Government IT Sales Summit

Focused exclusively on companies that sell technology to the public sector, this one-day event brings together solution providers, systems integrators, and manufacturers for a full day of market information and networking. Get the relationships, tools, and insight you need to plan effectively and accelerate your government IT sales in the coming year.

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.   Registration/Breakfast

8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.   Welcome Remarks 

8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.   Concurrent Sessions: 

Market Intelligence Briefing: FY15 Defense Budget
The immixGroup DOD Budget Briefing has become the annual must-attend event for anyone who sells technology products or solutions to the Department of Defense. Join us as experts from immixGroup’s Market Intelligence organization identify and explain targeted sales opportunities for COTS manufacturers and solution providers and discuss how to navigate the complex waters of DOD. Topics will include agency IT budgets, organizational landscapes, major acquisition drivers, and FY15 programs.

Revving the Engine of Contract Vehicles
The government has more contract vehicles than ever to buy products and services, each one with its own manual of requirements and plenty of fine print. In this session, our panel of best-in-industry experts will map the lifecycle of each vehicle, spend rates for each, how to increase your win rate, small business set-asides, as well as teaming and subcontracting with vehicle primes. Bring your questions for our panel of procurement, programs, and legal experts and be ready to get behind the wheel with actionable sales strategies.

A More Perfect Union: Tapping the State & Local Market
After being hit hard by the 2008 recession and sequestration, state and local governments are poised to spend $95 billion on IT in fiscal year 2014, with steady year-over-year growth expected. But IT companies looking to pursue state and local business face a confusing array of procurement requirements, decentralized acquisition, unique contract vehicles, and logistical hurdles. Attend this session to learn how federal dollars are appropriated to the states, how to translate your federal go-to-market strategy to achieve success at the state level, and how current IT acquisition trends may affect sales in this fragmented but growing market.

9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.   Refreshment Break

9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.   Concurrent Sessions:

Market Intelligence Briefing: FY15 Civilian Budget
immixGroup’s 10th annual Civilian Budget Briefing will arm technology manufacturers and solution providers with the actionable information they need to pursue funded opportunities across the largest civilian agencies. immixGroup’s Market Intelligence experts will cover key technology priorities and delve into agency IT budgets, organizational landscapes, major acquisition drivers, and FY15 programs to help you better align your sales strategies and marketing messages.

Influencing the Conversation: Social Media & Content Marketing
Many of the face-to-face conversations that used to take place at trade shows and events are now happening in digital forums for all to see. Your prospects are performing their own research online long before they contact you. How they perceive your solutions—and whether your company is even considered—may depend less on your controlled marketing materials than on what they find in Web articles, blogs, videos, and peer recommendations. This session will explore the social media and content marketing tactics that technology companies are employing in our market to generate leads, raise awareness, and accelerate the sales cycle. You’ll learn where to invest your resources to get tangible results, how to get your message across, and how to measure success.

Fundamentals of Selling Technology to the Government
Selling in the U.S. public sector is nothing like selling in the commercial sector. There are different rules, cultures, and sales cycles that make government sales seem like a completely different world. This session addresses the key budgetary, acquisition, and technology themes within the public sector that are critical to sales success. Whether you are new to this market or just looking for a refresher, plan to attend to gain insight into how the government purchases technology.

11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.   Refreshment Break

11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.   General Session:  State of the Market

Forget the pundits. No one knows better what’s going on in government IT sales than the people working in it day in and day out. Join executives from immixGroup, Brocade, IBM, McAfee, and Red Hat as they discuss current market trends, challenges on the horizon, and how they’re planning to drive growth in a flat federal market.

12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.   Networking Lunch and Keynote Session 

Discover the extraordinary in just about everything ordinary. Join best-selling author and TED speaker Steven Johnson. His newest book How We Got to Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World has been made into a six-part television series airing this fall on PBS. Steven will share engaging stories behind the remarkable innovations that made modern life possible, and the power and legacy of great ideas.

2:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.   Refreshment Break

2:15 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.   Concurrent Sessions:

Recurring Revenue: Keep It Comin’
Growing revenue from an existing customer is six to seven times less expensive than acquiring a new one. In addition to upsell/cross-sell opportunities, government agencies are becoming ever-more acclimated to annual, monthly, and even “by-the-drink” subscription services that produce recurring revenue. During this session we will share proven strategies to retain and increase customers, utilize data analytics to drive customer-based revenue, implement and leverage automated systems & processes, and successfully make the switch from perpetual license to managed services.

Cracking the SI Code: How to Work with Systems Integrators
For many technology vendors and solution providers, success depends heavily on their ability to partner with federal systems integrators and provide technologies that add value to their offerings. But identifying the right integrators to work with—and actually reaching the critical decisions makers you need to influence—requires an approach that is part art, part science. This session will cover the important strategies and practical tips you need to identify which SIs are bidding on specific programs, locate the right contacts, approach them with relevant messages, and convince them to consider your solutions.

Optimizing the Data Center
There’s been a shift in the conversation about data centers from consolidation to optimization. Agencies are using PortfolioStat’s required annual reviews to drive efficiency and better IT management within the data center environment. Leveraging COTS products is a key component of the overall strategy. Our government panel will discuss the tools and methods they’re using to pursue Data Center Optimization, and areas where industry can assist.

Proceed with Caution: Hidden Cybersecurity Risk in IT Consolidation
As government infrastructure shrinks and interoperability improves across DOD agencies, industry can play a key role in helping to keep systems and data secure. Despite moving toward a smaller attack surface, DOD agencies could actually face increased vulnerability as increased amounts of data are concentrated into more target-rich attack vectors. Listen as government experts discuss strategies to protect against threats, and how industry can help.

3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.   Refreshment Break

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.   Concurrent Sessions: 

Channel Strategies: Innovate or Languish 
“Flat is the new up” has become a mantra for some in the public sector. But even with continued challenges and ever-increasing competition, there are opportunities for companies willing to leverage, grow, and incentivize the channel. Innovation is needed to give tried-and-true techniques a necessary boost. Join our panel of experts as they discuss channel optimization strategies around deal registration, enablement, alignment, and more.

CDM: Don’t Miss Out on Opportunity Waiting for the Big Bang
You’ve probably heard about the $6 billion Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) contract vehicle and the impact it will have on cybersecurity procurement. Seems we are all tracking DHS’s Phased Implementation, but you could be missing out on immediate sales opportunities if you don’t understand how the Delegation of Procurement Authority (DPA) allows agencies to meet near-term requirements. Attend this session to find out which agencies have received a DPA, how it can be used, and the impact it can have on your cybersecurity sales efforts.  

Clouds in the Forecast
It’s been more than three years since the Cloud First strategy was announced, but of 20 cloud migration plans submitted to GAO for approval in 2012, no more than a few have actually been completed. So how do we lasso those clouds on the horizon and make it rain? Take part in a lively discussion with government and industry experts as we review how we got to where we are now, and what it portends moving forward. Hear from those in the know what cloud products and services the government is likely to buy in the next 12 months, and how you can position your sales strategies to best advantage.

Lots and Lots of Data—Now What?
The federal government has collected exabytes of data, with more amassing daily.  But what happens with Big Data once it’s been collected? Listen in as our government panel discusses the challenges agencies face in tagging, securing, analyzing, and leveraging Big Data through BI & analytics, and how they’d like to work with industry to implement solutions and best practices.

4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.   Tabletop Expo and Networking Event

* Preliminary agenda; subject to change