Home
VA IT Market Intelligence & Advisory
You need to know how VA buys before you can sell to them.
FedSmarts gives technology companies the inside knowledge — organizational dynamics, buying patterns, program priorities, and procurement strategy — to compete and win in the Department of Veterans Affairs IT market.
What makes VA different
VA is not just another federal agency
With more than $5 billion in annual IT spending and a portfolio that spans AI pilots, EHR modernization, cloud migration, cybersecurity, and benefits systems, VA’s Office of Information and Technology operates at a scale and complexity that few agencies match. The organizational structure is layered, the leadership dynamics are consequential, and the procurement vehicles — Alliant, IHT, T4NG2, SPRUCE, VETS2, and others — each carry their own rules, relationships, and competitive dynamics.
Most technology companies approach VA the same way they approach every other federal customer. That’s why most of them underperform.
The FedSmarts edge
Insider intelligence, structured and scored
Most VA IT advisors give you a briefing. FedSmarts gives you a weapon.
CaptureSmarts is a proprietary capture intelligence platform built specifically for VA IT pursuits. It structures decades of inside knowledge about how VA buys, who influences decisions, and where the competition is vulnerable — into a scored, actionable framework your capture team can run on immediately.
Capture Scorecard
16 weighted sections scored against your time to RFP. Benchmarked thresholds at Draft RFP and RFP release. No more guessing how ready you are.
Stakeholder Map
Every key VA relationship mapped by impact and engagement stage. Gap scores that tell you exactly who to call first and why.
Competitive Win-Points Model
A structured analysis of every competitor in the VA IT market — their strengths, their vulnerabilities, and your realistic win probability.
Private Infrastructure
CaptureSmarts runs on an air-gapped private server. No cloud. No third-party AI. Your capture intelligence — competitor analysis, stakeholder relationships, pricing strategy — stays yours.
The FedSmarts difference
This is not generic federal consulting
Bill James spent his career inside VA’s IT organization — including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Development and Operations in VA’s Office of Information and Technology. Before that, he served as the senior IT civilian in the Air Force Office of the CIO at the Pentagon as a member of the Senior Executive Service.
FedSmarts clients don’t get a briefing deck assembled from public sources. They get a peer who knows the organization, knows the programs, and knows what actually matters to the people making buying decisions.
Who we work with
Built for the people responsible for winning VA work
OEM Platform Vendors
Google, AWS, Microsoft, Oracle Health, Pega, Splunk, and others looking to grow or defend their VA footprint — from understanding the OIT buying stack to navigating enterprise license negotiations.
Systems Integrators & Small Businesses
Alliant or T4NG2 primes and subs, SPRUCE holders, and firms pursuing IHT or VETS2 work who need real account intelligence, teaming strategy, and capture positioning — not generic BD coaching.
BD Directors & Capture Managers
Account executives and capture teams who need someone in their corner who can pick up the phone and give them a straight read on an opportunity, a program, or a VA leader’s priorities.
Companies Breaking Into VA
Technology companies entering the VA market for the first time who need a realistic picture of the landscape, the right vehicle strategy, and a roadmap that accounts for how VA actually buys.