Like iron filings to a magnet, information technology companies are rushing toward that still non-existent entity known as the Department of Homeland Security.
Why?
Money of course. INPUT estimates the government will purchase about $40.3 billion in IT services in fiscal 2003, growing to $44.7 billion in 2004. Much of that money will come from the new department or agencies that will comprise it.
Small- to medium-sized IT companies stand a fair chance of getting a piece of the action if they're patient, persistent, and take the time to listen.
Listen and Help Plan
There seems to be general faith among Homeland officials that small businesses will provide some of the country's best innovation. And many of these officials want to tap into, or at least learn about, some of this innovation directly, on their own, rather than through the traditional, big integrator channels.
The Office of Homeland Security's CIO says that so far he and his subordinates have spoken with thousands of companies, ranging from the largest defense contractors all the way down to companies that have only five or six people.
The small companies that are most successful at this point are those that are not only innovative but also taking the time to listen and help plan.
At a recent conference, a cybersecurity official from the Veterans Administration said that his own calendar is booked with vendor meetings months in advance. His biggest headaches, he says, come from sales calls that are a waste of time -- cold phone calls and cold e-mails from companies that are hard selling rather than listening.
With that in mind, it's probably best not to act as though your company's innovative solutions are God's gift to homeland security. Find out what officials have concluded about their needs, if anything, and where they want to go.
Many of the important decision-makers are in a solution-finding mode right now, rather than spend mode. Adjust your tactics accordingly.
Research & Development
There are some opportunities just in the planning process itself. For example, the Homeland CIO recently said that he expects the planned department will earmark $1 million to launch a three- to six-month pilot to study data-sharing technologies. It's just a matter of getting the big Congressional yes.
Small R&D-oriented companies may want to explore opportunities through In-Q-Tel, a government-funded venture capital organization that is, according to its Web site, "as outside the box as government gets."
Some examples of companies that have secured funding through In-Q-Tel:
- MetaCarta, a knowledge management solutions company that connects text documents to geographic maps.
- Qynergy, a technology startup company with energy solutions based on a proprietary technology called QynCell(tm).
- Attensity Corporation, a leader in text extraction solutions.
- Northern Lights and Inktomi, search technology companies.
To submit a proposal, this is the place to go: http://www.in-q-tel.com/submit/index.htm.
Mission-Critical Activities
A big part of the current planning involves mapping out a "national enterprise architecture" in order to understand, among other things, how agency data will be shared. The team mapping the national enterprise architecture includes both federal officials and CIOs from the various states. The goal is to have about 70 percent of the national enterprise architecture populated by the end of December 2002.
So with all of this planning going on, does that mean regular, run-of-the- mill buying is completely on hold? No. If you have products or services that support mission-critical programs, you can uncover immediate opportunities.
Which programs are mission critical? You'll have to dig to find out. As we say so often: start doing the research and making those phone calls.
More Information
"Next Two Years Rosy for Fed IT"
http://washingtontechnology.com/news/17_16/federal/19399-1.html
"An Insider's Look at Homeland Security and Technology"
http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,3048,a=30737,00.asp
In-Q-tel
http://www.in-q-tel.com/
