The Amtower B2G Market Report

The Amtower B2G Market Report
Volume 3, #33, August 30, 2004

(Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this, please pass this along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, email me at amtower@erols.com). Past issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

In this issue…
1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: Self-Explanatory
3) Events
4) SmartPay Update: Three Quarters Reporting
5) One-Minute Marketing Clinic

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

Item: In response to my comments on Best Buy, one reader sent this. “On the Best Buy topic: The fine print of these price matching makes it all but impossible to ever take advantage of them. Personally, I think that if they really wanted to beat down on their pricing competition, they would include prices from etailers as well as print advertisers. www.deepdiscountdvd.com seems to have the most aggressive price matching policy that I have seen, although I have never tested it.” Informed sources tell us BB is already negotiating a GSA Schedule. Let’s see if the fine print on the Best Buy GSA Schedule has this nebulous verbiage.

Item: A Warning from my friend Stewart Abowitz: “I received an e-mail with the subject line “Illegal Website”. Sender was abuse@gov.us When I opened it, information read as follows: I noticed that you have visited illegal web sites. See the name in the list! There was an attachment that I did not open and that is why I did not forward it to you.” Note that this was from a “gov.us” address- not a “.gov”, which is what got Stewart’s attention. This was probably some malicious virus or spyware. There is a ton of malicious crap coming from the dregs of the information byway: degrees of all sorts, scams about your credit card accounts, porn, and other items your spam filters may not catch. If it gets through, “Beware of email bearing gifts…”

Item: Food for serious thought (comments and additions welcome). One of my business development friends sent me his list of FY05

Market Pressure Factors, which includes:
OMB review of budgets, business cases and security plans
Budget pressures because of deficits
More efficient government procurement processes
E-Gov – automated procurements; less relationship oriented
Election year – hesitancy for programs over $5 million
COTS enterprise licenses – more standard platforms and support
Time to ensure EA compliance is real
Security reviews and C&A baselines before more technology is bought
DHS budget is adversely affecting other agencies
Higher turnover of CIOs than in the past

Item: More angus droppings? A client emailed me an offer to exhibit at GTech, which is co-locating with the Government Video expo in early October. Co-locating is doublespeak for piggybacking to make us look real. The questions my client had were: who are these people and should I be there? Well I go to the Government Video expo, as the expo hall has the latest in surveillance and video equipment. But GTech (www.gtechexpo.com) has the White House, Homeland Security, and FirstGov logos posted on their web site. Does this mean the show is backed by offices of the Federal government? No. I know at least one of the major speakers listed has no idea about this event. And even though the event is five weeks away, portions of the web site are “under construction." All this for $31-45 per foot for exhibit space! Lucky you! CMP owns the URL, so I assume they own the event. I expect much more from CMP.

Not that I have an opinion.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: SELF-EXPLANATORY

This is a copy of a posting at FedBizOps. Even good companies like Input can make mis-steps, but this is significant.

Federal Business Opportunities -- General Information Document Type: Presolicitation Notice Solicitation Number: RMK00040064A Posted Date: 08/10/04 Response Date: 08/13/04 Archive Date: 08/31/2004 Classification Code: D -- Information technology services, including telecommunications services Contracting Office Address 2051 Mercator Drive, Reston, VA 20191 Description To all those interested in the above RFP. Per FAR 15.206 (e), BIA is canceling this RFP for the following reasons: 1. BIA's requirements for this type of system have changed. 2. Inadequate information being posted on "input.com," which is a private "for pay" site that conglomerates and distributes Federal Government contract award information. BIA did not authorize the posting of this information to "input.com" and the posting consequently created numerous problems that have since seriously jeopardized this RFP competition. The three files that appeared on "input.com" did not contain ALL the pertinent information for the RFP, primarily the initial cover letter going out with the RFP materials to properly requesting vendors. Consequently, BIA received several calls, questions, and inquiries from companies that were not on this RFP's bidder's list, items that were already answered if those vendors had obtained the proper information from this office. This RFP is public information. However, what appeared on "input.com" did not contain all the materials and therefore vendors relying solely on what they saw on "input.com" did not receive up to date and accurate information. Prospective offerors are reminded for future acquisitions that FedBizOps is the ONLY authorized electronic source for Government contracting opportunities and that FedBizOps and directions contained in the announcement on FedBizOps are the ONLY sources for accurate and up to date information. Any information obtained from any other electronic source other than from FedBizOps is solely at the risk of any offeror relying on such information. Due to the above reasons, BIA regretfully must cancel RFP # RMK00040064 dated 28 July 2004. A new advertisement for the revised work should be forthcoming in the next few weeks with a projected start date in October, i.e. next FY. Also, the new advertisement and subsequent procurement will be a Buy Indian Set Aside. BIA appreciates the time and effort all vendors took to prepare proposals for the RFP. Sincerely, Tracy Downing, Esq. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

EVENTS

FBI ITEC 2004, September 21-22, 2004, Wyndham Palace Resort & Spa/Events Center, Lake Buena Vista, FL www.fbcinc.com

Federal Information Assurance Conference (FIAC) 2004, October 26-28. 2004, University of Maryland University College Inn and Conference Center, Adelphi, MD Keynote is Karen Evans, Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information Technology (IT) www.fbcinc.com/fiac

THIRD ANNUAL B2G CATALOG SUMMIT, Doubletree O’Hare (Chicago), November 11, 2004
www.FederalDirect.net. Our speakers include web diva Amy Africa on the latest web innovations, Mark Del Franco of Catalog Age leading a town hall style session with three catalog veterans, and Bill Singleton of Singleton Marketing on profitably mining your data. I will be doing the keynote and the wrap-up session, which will provide catalog “best B2G practices”.

2 NSA events coming up in early December, on site at NSA. www.fbcinc.com

INTELCON National Intelligence Conference and Exposition, February 8-10, 2005 Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Alexandria, VA www.fbcinc.com

SMARTPAY UPDATE

Sales figures for the small purchase card through June, 2004 are here. With the first three-quarters in, total sales are $12.154 billion, with 19,348,868 transactions. The transaction level is about the same as last year. There are 312 543 cardholders, about 12,000 fewer than the same time last year. Even if credit card sales remain flat for the balance of FY 2004, card spending will hit $17.9 billion. If we stay at approximately 10% growth, it will be around $18.6 billion.

What was that Barry Goldwater said? “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”

ONE MINUTE MARKETING CLINIC

Recently Global Knowledge (IT training firm) sent a value-add email in an effort to harvest contact information. It offered a list of the top 25 IT training categories, in exchange for providing your name and address (once you clicked through to the GK site). The offer was strong for a couple reasons. First, we all like lists. Second, it would highlight the top areas where one might need training, for yourself or your staff. This came out several weeks back, in time to harvest information for end-of-FY sales.

Unlike the nebulous offer from a communications company offering baseballs caps to the first 150 people who responded, the Global Knowledge email offered value.

White papers and other useful information will attract the people you want to respond. Baseballs caps and other trinkets tend to draw these easily amused, those who are attracted to shiny things.

Add value, get real leads. Simple stuff, but a little harder to do.

**

As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower


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