The Peel

The end of the federal fiscal year is here—and in GovCon, that can feel a lot like a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. The opportunities are moving fast, but simply chasing everything that hits the market isn't a winning strategy.

In this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire and ENcompass Consulting Group's CEO, Eric Nusbaum, talk about how contractors can finish FY26 strong while positioning themselves for FY27. Eric shares practical strategies for tilting the table in your favor, from leveraging customer relationships and differentiating your capabilities to making it easier for government buyers to access what you offer.

They also tackle the realities of quick-turn September bids, including how to spot opportunities that may favor an incumbent, prepare go-to teaming partners, use AI responsibly in proposal development, and add surge support when your internal team is stretched thin.

Looking ahead, Eric breaks down what contractors should expect from OASIS+, MDA SHIELD and SEWP VI, along with three issues to watch closely in FY27: CMMC, increased use of OTAs and CSOs, and potentially significant changes to SBA small business size standards.

SBA proposed a new rule on SB sizes. Depending on how this turns out, it could have a massive impact on the entire federal contracting industry. Make sure you submit comments on this by Sept 21. Click here to provide your feedback.

To connect with Eric, visit him on LinkedIn here.

Cybersecurity can’t be something added at the end of a project. In this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire sits down with Kevin Spease, President and Co-Founder of ISSE Services, to talk about why security requirements need to be integrated much earlier in the systems development lifecycle.

Kevin breaks down where friction often appears when teams try to translate frameworks like NIST and RMF into practical engineering requirements, why developers and cybersecurity teams can sometimes find themselves at odds, and what security professionals can do differently to become enablers instead of blockers.

The conversation also explores what happens after a system goes live. How do organizations maintain compliance while continuing to respond to new vulnerabilities and emerging threats? And how can cybersecurity teams stay involved in change management without simply showing up with another “no”?

For anyone working in cybersecurity, systems engineering, federal IT, or mission-critical environments, this episode offers a practical look at building security into the process from the very beginning.

To connect with Kevin, follow her on LinkedIn here.

AI is moving fast. Federal acquisition isn’t always built to. So what happens when the two collide?

David recently connected with Matt Colantonio, Product Manager for Quantify at AlphaSix and a former senior Federal acquisition leader who brings more than 15 years of firsthand experience navigating the very challenges agencies are now looking to technology to help solve.

Matt’s perspective matters. Before joining AlphaSix, he served as a Contracting Officer and held senior acquisition and digital transformation roles, including serving as Chief of Staff for the Senior Procurement Executive within the State Department’s Global Acquisition organization. He knows Federal acquisition from the inside. The processes, the pressures, the workforce challenges, and the realities that can make meaningful transformation difficult.

Now he is bringing that experience to AlphaSix, helping translate years of Federal acquisition expertise into technology built around how government acquisition actually works.

That makes for a timely conversation.

David and Matt dig into what Matt sees differently now that he has worked on both sides of the acquisition equation, what AlphaSix is building with its Q-Suite and AI-powered Quantify platform, and what “AI-native” acquisition could mean in practice.

They take on some of the biggest questions facing Federal acquisition leaders right now. Can AI become a trusted collaborator for the acquisition workforce? How should agencies think about buying versus building? What does workforce transformation actually require? And beyond the hype, what could agentic AI realistically do inside the acquisition process?

For Federal acquisition and GovCon leaders trying to understand where this is going, this is a chance to hear from someone who spent more than 15 years inside the system and is now helping build what comes next.

To connect with Matt, follow him on LinkedIn here.

Breaking into government contracting takes more than a great capability and a desire to win federal work. It takes an understanding of how the acquisition process actually works.

On this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire sits down with acquisition professional Reggie Mitchell for a candid conversation about what small businesses need to know before pursuing the federal market. Reggie shares why GovCon isn’t simply a place to find contracts—it’s a process—and why understanding acquisition rules, agency needs, procurement methods, and the people involved can make the difference between spinning your wheels and building a real strategy.

They explore the expectations new contractors often get wrong, the importance of targeting agencies that actually need what you sell, and why small business professionals can be valuable advocates and entry points into an agency. Reggie also breaks down the different roles of program, contracting, and small business professionals, and why companies need to understand who they’re talking to before walking into that critical meeting.

To connect with Reggie, follow him on LinkedIn here.

To connect with Eric, visit him on LinkedIn here.

To connect with Dan, visit him on LinkedIn here.

To connect with Katie, visit her on LinkedIn here.

On this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire sits down with Colton Christensen, co-founder of CloudSpark, to talk about the company’s journey from startup to newly awarded NASA SEWP VI Category A prime contract holder. The win gives CloudSpark the opportunity to prime on one of the federal government’s most widely used technology acquisition vehicles and marks what Colton describes as the beginning of the company’s next chapter.

Colton shares how relationships, persistence, and a willingness to do the hard work helped CloudSpark gain traction in the federal market. The conversation also explores SparkSight, the company’s market intelligence platform designed to help OEM partners identify opportunities earlier, and why CloudSpark is focused on using AI to find opportunities before they hit the bid stage.

From building a business alongside his father to preparing to leverage SEWP VI and eventually expand into services, this episode offers a look at what it takes to grow a small business in GovCon while playing the long game.

To connect with Colton, follow him on LinkedIn here.

David Blackburn recently connected with Brittany Winkler of GovDash to discuss the trends, data, and competitive shifts that are reshaping the federal contracting landscape.

GovDash continues to advance as an autonomous AI platform purpose-built for government contractors, bringing opportunity identification, capture, proposal development, and contract management together in a single end-to-end platform. Alongside that evolution, GovDash has been expanding its investment in market intelligence, publishing research and data-driven insights that help contractors understand not just where opportunities exist, but where the market is headed.

Brittany has been helping lead those efforts, and GovDash's latest report takes a deep dive into the FY2027 landscape. Together, David and Brittany explore what record defense spending actually means once the headlines fade, how contractors can identify and position for more than $200 billion in pre-RFP opportunities before the broader market catches on, and why evolving requirements like CMMC, FedRAMP 20X, and AI governance are becoming strategic differentiators that could determine who is positioned to compete for tomorrow's work.

Whether you're a CEO shaping growth strategy, a chief growth officer planning your pipeline, or a capture leader looking for an edge, this conversation offers practical insights into where the market is moving and how leading organizations are using better data, stronger intelligence, and AI to stay ahead of the competition.

Give it a listen.

To connect with Brittany, follow her on LinkedIn here.

On this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire sits down with Brenda Blunt, Senior Director at ORAU and former CMS Division Director, for a conversation about the future of healthcare and what it will take to build healthier, more resilient communities. Drawing on her experience in both the clinical and federal sectors, Brenda explores why prevention is finally taking center stage, how nutrition and education can improve long-term health outcomes, and why "food as medicine" is becoming a critical part of the healthcare conversation.

The discussion also dives into ORAU's role in strengthening the nation's healthcare workforce, preparing communities for public health challenges, and advancing research that improves resilience across the country. Brenda shares details about ORAU's new Rural Health Research Innovation Cluster, designed to bring together researchers, universities, industry, and government to address workforce shortages, access to care, emergency preparedness, and women's health in rural America.

If you're interested in the future of public health, healthcare innovation, or how collaboration can drive better outcomes for communities, this episode offers valuable insights into where healthcare is headed next.

To connect with Brenda, follow her on LinkedIn here.

Is the CMMC program really on pause—or is that just one of the biggest misconceptions circulating through the defense contracting community?

In this episode of The Peel, Shelley McGuire and ENcompass Consulting Group's CEO, Eric Nusbaum, separate fact from fiction following the Department of Defense's announcement to pause Phase 2 of the CMMC rollout. Together, they break down what the pause actually means, the difference between CMMC levels and phases, and why Phase 1 requirements remain very much in effect.

The conversation tackles some of the most common myths contractors are asking about, including whether CMMC has been canceled, if companies should stop implementing cybersecurity controls, whether compliance is prohibitively expensive, and how the government is responding to industry feedback. Eric also shares practical recommendations for navigating self-assessments, preparing for potential audits, and avoiding costly compliance mistakes while the future of Phase 2 is being evaluated.

If you're a defense contractor or planning to enter the Defense Industrial Base, this episode provides the clarity you need to understand what's changing, what's staying the same, and what steps you should be taking right now.

The CMMC Reform Task Force has an open RFI to collect more feedback: Click here to view. Make sure to respond by Aug 14!

To connect with Eric, visit him on LinkedIn here.

David Blackburn recently connected with Adam Furtado, Vice President of Enablement at Rise8, for a conversation about one of the biggest shifts underway in federal technology. Adam's career spans the U.S. Air Force, the Department of the Navy, Kessel Run, startup leadership, and now Rise8, where he helps organizations transform how they build and deliver software for critical missions.

Rise8 has emerged as one of the federal market's leading voices on modern software delivery. As a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, the company is helping agencies and contractors move beyond legacy development models by combining modern engineering, product thinking, and human-centered design to continuously deliver software that improves mission outcomes. Their mission is both simple and ambitious. Create a future where fewer bad things happen because of bad software.

In this episode, David and Adam explore why AI-assisted software development is generating so much attention, what many organizations misunderstand about adopting it, and how federal teams can embrace these capabilities without compromising security, quality, or mission success. They also discuss why hands-on learning, modern engineering practices, and organizational culture may be just as important as the technology itself.

Whether you're a government technology leader, software engineer, program executive, digital transformation leader, or GovCon executive trying to understand where software development is headed, this conversation offers practical insight into how forward-looking organizations are preparing for the next generation of mission delivery and what that could mean for the federal market in the years ahead.

Learn more about Prodacity and register to attend the event happening August 25-27 here.

To connect with Adam, follow him on LinkedIn here.