The federal government’s consolidation or termination of what it deems unproductive digital transformation efforts promises to create business opportunities for government contractors, according to a three-time Wash100 Award winner.
Jerry McGinn, George Mason University Center for Government Contracting executive director, told ExecutiveGov on Wednesday that despite the cancellation or consolidation of certain programs, these IT modernization goals will not go away. These business opportunities, he said, focusing on using AI and more commercial approaches to IT modernization, will have to be competed in the next year in order to have an impact during the second President Donald Trump administration.
“This administration has an agenda, they have been looking for ways to cut personnel and cut what they call unproductive contracts,” McGinn said. “But they’re going to want to invest in areas they are focusing on.”
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Overlapping IT Procurement Authorities
The original January 20 executive order that created the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, specifically chartered the organization to modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity. The White House wasted little time targeting overlapping procurement authorities in the procurement of IT within the federal government. Trump on March 20 issued an executive order designating the head of the General Services Administration as the executive agent for all government-wide acquisition contracts for IT within 30 days.
DOD on March 20 cancelled a human resources IT program that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deemed not a good use of taxpayer funds. A software development program for the Defense Civilian Human Resources Management System, or DCHRMS, was intended to streamline a significant portion of DOD’s legacy human resources program.
But DOD said the program, which started in 2018 and was supposed to take one year to develop at a cost of $36 million, was now nearly eight years behind schedule and $280 million over budget, an increase of 509 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Why Is DOGE Targeting IT?
McGinn said DOGE is targeting IT procurement because of the federal government’s “big, big” business acquiring IT services. Government contractors who want to succeed in this new era of program cutting and consolidation, he said, need to be very attuned to the priorities of the Trump administration. Companies must also position and tailor their offerings and solutions to best address the administration’s priorities.
Take advantage of the opportunity to learn straight from DOD digital transformation leaders about their procurement priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Digital Transformation Summit on April 24. Learn how to best position your firm ahead of competitors and gain market share in an unprecedented procurement landscape. Don’t miss out!
