FY2023 Kickoff - Key Government Initiatives
As we begin a new Government fiscal year, we wanted to highlight a few key items for you to consider as you develop your FY 23 Government sales go to market strategy and objectives.
Continuing Resolution (CR): As we wrote in a previous blog (What is a Continuing Resolution (CR), and How Does it Impact Your Sales Strategy for the Upcoming Year? — Marion Square (marion-square.com) the Government recently passed a CR to fund the Government through Dec 14th. (Biden signs continuing resolution into law averting government shutdown, FDA furloughs | Federal News Network) Depending on the outcome of the mid-term elections, the CR could extend into January 2023 until after the new Congress is sworn in. Keep in mind as you are planning, with a CR in place the Government can NOT start new projects. With that, don’t anticipate closing new business or RFP's for new programs being released during the CR.
Small Business Innovative Research Program (SBIR): This is a great innovation program for small businesses to pursue and should be part of any Government go to Market strategy. The Federal Government spends over $2B annually funding SBIR programs and grants designed specifically for small, innovative businesses. Just a couple of months ago there were rumblings coming from Congress that they may not renew this program, but last week it was announced that a new bill had been passed ensuring the funding of the SBIR program through FY 2025. Congress saves SBIR program at the last minute, with strings attached - Breaking Defense
Key Government Initiatives:
Zero Trust Architecture: With the release of Executive Order 14028 Executive Order on Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity - The White House and M-22-09 (Moving the U.S. Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles), Federal Agencies have requested $1B + to ensure that they can meet the FY 24 deadline to be compliant with the mandate (Zero Trust: More than just a Buzzword — Marion Square (marion-square.com). Companies with technologies focused in areas such as Identity and Access Management, Event Detection and Analysis, Cyber Orchestration and Automation should consider pursuing this funding.
Technology Modernization Fund: Has $1B+ in available funding with the addition of $300M which has been requested in the FY 23 budget. This initiative focuses on technologies that enable- modernization of critical systems, cybersecurity, public facing digital services and cross government collaboration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DQo7g7Zz14
National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative: Originally passed in FY 2020, serves as the central hub for coordinating Federal collaboration in AI research, development and demonstration (National Artificial Intelligence Initiative (NAII) (uspto.gov)). DoD specifically is requesting $500M to fund a new office to focused on research and testing of AI solutions. Pentagon’s largest ever RDT&E budget request reflects AI prioritization - Breaking Defense
Customer Experience: Customer Experience (CX) and service delivery is increasingly becoming a major priority for the Government. Recently, the OMB issued guidance from OMB circular A-11 that focuses on customer experience and service delivery, and is being prioritized as agencies begin to work on their budget for next year. “Measures of experience (including measures of equity (e.g., participation), effort (burden/friction), and those outlined further in this guidance) are of co-equal importance as traditional measures of financial and operational performance," the document states. (OMB Prioritizes Customer Service in Budget Planning). Examples of CX projects awarded by the TMF include:
Cloud and Cloud Migration: Cloud services spend in FY20 was $6.6B, and was more than $11B in FY22 (Federal Agencies Invest More Each Year in Cloud as Benefits Outweigh Challenges). To be Cloud Smart, the Chief Information Officers Council has created a list of action items to be taken over the next 18 months by agencies to accelerate the adoption of cloud technologies. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the General Services Administration (GSA), and other agency partners will undertake these actions while continuing to evolve and improve upon the strategy using lessons learned during these tasks (Cloud Smart Progress Update-Federal Cloud Computing Strategies: CIO Council Actions). 17 of the 22 outlined action items have been completed, the 5 remaining include:
Action 4: Updating TIC policy: https://www.cisa.gov/tic
Action 13: Evaluate and recommend GWAC for cloud services
Action 19: Identifying skill and talent gaps
Action 21: OMB & OPM to work with agencies managed successful migration efforts
Action 22: Develop a market-informed pay and compensation strategy
DevSecOps: The Department of Defense (DoD) must adopt a series of new concepts to modernize their legacy warfighting systems, ultimately preparing them for future conflicts according to a new report. The report, “Software-Defined Warfare,” says that the architecture needed to develop and maintain the most advanced warfighting systems “lies in software.”. The report says that this approach would entail that DOD acquire or design “a massive number of cheap, disposable and easy-to-manufacture endpoint systems that it can concentrate, distribute and scale up or down as the need arises,” but that it would require almost no maintenance and could be easily remedied if a system breaks down (DoD Needs to Modernize its Software Architecture for Next-Gen Warfare).
Software Supply Chain: The software supply chain has been the new target for cyber attacks, so the National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) have released software supply chain guidance for developers since the developer holds a critical responsibility to the security of our software.
“Until all DevOps are DevSecOps, the software development lifecycle will be at risk” (Securing the Software Supply Chain).
A successful Government go to market sales strategy should start with a clear understanding of the funded initiatives and programs. Having this knowledge will ensure that you are deploying your resources and time on opportunities that will yield the greatest results. While the initiatives outlined above are not an all-inclusive list, they are Government wide and a great place to start your research.