April 2017 - page 5

President Donald Trump’s April 18 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order prompted consternation in the federal IT community. But one of the order’s stated goals is “to ensure that, to the extent permitted by law … procurements maximize the use of materials produced in the United States,” and federal law specifically exempts “information technology that is a commercial item” from the Buy American Act of 1933.

Source: Is IT exempt from Trump’s ‘Buy American’ order? — FCW

Governments around the world stand to save $3.5 trillion annually within the next five years if they improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their spending, according to a new study from the McKinsey Center for Government.

Source: McKinsey: A public sector rethink could save $3.5 trillion worldwide — FCW

I have been interested in the question of getting successful commercial companies, especially tech companies, to sell to the government from the time I was in government myself as administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, now almost 25 years ago. Even at the time, I was worried about a government market too dominated by companies that sold only or mostly to government. I felt that new entrants from outside the traditional world of government contracting would increase competition for government contracts and that high performance expectations in the commercial world gain greater prominence in government.

Source: What are the real reasons small firms won’t sell to the government? — FCW