WT 360: The market from all angles

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...

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 fr...

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 rol...

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:

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...

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...

Golden Dome is the U.S.’ newest ambitious attempt to create a multi-layered defense system for protecting the mainland from incoming ballistic, hypersonic, cruise and other types of missiles.

Audrey Decker, who covers the Air Force and Space Force for our partners at Defense One, has covered Golden Dome from multiple angles as ideas for it have emerged since President Trump’s January executive order to get working on it.

Audrey joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to provide an update on how the Defense Department, especially Space Force, is working on the vision for...

Specifics of what the structural changes to how the federal government buys goods and services for industry remain under construction, but companies now have some clear themes from that push to work into their strategies.

Tris Carpenter, general manager for strategic growth at Red Team Consulting, worked with his colleagues on an analysis of seven themes in particular that companies doing business with the government should look for.

As Carpenter explains to our Ross Wilkers in this episode, the FAR overhaul effort introduces some risk into the system that contractors and their government customers have n...

The pace of change is accelerating in the market, which means we can always take a step back to understand where those changes have come from and how that drives business activities.

Bill Wright, head of global government affairs at Elastic, joins for this episode to explain how the fundamentals of the Trump administration’s approach to artificial intelligence and cybersecurity line up with those from the Biden Administration.

Yes many things are different, but several others are not as well. For Wright, this shows just how critical cyber and AI are to the federal governme...

In typical times, there is no going back after an agency tells a company their contract is being terminated for convenience of the government, which starts a settlement process cycle.

But this episode featuring Jeff Shapiro, government contracting advisory and regulatory assurance partner at CohnReznick, serves as a reminder that these are not typical times in GovCon.

As Shapiro explains to our Ross Wilkers, contractors have a Yes/No question of whether or not to go back to work after a termination reversal. If the answer is Yes, a new cycle begins that Shapiro talks...

Google set off quite the reaction when the tech giant’s offer to discount its cloud-based productivity suite at 71% for all federal agencies was accepted by the General Services Administration, on behalf of those agencies.

Frank Konkel, editor-in-chief for all GovExec publications including WT, went under the hood of that agreement and joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode to take listeners there as well.

As Frank explains: this pact unique because it essentially treats the federal government as a single whole customer. The agreement also foreshadows more like it to make certain commercial technologies mo...

The nature of mergers and acquisitions in the government market is changing and our 2024 roundup of closed transactions further illustrates that evolution toward technology-enabled capabilities, which are largely driven by software.

Jean Stack and John Song, co-managing directors of the defense and government practice at the investment bank Baird & Co., join for this episode to discuss what drove transactions over the past year and what they expect in the year ahead.

A new administration in the White House means there is plenty of change and uncertainty in the market.

But as Stack and Song...

Public company acquirers (unicorns) certainly get everyone’s attention, but our 2024 M&A Roundup shows how the private equity collective continues to be the majority buyer and builder of midsized GovCon businesses over the years.

Greg Nossaman and Greg Woodford, co-founders and managing directors at their investment bank G Squared Capital Partners, join this episode to review PE’s past and present activity in the market.

The Gregs’ conversation with our Ross Wilkers then shifts to the future of private equity in GovCon and the questions on many business leaders’ minds highlighted by these two:

How...

Few companies have closed as many acquisitions as CACI International.

CACI has three acquisitions on our 2024 M&A Roundup: Azure Technologies, Applied Insight and Quandrint. Those moves brought to CACI a suite of offerings in cloud migration, radio frequency and electronic warfare, and digital application modernization.

In this episode, CACI's chief financial officer Jeff MacLauchlan explains how the company’s strategy focuses on gaps. These gaps can include capabilities, customer footprint, technology, past performance, or some combination of the above.

“We don’t buy scale or to bulk up,” he told WT Editor Nick Wakeman...

In each year from 2004 and onward, WT publishes a report and augmenting analysis that catalogs merger-and-acquisition activity in the government market as a way to trace the history of GovCon and the companies in it.

Nick and Ross begin this two-folded episode by going over the 2024 edition of that report and their highlights from it, both in terms of what we can gauge about the individual companies and the overall market at-large.

Part two shifts the discussion to all that is going on with President Trump’s return to office and the related transition activities, wh...

Even in a period of unprecedented change across the GovCon ecosystem, industry observers across-the-board remain certain that agencies and contractors alike will have more supply chain security requirements to navigate.

Leo Alvarez, a principal in Baker Tilly’s government contractor solutions practice, joins for this episode to go over the industrial side of that equation and how contractors can approach supply chain risk management as a partnership with their government customers.

As Alvarez tells our Ross Wilkers, contractors increasingly must detail their supply chain risk management frameworks to agencies in proposals to win the contracts. Pu...

Thales North America has a significant U.S. presence with thousands of employees and customers ranging from the Defense Department to NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration.

But the subsidiary has kept a relatively low-profile compared to competitors. For this episode, Editor Nick Wakeman sits down with Thales North America CEO Alan Pellegrini to talk strategy and tends in the market.

Item number one on the agenda is a discussion of what the company offers to its customers across space, defense, aviation and cybersecurity. Pellegrini explains how those areas line up with the priorities of its p...

Private capital is a broad umbrella term for several different types of investment and ownership models in business, but private equity is the one that looms the largest over GovCon and tech-centric companies there.

Tiffanny Gates has a front row seat to that as an operating partner at Capitol Meridian Partners, an investor that touts itself as at the nexus of government and commercial markets. Gates joins our Ross Wilkers in this episode to go over the unique role of private equity in bringing innovations to the public sector ecosystem.

Also on the agenda for...

When publicly traded companies release their financial results, the most interesting aspect of the conference calls have little to do with the numbers themselves and everything to do with trends across the market.

Luis Avila, a managing director in BDO’s technology and transformation practice, joins our Ross Wilkers for this episode that is also a note-swapping exercise of sorts. Both listened to the most recent round of GovCon investor calls in their respective roles of research and analysis, plus journalism.

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, the race to technology superiority, supply chain hea...

It goes without saying that success in the government contracting ecosystem requires more than just having good methodologies and processes, both of which are significantly enhanced by strategy and knowledge.

Amber Hart and Lisa Shea Mundt, cofounders of The Pulse of GovCon, believe that taking a true “BD 360” approach to the market means enhancing all aspects of the federal sales process with the goal of achieving an intuitive understanding of how agencies buy things.

They have now put permanency to their concept in the form of a book aptly named BD 360, from which the ideas in i...

Few doubt that quantum computing will have a tremendous impact on the tech world and beyond.

But as NextGovFCW's emerging technology reporter Alexandra Kelley explains in this episode, it is important to look beyond the buzzwords and assumptions.

"Alexa," as we and other GovExec colleagues call her, walks Editor Nick Wakeman through some common misconceptions that include why just using the term “quantum” is imprecise. Some active use cases involve quantum sensing and quantum telecommunications, which are built on quantum physics principles.

Alexa is tracking post-quantum cryptography and investments at the Energy, Commerce and D...

Ernst & Young needs little introduction as one of the world’s professional services Big Four firms, which gives it reach into every industry and ways of taking lessons learned from there into the public sector.

How does EY go about doing so, while seeking to blend its consulting core with technology know-how? That is the starting point for this episode featuring Doree Keating, leader of the EY Americas government and public sector practice.

As Keating tells our Ross Wilkers, success in any tech implementation effort begins and ends with strategic intent on the buyer’s part...

Government contractors reside in the unique intersection of macroeconomics and industrial policy, both of which are relevant in the conversation surrounding President Trump’s use of tariffs.

Tariffs are very relevant for companies that mostly focus on services to their government customers as explained in this episode featuring Larry Sher, a government contracts attorney and partner at Winston & Strawn.

Sher tells our Ross Wilkers that while companies may not know what the tariff rates will be in the long-term, they still must be foundational in how they operate and support the business of government. The re...

The Department of Government Efficiency is the new Trump administration’s main vehicle for at least starting the process of change at many federal agencies and on a very fast turn.

Natalie Alms, who covers federal technology policy and tech workforce matters at our partner publication NextgovFCW, broke the story that DOGE’s leader Elon Musk visited the General Services Administration’s headquarters and is asserting his influence there.

What was he doing there? Nat joins our Ross Wilkers in this episode to answer that question and many others surrounding GSA’s role in the Trump 2...

The first two weeks of President Trump’s second but non-consecutive term in office have brought with it a breathless pace of executive orders and other actions that government contractors must take note of.

Clarity on many of those moves, including a (maybe? sort of? but not really?) freeze on certain contracting activities remains hard to come by.

In this episode, Nick and Ross work through the questions that they can provide some answers to on what has happened so far. They also highlight the questions everyone in the ecosystem is seeking answers to.

...

Many questions about talent in public sector often center around the hiring process and what happens after the offer letter is signed, that being the onboarding phase.

Where technology fits into agencies’ efforts at making the entire lifecycle more seamless is the focus of this episode featuring Jill Jones and Yoko Jolly, respectively chief strategy officer and federal market leader at CrossVue.

In talking with our Ross Wilkers, Jones and Jolly also offer their perspectives on how agencies are addressing the challenge of scaling the tech they use for human capital management.

(The su...

Jacobs carved out its Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses in late 2024, but still remains a technology company for the markets it does work in.

In this episode, Shannon Miller — Jacobs' president of growth, strategy and digital — discusses how Jacobs has evolved following that divestiture of its federal-facing units to Amentum.

Miller told WT Editor Nick Wakeman that Jacobs' tech strategy focuses on applying digital solutions and artificial intelligence to critical infrastructure, environmental sustainability, and life sciences challenges.

That includes incorporating AI into water treatment plants, infrastructure resilience tools at Air Force ba...

The ongoing transition to a Trump 2.0 administration is far from the only key happening that government contractors have to take note of and follow closely with 2025 now underway.

But our first episode of this New Year has to start with transition talk. We do just that with the help of Stephanie Smith, GovCon industry senior analyst and valuation services director at the global professional services firm RSM.

Here are the other big-picture items Smith and our Ross Wilkers went over:

The ongoing White House transition is unprecedented because before Donald Trump’s (re)-election in November, Grover Cleveland’s win in 1892 was the last time a president was voted into office with a gap between terms. 

David Berteau, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, and his team are fielding many questions on the transition from government contractors they represent as one of their leading trade associations.

In this episode, Berteau explains to our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers what contractors are asking the PSC team about and all the key indicators that matter to in...

When Leidos unveiled its current structure in the fall of 2023, chief executive Tom Bell emphasized repeatability as how the company would approach its digital transformation efforts for agencies.

That means Leidos has a single business segment dedicated to digital modernization and one that covers the company’s entire customer base. 

In this episode, Leidos’ digital modernization president Steve Hull explains why the company decided to put all of that work under one roof and how it defines “repeatability” in its offerings for agencies.

Leidos has four other customer-facing sectors that Hull’s team is in close...

Some jobs will require college degrees for as far as the eyes can see.

But in this episode, NextgovFCW’s tech workforce reporter Natalie Alms describes how what government and business leaders call “skills-based hiring” is becoming more of the norm for certain tech jobs.

As Natalie tells our Ross Wilkers, some agencies and contractors are de-emphasizing educational requirements for those roles and replacing them with other means.

Three big government contracts are now all about skills-based hiring. “Nat,” as some of us coworkers call her, gives some signposts to watch for how much furth...

Big mergers that essentially create new companies require a lot of work to harmonize all of the people, processes and resources into something more cohesive across the organization.

Jeremy Wensinger joined V2X as chief executive in June to lead this new phase of what he calls “optimization” now that all the integration activities stemming from the 2022 merger that made the company are done.

In this episode, Wensinger explains to our Ross Wilkers how V2X is working to optimize the broader portfolio it now has in the name of growth and expansion across the gove...

One of the government market’s most-anticipated transactions closed on Sept. 30 when what we can call “Old Amentum” joined forces with Jacobs’ federal-facing units.

This episode sees Steve Arnette, chief operating officer at what we can now call “New Amentum,” take our Ross Wilkers through all that went into putting this larger company together and where everyone wants to go from here.

Underpinning this new version of Amentum’s vision and goals is what it calls a “technology-enabled growth strategy.” Arnette walks through that very strategy, how it applies to the company’s priority markets and what all of this...

Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Baroni Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University, shares the findings of a new report that identifies areas of concern and offers advice for improvement across the defense industrial base.

Some of the key findings that McGinn discusses with Editor Nick Wakeman include the importance of leadership, government and industry collaboration, and the need to design systems for more rapid production.

The U.S. industrial base has responded before, as McGinn says. He offers some of those important lessons from World War II, COVID-19 and the U.S...

Bryce Technology has been named to the Washington Technology Fast 50 list for four consecutive years, climbing to No. 11 in 2024.

For this episode, Bryce Tech's founder and CEO Carissa Bryce Christensen shares the secrets behind her company's rapid growth and success in the federal market.

Christensen discusses Bryce's strategic approach to building a scalable business, focusing the pipeline on the right opportunities and nurturing a company culture that empowers employees. She also tells Editor Nick Wakeman about the firm's ability to apply its expertise across both government and commercial sectors, especially in the dynamic space industry.

Companies can get distracted a lot when carrying out their strategy and vision, which often times leaves them vulnerable to losing market share to competitors and unexpected turns of events.

Everything starts with strategic planning and that is also where the conversation begins for this episode featuring James Calver, a partner at fractional executive services provider TechCXO and multiple-time CEO in the health care and financial services industries.

Growth-oriented mindsets are required for all companies, as Calver tells our Ross Wilkers. That also inevitably leads to acquisitions, of which Calver oversaw dozens throughout his long...

It is not just appearances that suggest a robust government technology market, in fact there are numbers and patterns we can point to here in week number four of federal fiscal year 2025.

Where agencies are putting most of their technology budget dollars to work is the starting point for this episode featuring John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector analysts at the market intelligence firm Technology Business Research.

Caucis and Wichert take our Ross Wilkers through how companies are positioning themselves for that spend, including their organic investments and acquisitions that are signposts for where...

Understandably so, the names of global tech giants are often at the center of the conversation surrounding how the U.S. government is putting its CHIPS Act funding to work through grants and other financial incentives.

But the Commerce Department wants many more companies to be a part of the push to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.

Larry Sher, a government contracts attorney and partner at Winston & Strawn, centers the discussion for this episode around how and where the GovCon industry can get involved as well.

As Sher tells our Ross Wi...

Boeing’s current difficult period is well-documented and acknowledged by its new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who joined in August to lead the turnaround effort.

Audrey Decker essentially functions as Team GovExec’s Boeing correspondent in her role as Air Force and Space Force reporter for our partner publication Defense One.

For this episode, Audrey breaks down the ongoing turmoil in Boeing’s defense and space segment amid a labor strike and search for a new leader after Ted Colbert left the company on Sept. 20.

This discussion with Ross Wilkers also goes over some of the...

Artificial intelligence is not just a technology that government contractors provide their customers, but also is becoming a bigger piece of internal operations.

Kim Koster, vice president of product marketing at Unanet, joins WT Editor Nick Wakeman for this episode to discuss how and where contractors are adopting AI in their own operations as found in the newest edition of her company's GAUGE report.

Unanet and CohnReznick work each year to release GAUGE -- Government Contract Compliance, Accounting, Utilization, Growth and Efficiencies.

In explaining the 2024 GAUGE findings, Koster shares insights on AI usage t...