WT 360: The market from all angles

Tria Federal’s acquisition of Softrams back in the spring transformed the acquirer almost overnight into a 1,500-person team that looks to blend technical offerings and knowledge-centric work.Tim Borchert and Atchut Kanthamani, respectively chief executive and president of Tria, join for this episode to overview the strategy for being a more formidable midsized competitor in its core markets of health and public safety.During the conversation with our Ross Wilkers, Kanthamani also explained why he felt both the timing and buyer was right for the company he started in 2007.Also on their agenda: where Tria sees itself in the broad arena of digital transformation, the market’s adjustment to a new pace and cadence in 2025, and the company’s Labs arm focused on innovation.

Stop-work orders from government agencies to their partners in industry do not, in fact, entirely pause the business of federal contracting as companies have plenty to do as they prepare for the eventual reopening.This episode featuring Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, begins with a guide of what typically happens next after contractors receive those orders to stop work and wait for the directive to resume.From there, Kostro takes our Ross Wilkers through some of the basic action items that the trade association is recommending for its member companies and more with all eyes toward the shutdown’s inevitable end.Ongoing conversations with lenders and financial institutions are must-dos for companies well before, and while, the invoice payments freeze. Finding people inside government to speak with on deliverables is becoming more difficult, as Kostro explains.WT 360: Our first look at the shutdown and fiscal 2026's landscapeTracking shutdown costs now will determine what you can recover laterShutdown’s ripple effect: Contractors, small businesses face devastating economic hitThe government shutdown playbook: cash flow, communication and recoveryDon’t wait: GovCon must prepare now for a potential shutdownReductions in force could make bad situation worse for federal contractors during government shutdownOMB deletes reference to law guaranteeing backpay to furloughed feds from shutdown guidanceMore employees set to receive furlough notices as shutdown drags onShutdown poised to drag into next week as layoff threat loomsRIF threat sparks union lawsuit as shutdown continuesWhite House: Shutdown layoffs are just days awayGovernment spirals into shutdown with Trump promising mass layoffs

All government shutdowns do end at some point, no matter how dark and gloomy things may feel, and all businesses are charged with navigating both today’s environment and positioning for tomorrow’s opportunity set.But the shutdown is where we had to start this episode featuring John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector analysts at the market intelligence firm Technology Business Research. John and James overview how TBR is monitoring the situation and how federal contractors may have had some early practice amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s pushes for cuts.The conversation with our Ross Wilkers then turns forward to a preview of the new 2026 federal fiscal year that may be starting out without funding for agencies, but will still have plenty of priorities to follow once they open for business.Some of those priorities featured in the discussion: IT modernization, drives for efficiencies, where the dollars are flowing in civilian and defense programs, more outcome-based contracting and the search for one integrator to overhaul the U.S.’ air traffic control system.

Booz Allen Hamilton has invested in 17 startups since the launch of its venture capital fund in 2022, which initially had $100 million to work with and is now tripled in size to $300 million.Matt Calderone and Brian MacCarthy, respectively chief financial officer for Booz Allen and its VC organization leader, join for this episode to explain why the firm expanded the fund and all that happens after the investment.As they tell our Ross Wilkers, technologists at both Booz Allen and the startups it invests in collaborate closely to develop the solutions for usage by federal agencies at scale.Calderone and MacCarthy also highlight how reindustrialization is a new area for Booz Allen Ventures, in conjunction with the core tech priorities that have defined the fund over three years.Booz Allen gives big boost to its venture armBooz Allen formally stands up ventures armPROJECT 38: Booz Allen signaling intent with $100M ventures fund

Government workforces absolutely have been disrupted here in 2025 through layoffs and other exits of employees from agencies, but there is a future to talk about and especially when it comes to technology.For this episode, NobleReach Foundation’s chief executive Arun Gupta helps us take that conversation forward with ideas and solutions for bringing more talent into the public sector. Much remains unsettled in how the Trump administration is looking at the federal workforce, but the theme of needing talent will always remain paramount.One key concept Gupta lays out in the conversation with our Ross Wilkers is being a “dual citizen” of both industry and government to give people exposure to all sides of the ecosystem. Other types of pathways are part of the discussion as well.Stephen Ehikian says GSA is primed for a ‘build back’ phase after his departureOPM implements years-in-the-making update to federal hiring processNew OPM head plans to cement focus on efficiencyWT 360: A roadmap for keeping innovation and entrepreneurship pipelines healthy

In his first year as CEO, Ron Ash of Accenture Federal Services has been positioning the company for growth opportunities that focus on Trump administration priorities for artificial intelligence and other technologies that foster efficiency. Ash tells our Nick Wakeman about how these changes in the market have impacted partnerships, fostered new business models and brought more commercial practices into the federal market.He calls 2025 the “year of the rebuild” with new opportunities accelerating in 2026 as agencies increase demand for solutions that help them use their resources more effectively.Beyond reseller pacts: How government contractors are building strategic tech partnershipsGSA adds global AI providers to the scheduleGovCon enters uncharted territory in Trump's efficiency pushTrump’s ‘pincer maneuver’ reshapes federal contracting landscape

Needless to say, the 2025 presidential transition has put technology higher on the agenda when talking about the business of government and how those tools can be a lever for changing how agencies operate.David Birken, senior vice president for digital modernization and experience at ICF, joins for this episode to explain how federal tech modernization has been a long-term growth priority for the company and some fundamentals that remain the same.Mapping technology implementations to workforce trends will always be crucial for one. In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Birken lays out ICF’s approach to that and what it takes to bring employees along as part of that process.Customer delivery and satisfaction, partnering well with commercial software companies and ICF’s blueprint for multidisciplinary teams also feature in the conversation.How ICF used its own AI toolset before taking it to marketICF lays out the risks, opportunities from Trump's push for cutsHow workforce priorities shape ICF's modernization strategyWT 360: ICF's vision for its tech office goes beyond ones and zerosWT 360: All about ICF's physical and strategic moves

Government contractors struggle with exit and succession planning for multiple reasons, while the majority of transaction activity in the market these days has some level of private equity involvement on either side.But companies that want to remain independent, the employee stock ownership plan can be an alternative transaction that creates liquidity and incentives for the shareholders.David Blauzvern, a managing director at CSG Partners and a specialist in these transactions, joins for this episode to explore all it takes to go down the ESOP path after a company decides on it.Blauzvern also tells our Ross Wilkers about certain instances where ESOP companies can stand out to the government customer. Of course, they also go over which companies the ESOP model can be right for and those it is not.

For technology startups, the closure of an external investment round should be considered only the beginning of a new cycle in their strategies to grow the business and accelerate adoption of their products.Michael Hauser, managing partner for Science Applications International Corp.’s venture capital arm, joins for this episode to explain how SAIC Ventures works with startups after investing in them to bring their technologies into government missions.As Hauser explains to our Ross Wilkers, the SAIC Ventures team acts as a business model scout in addition to playing its role in the parent company’s overall tech scouting function.Hauser also walks through the decision process of when a tech is ready for the customer to use, plus how Dairy Queen’s famous Blizzard blend helps explain the art and science of technology integration.SAIC backs satellite bus design startupSAIC joins zero trust startup's network of investorsInfleqtion closes $100M Series C roundUndersea drone startup fetches $16M to aid hiring, manufacturing pushVenture investing is part of the M&A conversation tooWT 360: RTX Ventures casts its net wide and far across an expanding tech ecosystemWT 360: For Lockheed's ventures team, its investments are merely step onePROJECT 38: How Razor's Edge Ventures scouts for tech and companiesPROJECT 38: Booz Allen signaling intent with $100M ventures fund

Every founder of a company faces this quandary: What does our next phase look like? How do we get there? Who can help us get there?Sophia Harris and her leadership team at ODRG, which she founded in 2013, faced those questions head-on as they plotted out the company’s next steps and that led them to partnering with Advantage Capital.This episode begins with Harris telling our Ross Wilkers the full story of ODRG’s hard pivot to being a national security and geospatial technology specialist. She also describes how that positioned ODRG to eventually be ready for an external investor, something that has always been in the front of her mind.Keeping employees and customers onside was no easy feat, and one Harris speaks in-depth about in the conversation. Harris also describes how she faced the other common founder’s quandary: Am I ready to give up full control of the company I started?

Reindustrialization is a catch-all description of moves by government and industry to reinvigorate domestic manufacturing amid other countries’ investments on that front, especially China.Lauren Williams, our Defense One colleague and a senior editor there, joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to explore how the industry they cover is a part of that larger push to build more systems in America and use new advanced technology to do it.Much of their discussion is informed by Lauren’s attendance of a mid-July conference in Detroit called the Reindustrialize Summit, which sought to bring together tech companies and investors with a keen interest in manufacturing.Flying boats and AI-run factories pitched at 'Reindustrialize' eventZapping drone swarms into submissionMeet the ‘cobots’ that could lower the cost of building submarinesSECNAV: Robots won’t replace shipbuilders, but they could make jobs ‘easier’Hadrian secures $260M in Series C capital

Uber is the newest example of a consumer technology company entering into a government-wide arrangement with the General Services Administration, which negotiated the pact on behalf of every federal agency.Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for all GovExec publications including WT, joins for this episode to break down the finer details of that agreement and how contractors are a part of it too. Then there is the bigger picture theme for Frank and Ross to talk about: how GSA views it as fitting into the agency’s OneGov strategy for more consolidated buys of common tech goods and services.Which also was the subject of Frank’s interview with GSA’s deputy administrator Stephen Ehikian at GovExec’s Government Efficiency Summit on July 17. Frank and Ross share their takeaways from that conversation with each other.Click here to watch the Summit, which was recorded by C-SPAN.WT 360: All roads lead back to GSA in this ‘Editor’s Summit’ episodeGSA, Uber partner to cut travel costs for feds, military and select contractorsGSA's vision for procurement is about having 'one wallet'GSA plans to optimize operations following cost-cutting, agency head saysNew OMB memo lays out GSA's plan to consolidate contractsIndustry awaits significant disruption as GSA works on contract takeoversGSA prepping plans to move NASA SEWP and NIH contract vehicles under its managementGSA’s procurement chief details administration’s acquisition reform plansGSA unveils new unified procurement strategyANALYSIS: GSA's new procurement strategy begins with consumer tech

Government contractors are under a different sort of microscope for not just how they do their work supporting agencies’ missions, but also how they talk about themselves out in the public.The direct connections between external messaging and communications with government customers are the focal point of this episode featuring Dustin Siggins, founder of Proven Media Solutions, and Mild Red CEO Katie Helwig.Compliance remains core to the business of GovCon in an environment where Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives are on the way out. But core values and communicating those remain very much in, as Dustin and Katie explain to Ross.Small businesses should especially take heed. The conversation includes tips and words of wisdom just for them.

Companies in the government market have to make big “Sliding Doors”-type decisions all the time on which paths to choose for themselves and those to turn away from.Aaron Myers works with contractors in those situations as a partner for aerospace, defense and government advisory at Aprio. He joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to provide key questions for them to answer when it is time to make important choices.Delivery models, strategic priorities and customer sets all feature in the conversation between Aaron and Ross, which takes place against a market backdrop where the codes to crack are changing rapidly.Aaron and his partners at Nextfed have first-hand experience in asking those questions of themselves, which has led the team to become a part of Aprio. That features in the chat too.

Iran is known to be one of the world’s major nation-state actors in cyberspace and that fact has returned to the forefront since its war with Israel started on June 13.David DiMolfetta, who covers cyber for our partner publication Nextgov/FCW, joins for this episode to break down how Iran typically operates in cyber and what U.S. government agencies are watching out for as the conflict continues.The defense industrial base is also on notice for potential intrusions on their systems, as David explains to our Ross Wilkers.David also provides an update on what we are learning about the breach into U.S. telecommunications networks, which was carried out by the Chinese hacking group known as Salt Typhoon but discovered two years after it started.Iran-backed hackers may target US defense companies tied to Israel, agencies warnDHS expects Iran’s cyber forces will target US networks after strikes on nuclear sitesUS charges Iranian operatives with hacking Trump campaignTrump campaign allegedly hacked, blames Iran for stealing internal communicationsTreasury sanctions Iranian cyber officials tied to 2023 water system hacksUS agencies assessed Chinese telecom hackers likely hit data center and residential internet providersFBI awaits signal that Salt Typhoon is fully excised from telecom firms, official saysSalt Typhoon hacks ‘a wake up call’ to secure telecom services, lawmakers saySalt Typhoon hackers possibly targeted telecom research at US universitiesUS sanctions Chinese firm behind sweeping Salt Typhoon telecom hacksAt least 8 US carriers hit in Chinese telecom hacks, senior official saysChinese telecom espionage began with ‘much broader’ aims, officials sayHundreds of organizations were notified of potential Salt Typhoon compromiseNYPD officer database had security flaws that could have let hackers covertly modify officer data

The Veterans Affairs Department is coming under heightened scrutiny after it emerged that artificial intelligence likely played a role in VA’s decisions on which contracts to cut as part of the Trump administration’s purported efficiency push.Edward Graham, who covers VA for our partner publication Nextgov/FCW, joins for this episode to break down what is known so far about VA’s use of AI in that process and efforts to get more transparency into what unfolded.ProPublica broke the story first on June 6 and published a follow-up June 10.VA is far from alone in making DOGE-related contract cuts since President Trump took office in January, but this storyline at that agency is drawing ire from some lawmakers and contractors who lost work there.Ed takes our Ross Wilkers through the many moving pieces inside VA, so buckle up to gain many insights into this much-sought after customer for many companies in the market.Lawmakers demand review of VA’s AI-driven contract cutsDemocrats raise alarm over AI-driven contract cuts at VAFunding for further EHR deployments ‘vitally important,’ VA secretary saysDraft proposal looks to put EHR reform measures back on the table

Each annual release of the Top 100 also provides a jumping-off point to start pondering what the next year’s rankings could look like and how today’s macrotrends shape it.For this second part of their 2025 Top 100 conversation, Nick and Ross pick up where they left off by looking at the Trump administration’s spotlight and scrutiny of GovCon five months after moving in.The government customer collective wants all the latest and greatest tech tools, but also sounds picky about where they want to get them from. Nick and Ross highlight the different kinds of roles companies across the market play in providing that tech and how those could change in future years.The 2025 Washington Technology Top 100 RankingsWT 360: Our first takeaways from the 2025 Top 100 with more to follow2025's Top 100 rankings reveal a market in major upheavalTOP 100: CGI Federal’s Stephanie Mango on navigating Trump’s ‘dynamic environment’TOP 100: How Serco Inc. uses its pivot to position for Trump prioritiesGSA expands review of ‘consulting’ contracts to 9 more companiesGSA expands contract reviews to resellersIndustry awaits significant disruption as GSA works on contract takeoversGSA’s new procurement strategy challenges the reseller ecosystemGSA's new procurement strategy begins with consumer techGSA unveils new unified procurement strategyGSA’s procurement chief details administration’s acquisition reform plansGSA leaders urge acquisition teams to embrace flexibility as FAR overhaul rolls out

Edition number 32 of the Washington Technology Top 100 rankings is now live for all to use in researching the federal market's largest technology and services contractors, and mapping the numbers to the industry’s macrotrends.For this first in a two-part episode (the second goes out next week), Nick and Ross go over the companies and numbers that feature up and down the rankings’ 2025 edition.Here is *some* of what was on their agenda for part one:What keeps companies in the upper half and what takes them outBooz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin swapping places 2 and 3Nick’s conversation with CGI Federal’s president at our 2025 Top 100 launch event2025’s biggest risers and fallersNonprofits and their roles in the public sector ecosystemThe 2025 Washington Technology Top 100 Rankings2025's Top 100 rankings reveal a market in major upheavalTOP 100: CGI Federal’s Stephanie Mango on navigating Trump’s ‘dynamic environment’TOP 100: How Serco Inc. uses its pivot to position for Trump prioritiesStrategic discipline drives Leidos’ continued Top 100 dominanceBooz Allen plans 7% workforce cutLockheed's CEO: Efficiency push is 'an opportunity' for both industry and governmentIndustry layoffs mount as cancelled contracts and DOGE efforts take holdGSA expands review of ‘consulting’ contracts to 9 more companiesCOMMENTARY: The chainsaw approach to cutting government promises more damage than results

The U.S. defense landscape has a few mainstays whose corporate headquarters are in another country and the reverse is very much true as well regardless of geopolitical and economic conditions.But the ongoing tariff turbulence stemming from the Trump administration does pose questions about why international companies are still looking at the U.S. as a key market to grow their defense businesses.Lauren Williams, a senior editor focused on technology and business at our partner publication Defense One, joins for this episode to lay out some of the answers she has found so far and how receptive the Pentagon customer is to this trend.Lauren also tells our Ross Wilkers where, again with what she has found so far, tariffs fit into the equation of the global defense industrial landscape. Agenda item number two for their discussion is the future of the Defense Information Systems Agency as it prepares to lose as much as 10% of its workforce.Made in the USA: foreign defense companies eye bigger slice of the American pieThe DOD’s tech agency braces for 10% workforce cutPentagon heightens scrutiny on IT, management consulting contractsPentagon hits Accenture, Booz Allen and Deloitte with contract cancellationsPentagon launches consulting contract review process

As Trump’s White House sees things, the General Services Administration should take on substantially all of the responsibility for managing the federal government’s acquisitions of goods and services.Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for GovExec’s publications including us, and WT’s editor Nick Wakeman broke the story on May 21 of how GSA is planning to absorb major IT contracts run by the National Institutes of Health and NASA.That and GSA’s other moves down the consolidation path are the starting and ending points for this episode featuring Frank, Nick and Ross Wilkers that covers the wide spectrum of changes across the entire GovCon ecosystem happening as they recorded.The Federal Acquisition Regulation overhaul effort and what today’s world of government-industry engagement looks like were also on their discussion agenda, among other items.WT 360: Clear themes to note from the emerging structural changes to acquisitionWT 360: Our EIC Frank Konkel on GSA, Google and the government as a single whole customerIndustry awaits significant disruption as GSA works on contract takeoversGSA prepping plans to move NASA SEWP and NIH contract vehicles under its managementInside GSA’s AI strategy: Using the tech while learning how to buy itGSA’s procurement chief details administration’s acquisition reform plansANALYSIS: GSA's new procurement strategy begins with consumer techGSA, Salesforce agree to major Slack discounts for governmentTrump orders structural changes to rules covering $1T in federal spendingThe acquisition rule (re)writers really want you to have your sayTrump administration releases first wave of acquisition regulation changesRewrite of market research rules aims to give agencies more flexibilityFAR overhaul: The challenges in tackling federal procurement’s 5,000-page beast