The Amtower B2G Market Report

The Amtower B2G Market Report
Volume 3, #46, November 29, 2004

This newsletter is only sent to those who request it. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this newsletter, please pass it along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, see directions below. The newsletter is posted each Monday at www.FederalDirect.net, and the latest “Off-Center Observations” is on the home page. All back issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

In this issue…
1) Amtower Off-Center Observations
2) Events Worth Attending
3) Credit Card Update: 2004 Final Stats

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

Welcome to an abbreviated edition of The Amtower B2G Market Report. As I write this, my house (I work at home) is inhabited by a major portion of my wife’s rather large family, and my ability to focus is minimal due to the impending mass migration to the 12:30 viewing of The Incredibles. The full version will be back next week.

Item: At FederalDirect.com we have two news audios: Ten Myths from the Federal Market and an interview with David Powell of the Federal Business Council on Successful Events for the Federal Market. The interview with Mr Powell should be considered a preview for the next ENC Marketing breakfast (December 15, see Events below), which happens to be on events.

Item: It apparently caught some readers off-guards as to why Amtower & Company would sponsor the 10th Annual Grant Thornton contractor survey. There are several reasons. For those who have worked with me or known me more than a short time, you know that I usually have a recommendation for companies that offer services to the contractor community. Many also know that there are relatively few companies that make this cut: integrity, value and good people have to be on the other end for me to make recommendations, and Grant Thornton offers each. I have been in situations where Grant has looked at books done by the Big Four and found significant omissions. These are good people. We do not put the Amtower & Company name on other stuff without careful consideration. Your Mother probably told you that you are known by the company you keep. We are proud to be associated with a quality player like Grant Thornton.

Item: Government Executive’s “Excellence in Government West” has announced three more keynotes. A few weeks ago, they announced an extended early-bird, and now they are bringing in Gary Hart. Personally, I would like to hear the former Senator, as he has done extensive research on terrorism. He would have relevance if this was for elected officials but his relevance for government managers is minimal.

Item: Channel players now have yet another “event” provider for networking. IDC reports “Ingram Micro's expansion of the GovEd Alliance and increased recruitment efforts are indicative of the public sector's spending potential through the channel.” Ingram has gone after the public sector before. The first effort was in 1994 with Partnership America, which was supposed to offer the reseller community a variety of resources to help them succeed in the public sector. Initially five advisory companies were selected, among them Terry Kelly Associates (GSA and contract advisor, since retired), Dickstein Shapiro (David Nadler, very much still with us), and Amtower & Company. We pulled out after two years or so because of Ingram’s inconsistent approach. The desire of Ingram to re-enter this segment is positive. Their ability to do so successfully is questionable, and we will be watching closely. Providing “more networking venues for its reselling partners and manufacturers” for me is a questionable start. We don’t need more events – we need better events. Ingram and its clients would be better served if Ingram sponsored existing events rather than add to the already crowded calendars.

Not that I have an opinion.

EVENTS WORTH ATTENDING

Beware of the schlock vendors, producing “black hole” events, events that eat your money with no significant return!

December 8-9, 2004, Web Content Management Clinic, George Washington University, Washington, DC. www.digitalgovernment.com

December 15, ENC Marketing Breakfast on Events. www.encmarketing.com

December 16, "Lessons Learned from the 9/11 Commission". Kevin Scheid, on behalf of the 9/11 Commission, will discuss the organizational, cultural and technological barriers to sharing information and how they added to the tragedy of the attacks against the United States on 9/11.
Speaker: Kevin Scheid, Team Leader on Intelligence, 9/11 Commission. http://www.affirm.org or call 703-715-6701.

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

March 22-23, 2005. Federal Information Systems Security Educators’ Association (FISSEA) Conference. “Target Training in 2005 - Computer Security Awareness, Training, and Education”. Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, Maryland (White Flint Metro Stop).

FISSEA is a national forum for government, industry, and academic leaders, educators, and researchers involved with computer security awareness, training, and education. The conference will include presentations, papers, tutorials, and panels. Typical topics include: management of information security programs and personnel, conducting security training, information security and assurance curriculums, supporting technologies (network, wireless, encryption, vulnerability tools, educational tools), security labs, intrusion response programs, organizational behavior, certification, regulations, and emerging technologies.

Why Attend?

Discover new ways to improve your computer security program
Dual tracks of high quality presentations
Great networking opportunities
Gain awareness and training ideas and resources
Obtain practical solutions to training problems
Earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits

FISSEA website: http://csrc.nist.gov/fissea
Electronic Registration URL: https://rproxy.nist.gov/CRS (Fee $280)

CREDIT CARD UPDATE: 2004 FINAL STATS

The final totals for the FY 2004 small purchase SmartPay credit card are in. With $17,082,562,874.60, the total is behind what I predicted. Last year the total was $16.378 billion, so there is still growth. The number of purchases year over year was also flat, holding at 26,523,928 (FY 2003 26,494,400) while the number of cardholders dropped to 310,861 from 326 850 at the end of FY 2003. The totals for the final quarter of 2004 were over $35 million behind FY 2004, with 150,000 fewer purchases the final quarter, and 16,000 fewer cardholders than FY 2003. The average purchase was $657 for FY 2004 vs $629 in FY 2003.

**

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

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower B2G Market Report is published by Amtower & Company, and is written for companies targeting the government marketplace. The opinions expressed are those of Mark Amtower unless otherwise noted. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 314, Highland, MD 20777-0314 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. Email subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net


Site maintained by Dragonfly Design