SBA Cracks Down on Government Contractor Sharks Posing as Minnows

A look at the week of November 22, 2010, in public advocacy for the IT channel

This week, the SBA is cracking down on contractors pretending to be small firms in order to qualify for government deals.  The federal government adopted a new policy requiring agencies to default to cloud-based IT solutions when possible.   Politicians and industry leaders predict favorable tech legislation in 2011.

SBA Takes Closer Look At Federal Contractors — The Small Business Administration is stepping up its efforts to ensure contractors are not embellishing the truth in order to win government deals, says The Wall Street Journal. "We need to go out and see that these firms are who they say they are," said Joseph Jordan, the SBA's associate administrator for government contracting and business development. "The vast majority of these firms are well-intentioned and well-behaved, but occasionally you find a bad actor."

Federal Government Moves to Cloud— The federal government is adopting a "cloud-first" policy, marking the administration's strongest statement yet in support of web-based computing as it looks to overhaul its information technology infrastructure.  According to The Washington Post, the Office of Management and Budget will now require federal agencies to default to cloud-based solutions "whenever a secure, reliable, cost-effective cloud option exists."

Tech Industry Wired For Deals In 2011 — Members of Congress and industry leaders remain optimistic that the technology sector will escape the gridlock that is expected to stall congressional action in a number of other policy arenas next year.  According to Politico, a host of issues could prove ripe for bipartisan compromise – such as work visa and tax credit reforms – even amid split-party control of Congress entering 2011.