WashingtonExec 2015 Market Outlook Series
We look forward to a new year and new opportunities for innovation and growth in the government contracting community. This past year, we experienced an increased emphasis on cybersecurity, the government’s procurement process and a perpetual focus on doing more with less.
WashingtonExec reached out to those most knowledgeable and experienced in the federal contracting space. We asked executives in and around the beltway for insight regarding where they see the government contracting community headed in 2015. Topics discussed include M&A activity, cloud computing, privacy issues, data collection, healthcare IT, defense and more.
Savan Group President and CEO Veeral Majmudar said he is excited about the potential impact innovation will have on agencies.
WashingtonExec: What will next year hold for government contracting?
Veeral Majmudar: My sense is the government contracting as whole will remain fairly stagnant with respect to budgets. The optimist in me believes contractors may see more defined opportunities simply based on the fact that there is more budget clarity and fewer risks, i.e. government shutdown. As a result, we should start to see agencies identifying and releasing more multi-year and long term requirements with more confidence. I also think LPTA (lowest price, technically acceptable) will be a critical point of discussion for agencies. In recent years, LPTA was an important cost-effective acquisition strategy for agencies as a means to reduce contracting costs, but new data suggest that LPTA is not always the more prudent approach to contracting. Consequently, I think you’ll see the use of LPTA being made with more scrutiny.
The real opportunity lies in the ability to take technology and use it as a facilitator of your organizations processes and a catalyst for your employees. In order to do so, you must modernize your business processes first and foremost and then identify the functional and technical requirements that further augment the newly defined processes – not the other way around.
WashingtonExec: What future collaboration will take place between industry and government in addressing tough issues?
Veeral Majmudar: Collaboration will be a key theme across government. Cloud, mobile and healthcare continue to be major initiatives and much of the innovation in those arenas will continue to be driven by public/private partnerships. I also think you’ll see some really interesting collaboration occur in government’s recruitment and retention strategies. There are some innovative and cost-effective approaches to recruitment and retention of employees in the private marketplace. Given the current recruitment challenges of millennials and young people in the federal government not to mention the impending baby boomer retirements, I think there are some real opportunities for government to leverage private sector best practices and solution to hire qualified individuals.
WashingtonExec: What do you see as the next big IT innovation for the 21st century workforce?
Veeral Majmudar: With respect to the government workforce, I think competency-based on personalized learning will the next big thing. As I mentioned earlier, the workforce is changing and so are the roles and responsibilities of workers. In order for government to be an employer of choice, it has to focus on providing targeted training opportunities for its workforce. It’s a mutually beneficial advantage as it essentially provides a high return on investment for both the employer and employee. Again, private sector has embraced this but there is real opportunity for government to do the same with its workforce. In the past and currently government agencies have focused predominantly on data collection and storage when it came to big data, many organizations have moved on to finally analyze and use the data for intelligence purposes.
WashingtonExec: Where do you see a potential for fusing technologies with modern business practices to better the efficiency of government?
Veeral Majmudar: Efficiency in government operations is something we really hammer home with our clients. It’s part of the reason I started my firm and why I wanted to focus on government operations. Waste, fraud and abuse is a nice tagline, but the truth is that achieving real efficacies in government practices and processes is a matter of focusing on not just technology, but the underlying components of an organization; primarily it’s processes, governance structures and human capital. Too often, agencies tend to go down a rabbit hole with technology solutions because there is an prevailing notion that technology will fix almost any operational challenge. The real opportunity lies in the ability to take technology and use it as a facilitator of your organizations processes and a catalyst for your employees. In order to do so, you must modernize your business processes first and foremost and then identify the functional and technical requirements that further augment the newly defined processes – not the other way around.
WashingtonExec: What concerns you the most when looking ahead at the future of GovCon?
Veeral Majmudar: Not to sound like a broken record but significant challenges still exist in the acquisition and procurement space. Although government has taken several steps to address acquisition management challenges including training, technology and performance measures, there is still the challenge of a decentralized governance structure where many times the right hand isn’t talking to the left hand. For example, acquisition policy and regulations in many agencies is made by individuals who are not on the front line of the procurement process. Those policies present a challenge for contracting officers because they do not address the operational challenges faced in execution of contracts. Updating policy is important but it has no impact if contracting officials do not have the proper processes and tools available to them to execute and manage contracts.
WashingtonExec: What makes you most excited about the future of the GovCon space?
Veeral Majmudar: I’m truly excited about what innovation will do for agencies. Due to budget constraints, contractors, like us, are being forced to think of innovative ways to assist our clients. Ultimately, the focus on innovation will only benefit the government. Rather than viewing contractors as a commodity, agencies will start to see unique service and product offerings from contractors.
WashingtonExec: How would you describe your business strategy during the past 3-5 years, and what is your organization’s plan for growth for next year?
Veeral Majmudar: Our business strategy has been quite simple. Focus on the work at hand, continuously learn, expand cautiously and deliberately, and maintain relationships. These four ideas are the key ingredients to sustainable success. If you do good work, learn something new each day, don’t take unnecessary risks, and remember clients are people first, you’ll be just fine. We are not a firm that focuses on revenue as a key metric of success. We’ve always focused on the type of work that we do, the type of people we recruit and retain, and the impact we can make on our clients. We believe revenue growth is a byproduct of doing these things well, not an objective.
WashingtonExec: How has your business been able to grow as the federal market contracts?
Veeral Majmudar: We’ve been able to work closely with our existing clients and partners to identify targeted opportunities that leverage our past performance. Too often, there is a tendency to go after the “big one” in terms of contract opportunities. There is a real risk of opportunity costs to focus on the “big one” rather than looking at those opportunities that can develop organically with clients who understand what it is you do and how well you do it. Our value proposition is predicated on our ability to do good work not just our ability to write good proposals.
WashingtonExec: What markets in the GovCon space to you see growing/contracting?
Veeral Majmudar: As a firm, we’re really excited about policy and research work and our IT work as a means to improve operations. We think we’ve gained tremendous past performance in these areas over the last few years and we’re ready to take the next step.
Related: Savan Group CEO Veeral Majmudar’s Divulges 3-Year Plan, Cautiously Optimistic Market Outlook
