I don't think the situation is nearly as dire as some suggest (even the BoD).

When it comes to Gov't contracts - recall that Holocom (I believe) is in the GSA schedule (catalog).

And when it comes to Gov't contracts; yes, the Gov't perfers to do business with the larger corporations with which they may have had prior business dealings and that have all the appropriate infrastructure in place as far as regulatory compliance is concerned. But prime contractors ARE REQUIRED to do a percentage of their business/subcontracting with small businesses. There is a quota system in place. Prime contractors often struggle to meet the mandated quotas and, if not met, must jump through hoops explaining shortfalls, submitting plans for improvement, etc.

The impatient and lazy can stop reading here.

What most prime contractors do to maintain compliance with this aspect of the procurement system is to contract with small businesses for rather mundane things. But when they do find a small business that can support a requirement for something more complex, there is interest. Not only can the fulfill the requirement for the service/commodity, but they can get relief from pressure to subcontract with small business.

The hurdle for a small business to get a prime contract goes back to the above. They many times do not have all the appropriate infrastructure in place as far as regulatory compliance. Thus, for the Gov't to award a contract to such a business, the regulations dictate that they must acquire waivers up the chain of command, frequently all the way up to agency head (e.g., Secretary of the Army). The waivers are needed to waive a requirement that the contractor is not capable of complying with. About the only thing they can't "skirt" is a security requirement, but here the Gov't is capable of providing the required safeguards themselves (even at contractor facilities) if the "product" is needed to the degree to warrant direct Gov't intervention/support. Other requirements include:

Approved property management system in place

ISO 9000 (and/or other appropraite ISO elements) certified

Financial systems CAS compliant

I'll resist the urge to explain what each of these is about and why each is required.

FWIW,

SGE