Top contracts take center stage at WT Spending Spree event

If you are looking for insights on some of the biggest contracts in the market -- and who isn't? -- then look no further than Washington Technology's upcoming "Q4 Spending Spree Success" event next week.

If you are looking for some insights on some of the biggest contracts in the market, then look no further than Washington Technology’s upcoming Q4 Spending Spree Success event next week.

We’ve lined up representatives from NASA SEWP, GSA Alliant, Schedule 70 and the Homeland Security Department’s EAGLE contract to talk about trends and what is new with their contracts.

The event is Thursday, July 20 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons, Va. It kicks off at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and networking. The program officially begins at 8 a.m.

And there will be plenty to learn from our contracts panel.

For example, we have Darlene Coen, deputy program manager with NASA SEWP. SEWP just announced a new program that will restrict bidding by unauthorized resellers. See my blog here for more details, but the gist of it is that SEWP has found a way to take another step forward in securing the supply chain as well as reducing the burden on contracting officers.

Another speaker is Omar Saeb, the new Alliant program manager. Alliant 2 is in source selection so he might be somewhat limited in what he can disclose, but he’ll still be able to talk about what’s different about the new contract and how it will change the market.

Also from GSA is Jill Thomas, director of the IT Schedule 70 telecom/security division. Besides initiatives such as category management, Schedule 70 has been active recently with new features and offerings. If she doesn’t mention it in her remarks, I’ll be sure to ask her about GSA’s plan to incorporate continuous diagnostics and mitigation tools on the schedule.

From DHS, we’ll have Jaclyn Smyth, director of the strategic sourcing program office. Her purview actually goes beyond EAGLE 2, although that’s the biggest vehicle in her portfolio. She’s been very active in category management and strategic sourcing initiatives.

We’ve asked all four to share data from their vehicles, so you’ll be getting information on top agency customers, top contract holders and a look at what people are buying. We’ll also discuss on fourth quarter spending stacks up against the rest of the year.

Among other government speakers, I’m happy to have on board is Lesley Field, acting administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. She’s been a leading voice on a whole host of smart procurement initiatives including strategic sourcing and category management. You don’t want to miss what she has to say.

We’ve also added Stan Collender, executive vice president of Qorvis MSLGroup. He’s an expert on the federal budget, spending and revenues. He knows Capitol Hill better than most and he’ll have some good stories to share. He’s sure to be entertaining.

As I’ve written previously, we’ll also have a presentation by Kevin Plexico from Deltek, who’ll cover fourth quarter spending trends and I’ll be moderating a panel of business development executives from General Dynamics, DLT Solutions and Salient CRGT.

They’ll talk about how the fourth quarter and its crush of spending are changing. They’ll talk about how contractors can help their customers and how the services you provide during the fourth quarter can set the stage for more success the rest of the year.

This will be a great event to get ready for the rest of the summer and the coming close of the fiscal year. Click here for more information and to register.