Public Sector Industry Overview

When marketing to the public sector industry, including education markets, it is important to have a firm understanding of these public, government markets. The US Federal Government (including civilian and military / intelligence agencies) is the world’s largest IT spender. The US public sector has historically been ‘an area of explosive growth,’ and whatever changes are brought by near-term deceleration, this vertical still holds the undivided attention of technology vendors. Since the market has changed as a result of the global economy and US involvement in costly wars, suppliers need to respond by adjusting strategies and products, but there is ample opportunity for ‘development,’ according to pundits.

State and local governments also purchase large IT solutions. By far, systems integration represents the largest technology segment, followed by services, communications, hardware, and software.

After over a decade of implementing information technology solutions to facilitate delivery of services to citizens, the public sector has reached a new level of sophistication in regard to their use of technology. (This is, of course, a work in progress, as the US government continues its effort to become a more businesslike entity.) These technologies offer – in addition to opportunities for those who sell technology into the public sector – better delivery of government services to citizens, improved interactions with business and industry, easier access to information, and more efficient government management. The resulting benefits can be less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or cost reductions.

Public sector industry opportunities also include increased government spending into the ‘foreseeable future’ as well as whatever benefits can be netted by tech vendors around the government’s expended attention to environmental issues, notably climate change.

Challenges to the sector – simplified to US Government / economic for general purposes – come down to tax revenue (tied to the health of our greater economy) and our national debt, which, as of February of 2012, was equal to the value of our national economy.

As attractive as the public sector vertical is for technology vendors, it is also complex. Frantz Group has executed a variety of technology lead generation programs targeting federal, state and local government, as well as education (both K-12 and higher education), promoting a wide range of technologies and solutions. We are familiar with government technology procurement processes and decision-making structures, and know how to navigate or work around those processes as necessary to truly understand the business environment and current technology needs.