This week on Amtower Off Center, Kevin Plexico, SVP of Deltek, joins host Mark Amtower for a deep discussion on the current state of government contracting.

Topics include:

• YTD contract activity vs FY 24, and how it has impacted spending
• The impact on SIs, VARs, small contractors and others
• Regulatory changes and the future of GWACs
• The new Deltek Clarity study (available free) which deals with many aspects on BD, capture and bidding
• What the "big beautiful budget bill" could mean to contracting

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This week on Amtower Off Center, Nick Wakeman, editor in chief of Washington Technology, joins host Mark Amtower for a wide-ranging discussion on the state of the GovCon market as reflected by the WashTech 2025 Top 100 contractors.

Topics discussed include:

• First year-over-year decline in prime contracts since 2016 sequestration
• A recap of CGI's Stephanie Mango's interview with Nick on the state of GovCon
• How SERCO has used strategic acquisitions to move up
• The growing gap between DOD and civilian contracting
• Candid comments of where the market may be heading

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Shauna Weatherly, former govie and now founder and president of FebSubK,joins host MarkAmtower for an in-depth discussion on the current state of the SmartPay (government charge card) program.

Topics include:

• The charge card program background from inception in the late 1980s
• How it works and why it is so successful at what it does
• What is happening now with the program, including consolidated buying at GSA
• The "pilot" program RFI that went out the Thursday evening before Good Friday with responses due in seven days
• A candid discussion of why the pilot the pilot may be happening and why it is totally unnecessary

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Nick Wakeman, editor in chief of Washington Technology for a wide-ranging, candid discussion of the new

administration's executive orders impacting the GovCon industry.

Topics include:

• The order from GSA to investigate the"consulting" contracts of the top 10 OASIS contractors
• Tthe temporary suspension of the government charge card program
• The downsizing of federal agencies across the board and the impact on government programs
• The impact of the Executive Order on DEI initiatives

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by GovNavigators co-founder Robert Shea for a very lively discussion on the upcoming administration.

Topics include:

• Managing the transition
• Major policy shifts
• What are some of the priorities for DOD
• DOGE and the impending efficiencies
• OPM and Schedule F
• Lots of great policy-nerd minutae
• Potential impact of the set-aside program

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Aubrey Gainfort, by day a federal contracting officer, and after work host of the Breaking the Standard podcast, which is nearing its 5th anniversary.

Topics discussed include:

• Five things contractors need to do
• Five things contractors should NOT do
• How and why to start your own podcast
• Ways to expand your knowledge of the federal market

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This week on Amtower Off Center, host Mark Amtower is joined by Brian Lindholm, founder and managing principal at FedSavvy Strategies for a discussion on the myriad of sources available to government contractors for researching before bidding.

Topics include:

• What open source intel is available to contractors
• How to parse this data for useful items
• Why should you be looking at protest decisions and what can you learn from them
• The best use and format of black hat reviews

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Ross Wilkers, senior reporter for Washington Technology, joins host Mark Amtower on this week's Amtower Off Center for a follow-up interview, this time addressing the Washington Technology Fast 50 contractors. The list includes fifty companies that submitted financial data to WashTech to verify their growth over the past 5 years.

Topics include:

• Types of firms on the list, including IT services, management consulting/advisory services, engineering, intelligent automation and areas of specialized expertise.
• Companies discussed include ATI Government Solution, BryceTech, Amivero and B-Skies.

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