18 months ago, a short 2 months after G2Xchange Health had launched, we published a report with some fairly bold predictions about which new players we thought were well positioned to challenge for award on T4NG, on both the large and small front.
While we identified many of the eventual awardees as part of that report (e.g. Halfaker, TISTA, tiag, Ellumen, HMS, BITS and even that Lockheed (pre-SMS) would buy their way in), we will be the first to admit that we swung and missed in a big way on several of our predictions. That is especially true in the small category, with many of the current awardees not even making it onto our radar.
Over the next few weeks, G2X will break down the New T4NG prime award winners who are certain to be household names within the Federal Health IT community over the course of the next few years.
Last week, in the first part of this series, we identified three small firms whom we recognized very early on that we had missed, but, in hindsight, were clearly well positioned. Today, we highlight three more firms who we should have seen coming and just didn’t.
With a leadership team that has more than 120 years of VA experience, it is safe to say that this 3-year old company was not sitting around waiting on the T4NG announcement, but instead spent nearly 18 months strategically assembling a team with deep insider knowledge of Federal Health IT tools, platforms, and systems; and outsider expertise in commercial healthcare, technology and user-centric design. Leveraging experience gained from executing work on 30+ projects across all areas of VA, Liberty was able to differentiate themselves from the competition by expressing their understanding that T4NG is about more than just developing software. As this CMMI Level 3 certified firm prepares to transition from their Agile software development center to a 40,000 square foot facility in Melbourne, FL, it is clear that Liberty is intent on being one of the major players on this important contract and given how far they have come in a short period of time, we wouldn’t bet against them.
Favor TechConsulting, LLC (FTC), Arlington, VA
Unlike some small awardees who are predominantly VA focused, this fast rising Information Management and IT services provider, led by President and CEO, Colonel Vaseal V. Montgomery, US Army, Retired, and former Office of the Surgeon General CIO; maintains a broad set of prime contract work across VA, DHA, CMS, DHS, DoD, and the Intelligence Community. Following her thirty plus years of experience in the Military Healthcare environment, Vaseal made it her personal mission to enhance and improve health care for Veterans, with a focus on progressing EHR interoperability. ”With expertise in all varieties of Agile Methodology, FTC is an active contractor within both OI&T and VHA, supporting Software Development, Data Strategy, PMO Support, and IT Infrastructure Support. FTC has been one of the more aggressive firms on the hiring front as they continue to add key personnel with extensive T4 Prime experience in preparation for T4NG. And given their extensive military and health IT background and perspective, FTC is well positioned to be a major player competing for tasks early on.
You need to look no further than the leadership team bios for this SDVOSB to recognize that this firm came to win T4NG using very different tactics than the competition. What you won’t find is a handful of established former VA T4 leaders, VA capture experts, or former senior VA executives. While in 2015, Intelligent Waves acquired a prime spot on the 5-year $5.3 billion Commodities Enterprise Contract (CEC) that VA uses to purchase hardware, software, and associated value-added services, you won’t find that their website is filled with past examples of how they have supported VA to solve some of their most pressing IT issues. What you will find is a company who has proven they know how to deliver on challenging programs across the Federal market and whose executive team is dedicated to serving the Veteran community by leading Warriors Ethos, an organization dedicated to providing assistance in the career planning, professional development, and placement of Wounded Service Members, Veterans, and their families throughout their transition. It will be fascinating to see how Intelligent Waves fares early on as they adjust to the T4NG environment, but something tells us that, in the same way they won T4NG their own way, they will adjust quickly and carve their own path to find success.
Up Next: TISTA Science and Technology Corp, The Informatics Applications Group Inc. (tiag), and Ellumen Inc.
