We are pleased to introduce Onvia as one of the newest members of the SIIA’s Content Division. From helping their clients obtain governments contracts to forecasting industry trends, Onvia is a dynamic group of forward-thinking minds that will provide valuable insight to our growing community. Learn more about what Senior Vice President Naveen Rajkumar has to say about Onvia and the information industry as a whole in this exclusive interview.
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Naveen Rajkumar, Senior VP & CIO, Onvia
Kathy: Tell me about Onvia. What exactly do you do?
Naveen: Onvia provides intelligence to win more government business. We are a leading provider of business information and research solutions that help companies plan, market and sell to government agencies throughout the United States. The business intelligence solutions we provide allows clients to identify and research new market opportunities, analyze market trends, and obtain valuable insights about their competitors and channel partners.
Kathy: What types of companies, if any, does Onvia like to partner with?
Naveen: All of our clients are considered partners since our objective is to form a long term strategic relationship with those companies with a strong enduring focus on the public sector. In addition we have channel partners who license and distribute segments of our content to their customers who are outside of our target audience. We are always interested in pursuing discussions with potential new channel partners.
Kathy: Who does Onvia sell to?
Naveen: Onvia sells to companies that have a strategy to sell to government agencies. It is amazing how many companies have some portion of their business focused on winning government contracts or working with partners who have government contracts. It is also surprising how many companies provide services and products that government agencies need. The government is the largest buyer in the US, especially at the state and local level. Agencies purchase every product and service you can imagine from A – Z (including IT services) so it is a very good area for companies to find business opportunities.
Kathy: What is unique about what you do?
Naveen: We are unique in the focus of our solution to provide intelligence to win more government business. In addition to publishing bidding opportunities we help companies find information on competitors, agencies, past purchase information pricing, future spending plans and other information they can use to create a strategy to win more contracts for their business and increase their revenue.
Kathy: What do you see as the biggest trends in the industry in the next 12-18 months?
Naveen: The biggest focus we see is on spending trends. Of course sequestration is having a large impact at the federal level so we are constantly monitoring the impact it is having on new contract awards, spending plans and competition for existing contracts. We focus mainly on the state and local level and one trend we are seeing at this level is continued spending, and in many cases increased spending. Good examples are for information technology that helps reduce costs and infrastructure projects that are vital to local economic growth and development.
Kathy Greenler Sexton, VP & GM, SIIA Content Division
Kathy: What do you hope to get out of your membership with the SIIA?
Naveen: We are a technology company and are always looking at ways to innovate to not only address our clients’ needs but to give them what they want before they want it. The SIIA is a great association to help monitor and understand how technology and software solutions are being applied. As a market leader we will always be at the forefront of the application of technology and software solutions so the SIIA is an excellent place for us to engage with other leaders to understand their needs and how they are applying technology. We also have a large focus on IT so many of our clients are also members and we want to make sure we are well aligned with them and the groups they are part of.
Naveen: We continually monitor government market trends and developments. Our blog is a great resource to keep up-to-date on trends and the ongoing education we provide both clients and prospects. It can be accessed at http://www.onvia.com/blog
Kathy: What are the best ways for people to get in touch with you?
Naveen: Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/Onvia
Company URL: www.onvia.com
How best to contact Onvia: smerric@onvia.com