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Servicing the federal government's $1 trillion-plus I.T. budget is a big job, and an increasing number of Web hosts and managed service providers are vying for a piece of the pie. Despite adverse economic conditions, the demand for Web hosting and managed services within the government sector is only getting bigger. Unfortunately, getting a juicy government contract can be a paperwork-strewn path to a migraine.
In the wake of September 11 and the high-profile fight against international terrorism, there are many new projects regarding disaster recovery and intelligence gathering getting started. These projects are in addition to the ongoing demand for services and equipment supporting "e-government" initiatives. One of the active contract areas for Web hosts is in the development and maintenance of large agency portals linking existing databases with Web front ends.
Security is paramount when bidding for such projects. Some records collected through the Web are highly sensitive, like the personal tax information Qwest Communications (www.qwest.com) hosts for the IRS. Other projects are noteworthy simply because of their sheer magnitude, such as FirstGov (www.firstgov.gov), the portal maintained by AT&T (www.att.com) that helps consumers, enterprises, and federal employees find their way to a wide array of online federal resources.
"I think the government requirements are becoming more complex, based on the greater role that the Internet begins to play on the federal level," says Chris Stelter, director of sales engineering for AT&T Government Solutions, who has been working in this space for 25 years.
You do not have to be a multinational corporation to sell something to Washington; after all, the government needs everything from pencils to tanks and from database management to managing a global network connecting U.S. embassies. What counts is knowing how to maneuver through the maze of federal regulations governing relations with contractors.
Getting all of the necessary clearances can take up to a year, and that is just the beginning. One of the biggest issues for most service providers is finding out what the government's needs are. The true requirements for projects are sometimes deeply buried in political rhetoric. Because of this, some companies have made it a point to specialize in working the government system. Their expertise is badly needed by some companies who cannot afford to spend the time and resources on studying the federal market.
"We don't do very much with the federal government," says Tina Mayland, a vice president of marketing at Savvis Communications (www.savvis.net), a network operator and managed services provider, "but when we do, it's through companies like SAIC [Science Applications International Corporation]."
Science Applications International Corporation (www.saic.com) is a Fortune 500 company with offices in 150 cities around the world. The engineering and research firm has been present in Washington for decades, and brings value to contracts simply because of its long history of working on federal I.T. installations and with various government bureaucracies. Although association with a firm like SAIC is great for companies not comfortable with selling directly to Uncle Sam, some operators find it worthwhile to make their own investment in learning how to interact with the federal market.
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