In a previous podcast, we heard about ways federal agencies can enjoy continued success with long term technology projects as we move into the New Year, 2017. Mr. Jay McCargo, President and CEO of ARServices, shared some examples of work at the Defense Logistics Agency and specific tools he expects many agencies to continue to implement and expand in order to drive performance and reduce costs.

In the second half of our conversation, we talked about what it’s like for agencies managing multi-year projects to embrace new technologies in the middle of the work stream. McCargo emphasized that the ease or difficulty of this sort of change is largely dependent on the unique circumstances of the agency and their respective contractor. When considering embracing new technologies, the effort can be relatively simple with the right mindset and the appropriate contract type.

For agencies considering new technologies for an existing project, McCargo offered some advice for balancing existing plans with new approaches. “In this time of restricted budgets, look at proven technologies…look at commercial off the shelf (COTS) solutions.” According to McCargo, proven COTS solutions allow changes to be made in a more cost effective and timely way.

“There are always new challenges from the requirements side and from the mission side,” he continued. There are still proven, effective and achievable ways to achieve innovation in the process. “The innovation should be in the delivery and the service that government agencies provide and the missions they execute,” he concluded.

To learn more about how federal agencies and contractors are able to achieve innovation within existing projects and programs, listen to the podcast below.