WT Industry Day puts spotlight on category management strategies

The government’s push for category management as a tool for controlling costs and standardizing what they buy is changing federal IT procurement.

In our first WT Industry Day for 2017 on Feb. 16, we dive into this topic with some of the top experts in the field. The event will be held at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, Va.

We’ll have a full morning of speakers from the General Services Administration as well as other agencies talking about what category management means to them, and how it is changing the way they buy IT products and related services.

You’ll gain critical insights on what your customers want from you and what you need to do to meet those expectations.

The morning will kick off with a keynote from Bill Zielinski, deputy assistant commissioner, category management, in GSA’s Office of Information Technology Category. The ITC is part of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service.

Zielinski came to GSA from the Office of Management and Budget where he supported the federal CIO. In that role, he provided oversight of federal IT capital planning and investment control processes. He also is the former CIO of the Social Security Administration.

Following his kickoff, we’ll have individual speakers representing hardware, IT products, IT services, security and telecom. Each of these GSA managers will be joined by their counterparts at specific agencies.

We’ll be updating the event website as we get closer to the event.

As with all WT Industry Days, the morning event kicks off with breakfast, and there is a break at about mid-morning. There will be plenty of time for networking and connecting with customers and potential partners.

One of the reasons we are excited about presenting an Industry Day on category management is that it is a game changer that will likely only continue to grow as the government looks for costs savings and efficiencies in how it operates.

The government also has been vocal about wanting a more collaborative relationship with industry so this will be a great opportunity to hear what government is thinking and to connect with agency leaders.

As usual, I’ll be the MC, so say "Hi" when you see me.