Input sees $123B in '08 fed opportunities

The top technology business opportunities in the federal government in fiscal year 2008 could bring $123 billion into the coffers of contractors, according to research firm Input. The firm's analysis of the top 20 opportunities found that they have a combined value of $119 billion in full-and-open competition. Another $4.4 billion comes from Input's assessment of the top 10 small business set-asides.

Most of the top procurements will be recompetitions of existing programs, according to Reston, Va.-based Input, due to Congress's sluggish pace in passing appropriations bills.

The top six opportunities are all military projects. The Energy Department's Environmental Projects Management III contract, at No. 7, is the first civilian agency project to make the list. Input estimates that contract's value at $2.5 billion. NASA and the Education, Commerce and Homeland Security departments are the only other non-military agencies among the top 20.

"Coupled with an increasingly strong-willed Congress, continued war spending and the Bush Administration entering into its lame duck phase, FY 2008 is shaping up to be a year of the status quo," said Arash Ardalan, senior federal analyst for Input.

Agencies may expand the scope of contracts in small ways, he added. The growth areas Ardalan identified include security, information sharing and infrastructure consolidation.

Small businesses are undergoing changes that make their outlook more challenging. They share the difficulty of larger firms in trying to make sales to agencies that are operating off of continuing resolutions rather than new budgets. But they also are adapting to new rules on how often they must recertify their size status, a policy change that strains limited resources, according to Input Senior Federal Analyst Jamie Tomkins.

"An understanding of the increased pressure on agencies for set-aside spending and how it affects acquisition is essential for vendor success," Tomkins said.