Government Contracting Trends To Watch In 2010

Posted on February 12, 2010 by H. Scott Johnson, Jr.

I recently read an interesting post on the ExecutiveBiz blog on the top 10 predictions for government contracting in 2010. Unlike the typical mundane prediction lists that clutter the blogosphere at the beginning of a new year, the predictions in this post consist of quotes from a who’s who of leaders in the government contracting industry. As Virginia (particularly Northern Virginia along the Dulles Technology Corridor) is home to many government contracting businesses, I thought it would be useful to provide a brief summary of a few predictions that caught my attention.

Industry will compete with government
Norm Augustine, the retired Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., predicts that “heightening fiscal pressures” on the procurement process will result in the government contracting industry finding itself “more and more a competitor with government” than a partner.

National security contracts will remain a focus
Paul Cofoni, the President and CEO of CACI, predicts that there will be “continued demand” for “proven solutions to keep our nation safe and implement efficient and cost-effective solutions to modernize federal agencies.”

Collaboration between industry and government will remain strong
Renny DiPentima, the former President and CEO of SRA, predicts that the relationship between industry and government “will continue to be robust over the next decade” as “[g]overnment depends upon contractors in large part to get its jobs done and contractors depend upon government to keep their companies financially sound.”

Government will expect more secure offerings from industry
According to Melissa Hathaway, the President of Hathaway Global Strategies, LLC, the “seams between private networks and government networks will continue to blur” thereby requiring “industry and government to share details on vulnerabilities of and security threats to our infrastructures and information assets.” As such, she predicts that “the government will demand from industry more secure software products and services.”

New cyber czar will help industry challenges
Stan Sloane, President and CEO of SRA, predicts that a new cyber czar will lead to “some progress on the policy front, as well as collaboration with industry on intellectual property protection.”

Modest growth and productivity gains for sector
Ralph Shrader, Chairman, CEO and President of Booz Allen Hamilton, predicts that “2010 will be a year of modest growth and productivity gains for the economy as a whole, and for the government contracting sector.” However, these gains will require industry and government to work together “toward the same goals.”

I concur with many of the predictions expressed by the leaders of the government contracting industry. Although fiscal pressures will continue to squeeze the procurement process in 2010, communication and collaboration amongst all segments of the government contracting industry can mitigate these economic challenges. While the continued demand for efficient measures to address national security concerns will help drive the sector, it will take a unified effort by government and industry alike to realize any gains in 2010.

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