Winning Government Contracts: 5 Trustmarks Every IT Vendor Must Have

To win government contracts, IT vendors must have certain trustmarks. When searching for a government IT vendor, you need to cut through the noise to find an IT team that can meet government regulations. Here are the trustmarks to look for:

What to Look for in Your Government IT Vendor

1. References

This first point is a bit counterintuitive; why wouldn't certifications come first? As Twinstate's Unified Defense Strategies Technical Manager Alex Insley puts it, "what better proof can you get than someone who is actually receiving services from that vendor indicating whether they’re happy or not?" Case studies might also be helpful here, but contacting a few current clients from each of your potential options should help you make the right selection.

2. Former Similar Clients

Former clients are not all that different from references, except that these clients should be incredibly similar to your own organization and reflect the vendor's ability to work within your industry and its standards. Find out if your potential vendor has current or former clients whose businesses require the same level of government certification as your own.

3. Certifications

Certifications are perhaps the most influential factor in your decision. If you run across a bullet list that details your prospective vendor's current certifications, that's an excellent sign -- but you'll also want to ensure they can prove they've done the work to earn those certifications, and will meet regulations as they work. If you can identify the set of regulations to which you need your vendor to adhere, they will be able to identify exactly where their organization's status stands on each and back that status up with documentation.

4. SLAs

Any government IT vendor you work with should be able to outline clear Service-level Agreements. If they can do this, you've taken a big step in the right direction, says Insley. Defined SLAs mean you can know for sure that the vendor is holding themselves to specific standards for requests for support and minimizing downtime.

5. Experience

The vendor's experience is another important factor, and different than "former similar clients" and "references" in that a vendor may have decades of experience in government IT, and should be able to identify and communicate where that experience is helpful to you. If your prospective vendor has very little experience, it's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but they are less likely to have built a strong list of certifications and a library of knowledge than are those who have been in the business for years.

Take Your Pick

Whichever vendor you choose, be sure to vet them thoroughly. Government IT isn't something you want to trust to just anyone, but with a clear understanding of your prospect's certifications, former clients, SLAs and experience, you'll have a much easier time picking the right vendor to handle your needs.