This is the next in our series of special reports for OODA members focused on federal business strategies for the Startup CEO (find them all here).
This special report is written for the tech CEO seeking insights into the federal systems integrator community. It is based on years of direct experience with firms that serve federal customers and is designed to provide actionable insights that can help focus your strategy for federal growth.
If you have a technology with a proven capability for enterprises you have probably already started thinking about how you should work with the big systems integrators that serve the federal market. You probably feel in your gut that partnering with them is the way to go. They absolutely need to be part of your strategy. But there are issues and key considerations that should inform your actions here.
I have learned these issues first-hand. I have served as an executive in two of the large integrators, have served as a buyer of their services while in government, have teamed and won business with them as a subcontractor, and have helped many tech firms find the optimal relationship with them for successful growth. I have also seen small tech firms burned by situations they found themselves in, many times because they did not understand the basic rules of the game played by the integrators. Other times because they did not understand the culture of the firms they are dealing with.
As an OODA network member I would welcome your questions, comments and feedback on this list. Contact Us Here or reply to any of our emails if you would like a discussion on this.
Considerations For Dealing With Federal Systems Integrators
Know the landscape
There are many ways to look at federal systems integrators. Looking at the big integrators by size of market cap gives an indication of their heft. You can also look at them by size of their federal government contract revenue. This can be more insightful since it is a measure of how important federal business is to the firm (we provide a list at the end of this article for your awareness).
Know the culture
Every systems integrator has their own personality and culture. All want to serve and win more business, but they have very different approaches. This may play into which integrator has a bigger interest in your capability. So learn the culture of the SI’s before you formulate your engagement strategy. It is probably easiest to do this with a guide, contact us for help with this.
Leverage integrators as a marketing channel
The big integrators are everywhere and have an ability to leverage that to spread word of your capability, if they believe it is in their interest to do so. This is a strong point of working with them. Make it known in your discussions that you want this to be part of the relationship.
Learn from the integrators
The big integrators also invest time and energy in learning government mission needs. They can be a great source of this info. Building a strong relationship can keep you in the loop on what the government needs.
Help the big guys win
The big integrators want to partner with small innovative tech firms to help them win the attention of government thought leaders and more importantly to win procurements. So track the big procurements and figure out how you can help the big guys win.
Find the smaller niche players
The smaller integrators, including some very small “boutique” integrators, can be very agile and when you find the right ones with the right respect for your technology you should do everything possible to further the relationship. Be very good to them.
Ensure you build your own relationship with end users
On some contracts, you may be required to commit to only interact with the government via the prime contractor. That is just the way things are. But that will not stop you from all interactions with the government. Ensure you devote the right amount of time building personal relationships with government thought leaders, this is important and is a big hedge against the integrator that may seek to shut you out.
Prepare for worst case scenarios
At one time or another we have seen senior engineers at every big systems integrator whisper in the ear of a government engineer that they can write better software than the small upstart tech firm. This can happen to you. There are many other bad scenarios to think through and many mitigation strategies, but this one is very common. No matter what you do, one day you could have an integrator telling the government they should not use you. To prevent this, be sure you have paid attention to the point above about having a relationship with the end user.
Consider the big integrator as a customer
Remember, big integrators can also be customers. They all have infrastructure that needs protecting, devices that need managing, HR departments that need automation, finance departments that need optimizing etc etc. Don’t be timid about asking your contacts at the integrators to introduce you to the people who buy for their internal infrastructure.
Know who you are talking to
The integrators are very large and it can be hard to know who is the best person to talk to. It can be very hard to get time with the CEO or even a VP, and if you do those meetings might not be as productive as you would like. Many times the person who can make the biggest difference for a startup is a program manager or other leader in direct contact with end customers. These line leaders have responsibility to deliver real capabilities. Finding them can be hard (ask us for help, we may know the right ones for you). A tip that can work: When you see the big integrators at a trade show, keep in mind that the people manning their booths may very well be program managers and engineers and/or subject matter experts that can help you build a relationship with that firm. So use those opportunities to build your networks.
Now What?
The principles above are somewhat generic since they were written to apply to any high tech firm seeking insights into the work of systems integrators. A logical next step would be to consider the integrator landscape in the context of your specific technologies. Some integrators may be threatened by the capability you bring, while others would love to help accelerate you into the federal ecosystem. Another important step is thinking through which federal missions would be best served by your capability so you can narrow down the parts of government you should target and therefore be able to select the integrators most likely to help you there.
Please Contact Us Here or reply to any of our emails with your feedback.
Federal Systems Integrators Ranked By Size Of Government Business
The next post in this series will dive deeper into the topic of standing up your federal office.
