analyst, Deltek

Next Steps to Grow Federal IT Sales to the Government

Now that you’re armed with these trends, you’ll be prepared to dive into the federal market to grow your public sector sales. GovWin’s Federal Technology Install Base is a solution that helps you do just that.

Companies seeking insights on the IT products and software requested through quotes on a variety of federal government purchasing schedules can use this product to get details on technology acquired across agencies, including brand and product names, to enable quicker and smarter bid/no bid decisions. Click the link below to learn more.