GovTest Government Test & Measurement Business & Procurement » GSA

Technical Communities and Primex Wireless Sign Government Services Partnership

Ali Cheung — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:02:55 +0000

Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, today announced a new government services partnership agreement with Primex Wireless, the leading provider of solutions to automate and maintain facility compliance.

Under the agreement, Technical Communities will have exclusive rights to offer Primex Wireless facility monitoring solutions on GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service Worldwide Schedules. The Synchronous Network System (SNS^TM) is a single platform with web-based software that gives facility managers unprecedented capabilities for time synchronization, wireless sensor monitoring, automated emergency light testing, automatic email alerting, and accurate event logging. SNS is one of the first wireless platforms on the market that helps facility managers improve efficiency in clock synchronization, school bell systems, and environmental sensor monitoring by using their existing Wi-Fi networks. Primex Wireless’ solutions maximize the benefits of an organization’s existing IT infrastructure and reduce the need for any additional IT capital expenditures.

“Technical Communities provides proven go-to-market solutions for Primex Wireless to sell into the government market,” said Paul Shekoski, CEO of Primex Family of Companies. “This partnership will enable Primex Wireless to more effectively serve the government market with our SNS compliance management and time synchronization solutions.”

“Technical Communities is excited to offer the federal government cost-effective facility monitoring solutions from Primex Wireless,” said Peter Ostrow, President and CEO of Technical Communities. “We have a total commitment to create the most effective public sector buying and selling opportunities for industry-leading organizations such as Primex Wireless.”

Primex Wireless products will be offered to eligible entities under General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) managed by Technical Communities, which will provide Primex Wireless with sales support, demand generation, marketing and reporting services. Primex Wireless products are available for purchase through the GSA’s e-commerce web site, www.gsaadvantage.gov, and the company’s own online marketplaces, www.gsamart.com and www.testmart.com.

Oracle settles $200M claim of failing to offer government best price

Travis Wheeler — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 20:25:49 +0000

Oracle Corp. will pay $199.5 million to settle claims that it lied about sales practices and discounts and ultimately cost the government millions of dollars in higher prices, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

Oracle, based in Redwood City, Calif., was awarded a contract in 1998 to sell software licenses and technical support to government agencies through the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program, which allows companies to sell to multiple agencies under one contract.

To be awarded an MAS contract, contractors must agree to disclose commercial pricing policies and practices. Oracle’s contract also included a price reduction clause, which required the company to offer greater discounts to the government than it did its commercial customers.

The settlement resolves a False Claims Act lawsuit that alleges Oracle intentionally gave GSA inaccurate information about discounts it gave to commercial customers and failed to pass those discounts on to the government.

It is the largest False Claims Act settlement that GSA has ever obtained, according to the Justice Department.

“It’s more important now than ever before to make sure that taxpayer dollars are not wasted on higher prices,” GSA Inspector General Brian Miller said in a statement. “We will not let contractors victimize the taxpayers by hiding their best prices.”

Oracle denies any wrongdoing, company spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger said in an email.

“The company has always had strong controls in place to insure that the government agencies who purchased from the GSA schedule received fair pricing,” she said.

Given the amount of time since the contract was awarded, many witnesses are no longer available or do not clearly recall the events, Hellinger said. Oracle settled to “avoid the distraction and high cost of litigation,” she said.

Full article by Sarah Chacko, Federal Times

Technical Communities and Falcon Electric Sign Government Services Partnership

Ali Cheung — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:00:29 +0000

Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, today announced a new government services partnership agreement with Falcon Electric, Inc., an award-winning manufacturer of uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) and power conversion solutions.

The partnership agreement authorizes Technical Communities to distribute Falcon Electric UPSs, frequency converters and AC voltage regulators. Some top products include:

SSG Series UPS, which features a 0 to 55C operating range, in sizes of 1.5kVA, 2.2kVA and 3kVA, in both tower and rack-mount form factors

SSG Series UPS, which features a -20C to 65C operating range, in sizes of 1kVA, 1.5kVA, 2kVA, 2.5kVA and 3kVA

“Our SSG Series UPS has proven to be a very successful product, in terms of sales beating our forecasted demand for several quarters,” said Ron Seredian, Vice President of Marketing at Falcon Electric, Inc. “We are addressing an issue that has become a chronic problem – frequency of battery replacement – by ruggedizing the UPS with components designed for heat.”

An example is the UPS’ battery, which is designed to operate for 4 years at 50C and an astonishing 10-12 years at room temperature. A standard battery – the type virtually all our competitors use – lasts about 6-8 months at 50C.

Falcon Electric products are under General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) managed by Technical Communities, which will provide content, transaction, marketing, sales support, and reporting services around them. Technical Communities also will provide presentation and order processing through the GSA’s e-commerce web site, www.gsaadvantage.gov, and the company’s own online marketplaces, www.gsamart.com and www.testmart.com.

Technical Communities and TEGAM Sign Government Services Partnership

Ali Cheung — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:28:41 +0000

Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, today announced a new government services partnership agreement with TEGAM, Inc., an internationally recognized developer of RF measurement and calibration systems.

The partnership agreement authorizes Technical Communities to distribute and market TEGAM’s test, measurement and calibration instrumentation. Some top products include:
• PM Series 50 GHz Power Sensor Calibration System
• 2300 Series Amplifiers for Arbitrary Waveform Generators
• 4040A PXI Instrumentation Amplifier and Signal Conditioner
• 1750/BAT Portable Microohmmeter that replaces the Keithley 580
• AVM-2000 Isolated Nanovolt Null Meter

TEGAM products are under General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) managed by Technical Communities, which will provide content, transaction, marketing, sales support, and reporting services around them. Technical Communities also will provide presentation and order processing through the GSA’s e-commerce web site, www.gsaadvantage.gov, and the company’s own online marketplaces, www.gsamart.com, www.testmart.com, and www.navicpmart.com.

Technical Communities and MegaPhase Sign Government Services Partnership

Ali Cheung — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:21:35 +0000

Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, today announced a new government services partnership agreement with MegaPhase, LLC., a designer, manufacturer and provider of high performance RF coaxial cables and connectors.

The partnership agreement authorizes Technical Communities to distribute test & measurement cables, RF cables, connectors and adapters from MegaPhase. Some popular product series include:

SiteLine™ Armored Test SL series cable: Offering GrooveTube® performance, it is a rugged armored cable assembly for on-site field testing using portable network analyzers.

VNA Test VN series cable: Utilizing GrooveTube® technology, it is a rugged precision test cable to be used on microwave network analyzers and a low cost alternative to OEM test cable.

RF Orange™ TM series cable: Offering GrooveTube® performance, it is a cost effective solution for test applications including ATE/ATS and BERT/scalar/spectrum.

MegaPhase products are under General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) managed by Technical Communities, which will provide content, transaction, marketing, sales support, and reporting services around them. Technical Communities also will provide presentation and order processing through the GSA’s e-commerce web site, www.gsaadvantage.gov, and the company’s own online marketplaces, www.gsamart.com, www.testmart.com, and www.navicpmart.com.

Researching the GSA Schedule Market

Travis Wheeler — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:21:57 +0000

When considering the cost and benefit of pursuing a GSA Schedule contract, whether it is your first contract or your next one, the question always comes up as to what is the size of the market? Is the potential sales benefit worth the cost of pursuing and the maintaining the GSA Schedule contract? Fortunately, GSA makes it relatively easy to figure out the GSA contract market in a general sense, less so in a specific sense.

The place to start is GSA’s own web pages. You need some basic information before you start into trying to determine market size. First you need to learn which GSA Schedule contract you are interested in pursuing. Start your research at the GSA E-Library www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov. There is a link there on the right to the GSA Schedules listing. This is a list of all of the GSA schedules and what they cover. Or you can enter a search term representing the products or services you wish to research and let the search engine suggest schedules.

After selecting the GSA Schedule you need to determine the GSA Special Item Number or SIN that covers the specific products or services. For example, if I wanted to check the market for access control systems that are on entryways, I would find that they are Schedule 84, SIN 246 35 1 or 246 35 2 depending on whether they were proximity or other type systems. If I wanted to find out who already had those types of contracts, I could click on the SIN links and see the list of contract holders. I could also click on any of those contract holders and see what they offered and at what prices.

With this information the next step is to go to the GSA Schedule Sales Query (SSQ) tool to begin the market size research – https://ssq.gsa.gov/. Select “Create Report” and proceed to the report selection page. The SSQ report generator allows you to quickly select a preformatted report of the GSA Schedule sales. GSA offers eleven report formats. Some of the reports will instruct you to select a Schedule number, a Fiscal Year, a Contract number, or a Company name that you found from your search of the E-Library. The report formats are:

1. All Schedules by Fiscal Year

2. All Schedules by all Available Fiscal Years

3. SIN & Schedule Totals by Fiscal Year

4. All Contract Sales by Schedule by Fiscal Year

5. Schedule Sales Grand Total by Quarter by Fiscal Year

6. Total for All Quarters by Contractor by Fiscal Year

7. Total by Quarter & SIN by Contract Number and Fiscal Year

8. Total for Each Quarter for a Specific SIN by Fiscal Year

9. Total by Quarter & Contract for a Specific Contractor and Fiscal Year

10. Total by Contractor for a Specific Schedule and Fiscal Year

11. All Sales by Fiscal Year for a Specific SIN Number

Selecting a report sample helps determine if that report will provide the information you require.

SSQ presents sales figures as reported to GSA by contractors. The reports are generated as quarterly reports for the current year and the past five fiscal years. The sales data reported are updated as contractors’ reports are received 30 days after the end of the quarter, but the data may not be up to date as it relies on the self-reporting of the contractors. The data is also only provided at the schedule, contractor and /or SIN level. This does not give you information about the market for a specific product, only a product type. However, GSA does provide the most accurate information available as to the GSA Schedule contract marketplace and it’s free. Happy hunting!

Things to Do Now:

Research the GSA Schedule marketplace for your products or services.

Determine if the market is sufficient for the investment into a GSA Schedule contract.

Subscribe to GovContracts to receive notices of federal opportunities (http://search.govcontractsmagazine.com/contracts/fbosearch.cfm)

To expand the government’s ability to access your products without worrying about the market size you can get your items on a GSA Schedule contract.

Locate partners now such as Technical Communities who will act for you in the market.

Make sure they have full access to the products or services that are in demand for the government markets.

Attend Anritsu’s complimentary Techtime Tour seminar

Travis Wheeler — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:54:52 +0000

Presented by Anritsu Company, the Techtime Tour is a complimentary full-day educational seminar focused on the applications of Vector Network Analyzers (VNAs). Material is presented by industry experts and includes both lecture and live demonstrations.

Locations / Dates

Santa Clara, CA – Tuesday, April 12 at the Hilton Santa Clara
Irvine, CA – Thursday, April 14 at the Irvine Marriott
Dallas, TX – Tuesday, May 3 at the Embassy Suites Dallas Park Central
Austin, TX – Thursday, May 5 at the Hilton Austin
Parsippany, NJ – Tuesday, May 17 at the Embassy Suites Parsippany
Chelmsford, MA – Thursday, May 19 at the Radisson Chelmsford-Lowell

Time: 9:00am-4:30pm

What topics are covered?

-Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) Fundamentals
-Advanced Amplifier Design and Test
-Advanced Time Domain Techniques
-Co-Simulation with Real-Time Channel Measurements

All attendees will receive a copy of Anritsu’s latest book “The Essentials of Vector Network Analysis” valued at $50 and be entered into a drawing for a Kindle™.

More Info

Free Gov-Only Field Trial 4-Channel 600 MHz Oscilloscope: LeCroy Waverunner 64Xi-A-N

Michael Fox — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:20:39 +0000

U.S. Government, military and prime contractors can now get a free demo on the 4-Channel 600 MHz Oscilloscope: LeCroy Waverunner 64Xi-A-N.

The LeCroy WaveRunner 64Xi-A-N is the most powerful and capable scope available in its class. Basic system validation using advanced triggers, fast viewing modes, measurement parameters, or serial decodes is simple and easy. Advanced debug, multi-domain analysis, and waveshape analysis are possible with tools unique to WaveRunner 64Xi-AN. equipped with a 10.4″ Color touch screen display and multiple functionality features the 64Xi-AN is up to the task.

U.S. Government, military and prime contractor facilities only

No obligation, costs or hidden fees

Free shipping to and from your facility

Limited slots available

Open dates and product datasheet

Schedule a free 7-day field trial

Call GSAMart toll free at (888) 665-2765 x3745 or Sign up

Technical Communities and Ideal Industries Sign Government Services Partnership

Ali Cheung — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:53:09 +0000

Technical Communities, Inc., the company technical organizations who sell to the government rely on for proven go-to-market solutions to grow sales, lower costs and reduce risks, announces government services partnership agreement with Ideal Industries, Inc., a worldwide leader in electrical and data communications tools and supplies.

The agreement authorizes Technical Communities to distribute Ideal Industries products, including HeatSeeker^TM handheld thermal imager, LanTEK® cable certifier series, FiberTEK® fiber certifier series, SignalTEK^TM cable performance tester series, SecruiTEST^TM CCTV tester series, TightSight^TM clamp meter series, SureTest® circuit analyzer series, OTDR series, circuit tracer series, power analyzer series, and E-Z check receptacle tester series. More product information is available at http://ideal.testmart.com.

“We are excited to work with Technical Communities as a channel partner to better serve our government customers. Their extensive client list and strong technical sales/support capabilities make them a natural fit for our marketing and sales efforts,” said Jason Butchko, VP/GM Networks Division of Ideal Industries, Inc.

“Technical Communities is excited to offer the federal government an even broader array of high quality technical products,” said Peter Ostrow, President and CEO of Technical Communities. “We will continue to optimize the GSA buying and selling experience for organizations such as Ideal Industries.”

Ideal Industries products are under General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedules (MAS) managed by Technical Communities, which will provide content, transaction, marketing, sales support, and reporting services around them. Technical Communities also will provide presentation and order processing through the GSA’s e-commerce web site, www.gsaadvantage.gov, and the company’s own online marketplaces, www.gsamart.com, www.testmart.com, and www.navicpmart.com.