How Things Work in Government Contracting
In light of Microsoft's ongoing efforts to herd partners into vertical industries,
we've launched a series of profiles of different industries in
Redmond Channel
Partner magazine.
The
first one, if you missed it, was on professional services. Our latest issue
features our
second piece in this series, this time on government as a vertical. It's
a great piece by Rich Freeman primarily aimed at beginners -- kind of an examination
of issues to work through if you're thinking about getting into government work.
If you're a veteran of government contracting, or just enjoy reading about
how things work in Washington, I've got something else for you.
My wife subscribes to Vanity Fair -- you know, that phonebook-size magazine
that forces you to flip through about 30 pages of ads to find the table of
contents. The issues usually stack up in our bedroom about six high.
I just waded far enough into the March issue (page 342) to find a jewel of
a piece about SAIC, a huge federal government contractor and one of the largest
solution providers that lists Microsoft as a top vendor. It's by Donald L. Barlett
and James B. Steele, two journalists' journalists who live by the old rule that
real reporting involves forgetting how things are supposed to work and finding
out how they really work. (Also known as "follow the money.") The
story of revolving doors and no-bid contracts is an eye-opener about the state
of federal government contracting today.
The article happens to be available online here.
Posted by Scott Bekker on May 23, 2007