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The Amtower ReportVolume 5, #7, February 20, 2006This 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)
Item: When does 2 percent equal 67 percent? When does 42 percent equal 0? What has 5,535 participants and will generate in excess of $16 billion? The answer to all of these is Schedule 70. The top 2 percent of vendors on Schedule 70 will took two-thirds of the contract dollars in FY 2005. The bottom 40 percent (over 2,400 companies) earned $0. If you want to know why some win – big, and some lose, come the first Maryland session of Government Marketing Best Practices this Thursday in Clarksville, Maryland. See Events below. Item: FOSE is fast approaching, and I am curious to see how Lorenz Hassenstein has reshaped the show, literally and figuratively. I will be doing an exhibitor-only presentation the day before the show. Brian Roberts (Taking Care of Business with Brian Roberts, WMAL) will be recording a show on the floor Tuesday (March 7), and I understand that other media will be present. As always, it is fun to watch, and I will be more curious than ever to see what else is new. Lots of SIGs will be hosting meetings during the show as well. Item: Also during FOSE, Government VAR will host a breakfast on Wednesday, March 8 featuring a preview of their 2006 State of the Government Market research study. The breakfast is at the Grand Hyatt on H Street from 7:30AM until 9:00AM. To register, call Heather Stein at 516 562 5294 or email hstein@cmp.com. Follow-up Item to 2/13 Item on the Input press release leading to WTOP making an erroneous report on Federal IT spending: I spoke with a columnist from the Washington Post and was told the headline from the press release was misleading, so it was easy to see how someone could misinterpret the release. The point remains that we in the market have an obligation, when speaking to the press, to explain in lay terms what we are talking about – drop the jargon. If we do not, then the chances of getting good information into the press are reduced. If we bother to help key reporters understand our business, they will become more interested in covering this market and provide better coverage. Not that I have an opinion. THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY: UNREPENTENT I was interviewed by several reporters last week regarding the changing of the guard at GTSI. Most of those who I spoke with were not here when Dendy Young built Falcon Microsystems in the 1980s, sold Falcon to GTSI in 1994, or when he joined GTSI as CEO in January, 1996. I was. John Moore reminded me of that when he interviewed me for Federal Computer Week. He interviewed me in 1994, in 1996, and last week. He reminded me of what I said in 1996: that Dendy Young was GTSIs best hope for emerging from the havoc of the Frank (The Beast) Slovenic era. I know Dendy was the right guy then. GTSI was between a rock and a hard place, facing financial and legal difficulties, and Dendy saved GTSI from an early death. Dendy was the first CEO to meet with me on a regular basis (first during the Falcon days), and like Lynn Bateman (my mentor, founder of Government Counselling), he encouraged me to share my opinions. He brought me in to executive meetings at both Falcon and GTSI to get my take on things, and to shake things up. This changed the way I viewed the market, and certainly the way I acted in the market. I said in 1996 that Dendy was the guy, and I believed it. It was the right choice. I am an unrepentant Dendy Young fan. Over the years Dendy and I have enjoyed lengthy discussions on marketing, the channel, the Dell challenge, the direction of procurement reform, and more. We do not always agree, but we always respect the others opinion. I always look forward to my time with Dendy because we often end up in these discussions. GTSI is once again between a rock and a hard place. It is not designed to compete against direct selling manufacturers (Dell, MPC) or against truly excellent IT direct marketing companies (CDW/CDWG). It has to migrate into a services model if it is to survive and thrive. Jim Leto is a services selling son of a gun. I was fortunate to consult with one of Jim’s companies in the mid 1990s, PRC, working with the talented Mark Meudt and his staff on the SuperMini contract. Where Jim is a services guy, Dendy is a hard driving sales guy. The services model demands the longer view, business development model. Dendy’s comfort zone in sales demands a faster return. GTSIs Board made a tough decision, but it was the right decision. But those I personally know on the Board, like me, remain unrepentant fans of Dendy Young. It will be interesting to see which companies are bright enough and quick enough to add Dendy to their respective brain-trusts (Boards) now that he has a little free time. And I am looking forward to our next two-person brainstorming session. He ain’t done yet, folks. Stay tuned for Act III. Not that I have an opinion. SMARTPAY (FEDERAL CREDIT CARD) UPDATE First quarter FY 2006 results are in for the SmartPay small purchase program. The results for the small purchase card from Oct-Dec 2005 are $4,367,556,019.50, about $120 million ahead of the same period last FY. There were 450,000 fewer transactions (just under 5.5 million so far this FY) and about 9,000 fewer cardholders. For the first time since November, 1997, there are fewer than 300,000 cardholders (298,667). Fewer transactions and fewer cardholders with more money spent does equate to a higher average per purchase, approaching $800 on average. EVENTS WORTH ATTENDING Beware of the schlock vendors, producing minimal value events, events that eat your money with no significant return! The events listed below are among those I think are worth your time, money and effort. Just because an event is not listed below does not imply it is not worth attending. If you want my opinion on a specific event or producer, call me. This topic is addressed more thoroughly in the members section at www.GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com. February 22, 2006 NSA R&E Building (Day 1), Fort Meade, Maryland In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com February 23, GOVERNMENT MARKETING BEST PRACTICES – First Maryland Session EVER – Claret Hall, River Hill Shopping Center, – Clarksville, Maryland, 8:00AM – Noon. (session starts at 9:00) www.FederalDirect.net/gmbpfeb23.html February 23, 2006 NSA R&E Building (Day 2), Fort Meade, Maryland In-Agency Event, www.fbcinc.com Feb 23-24 EARNED VALUE MANAGEMENT: Measure Results and Manage Performance, Cafritz Conference Center, George Washington University, Washington, DC. http://www.digitalgovernment.com/ February 28 - March 1, 2006 FAA IT/ISS Conference, Denver, Colorado www.fbcinc.com March 7-9, 2006: FOSE www.FOSE.com March 22-23, EFFECTIVE IT PERFORMANCE: Keys to Successfully Managing Government Projects, Continental Ballroom, Cafritz Conference Center, George Washington University 800 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC (Foggy Bottom Metro Stop) www.digitalgovernment.com April 18, FEDERAL CHANNELS, Denver www.fbcinc.com If you have not been to a Federal Channels event and you are in the Denver area – attend this event! APRIL 19, 2006, Tower Club, Vienna, VA. Amtower & Company presents the one and only Amy Africa and THE ULTIMATE B2B WEB SITE MAKEOVER. For those of you who do not know Ms Africa, she is perhaps the most sought after web consultant in the world, and we have sixty seats available for her first ONE DAY session focusing exclusively on maximizing the impact of B2B and B2G web sites. www.FederalDirect.net/ultimatewebsitemakeover.html April 20, 16th Annual OSDBU Procurement Conference, Upper Marlboro, MD http://www.fbcinc.com/event.asp?eventid=Q6UJ9A00AJ0N *** As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome. Thanks The Amtower 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 |
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