It’s been called the Match.com of the government contracting community. Recently, mySBX, a Reston, Va.-based online community that allows government contractors to find qualified partners and land new opportunities, was acquired by Deltek. The latter company is a provider of enterprise applications software and solutions for government and commercial businesses.

Deltek’s acquisition significantly expands the company’s reach into government contracting. “Government contractors use mySBX every day to partner with subcontractors, collaborate on bids, comply with government requirements, and share best practices,” said Kevin Parker, president and CEO of Deltek. “We will invest in mySBX to further the value of this dynamic community and to deliver innovative solutions for our customers,” he adds.

Industry expert Greg Baroni (right) sees the purchase as further evidence of the importance of serving the government contracting market “as focused vertical.” “For each of the parties involved in the transaction, it’s a big win,” says Baroni, who serves as chairman and CEO of Eclat, a McLean, Va.-based company that offers a range of services to more than 100 customers in the Federal, State and Local, and Higher Education and Nonprofit markets.

Baroni adds: “For Deltek, it solidifies their position as the premier enterprise solution provider serving this market. And for mySBX, Deltek will provide them an incredible market channel and resources.  Another dimension of this transaction that may generate some excitement is that it provides further evidence that activity in this marketplace may really be heating up.”

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A few years back, Blue Canopy Group caught a break. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) needed a partner to provide an integrator tool for a lucrative contract with the Environmental Protection Agency. Blue Canopy was a small firm, and faced the challenge shared by many under-the-radar subcontractors: getting noticed by large system integrators and contractors like CSC.

Blue Canopy, as its president Jeff White told it to FCW, caught a break because a CSC executive recalled that Blue Canopy had done great work for a previous employer. One thing led to another and Blue Canopy snagged a five-year contract for the EPA. And while the end result was favorable, one has to wonder if Blue Canopy would have had a chance if not for the executive’s memory; not because they weren’t qualified for the work and available to staff it, but because Blue Canopy would not have known CSC had this need and for their part CSC would not have known Blue Canopy could fill it.

For the outside observer tracking the staggering dollar figures that flow annually between the government, large contractors and small businesses, it is easy to overlook the inefficiencies inherent to the system. Agency dollars unspent, small business staffing resources left idle on the bench, and the inability of large providers to identify teaming partners outside their subcontractor network – as was the case in the example above – were all pain points White witnessed first hand from the time he founded Blue Canopy in 2001 to the day he sold it five years later.

He knew there had to be a better way. Enter mySBX.

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