The AWS ICMP was created to equip US Intelligence Community agencies with technology and software that meets the highest security standards, like FOCI (Foreign Ownership Control and Influence). Every product is tested in air-gapped Secret and Top Secret regions, so the agencies can trust both the capability and security.
There are more than 60 vendors listed on the AWS ICMP, but far fewer have meaningful revenue. That’s where we come in.
Blue Ivy Partners is one of only very few VARs listed on the AWS ICMP, but we do more than just process orders and manage procurement. We support tech product companies by building a pipeline of qualified leads and helping close deals.
What Makes AWS ICMP Different from Commercial Cloud Marketplaces
The AWS ICMP isn’t the only IC Marketplace — Microsoft has the Azure Government Secret Marketplace — but there is far more business being done on the AWS ICMP.
Why? AWS was the first mover and primary cloud IaaS winner with the IC. With Amazon’s online marketplace being a world leader, the IC turned to them to build a "walled garden" marketplace for IC use.
This gave the IC a better path for acquisition than using prime contractors to perform procurement. Order transaction costs dropped 60% and order processing time dropped 75% – from 30 days to 7 days on average – with the AWS ICMP.
For agencies, the impact is timely purchasing that keeps up with product needs instead of the seasonality of Federal budgets and contracting.
Why AWS ICMP Approval Doesn't Generate Pipeline
Shopping on the AWS ICMP isn’t like holiday shopping on Amazon.com, but it still requires someone to identify a need, think which products come to mind first, research the options, and begin engaging with those product companies.
Browsing the ICMP, you’ll quickly realize that a listing isn’t enough. There are xx number of products listed and it is challenging to understand what each does, how it is licensed and how much it will cost you.
Yes, product companies can get listed on their own. But is that enough to become a valuable part of a customer’s mission application?
Requirements for Intelligence Community Revenue
Federal government sales always start with product-mission fit. How well can you articulate the value and promise of the technology in terms that fit an IC mission? Our team at Blue Ivy has been doing it for years and knows what resonates.
How? Because of requirement #2: having trusted relationships with program managers. These are the people with real budgets and deadlines to hit.
Before attempting to engage a program manager, it’s important to understand classification levels, air-gapped environments, specific agency structures, budgets, and more.
If the opportunity makes it to the later stages, experience in procurement becomes critical. From contract vehicles and authorization processes to FedRAMP security requirements and supply chain risk management, our team knows how to identify requirements, align products to those requirements, navigate the process and maximize speed. Our trusted relationships make it possible.
Why Tech Companies Struggle to Build IC Sales Teams
Similar to the “Build vs Buy” decisions that companies make, building a Federal IC Sales team has huge challenges:
- Finding candidates with IC sales performance, security clearances, the right technical expertise, and warm relationships
- Hire and onboard salespeople who can begin to generate pipeline that may not close for 12–18 months
- Betting big on a person who commands competitive compensation and benefits, with no assurance of performance
In the meantime, how many revenue opportunities are you missing?
Beyond revenue, how will the brand’s reputation and IC relationships fare if the first attempt results in little to no revenue, or a poorly qualified pipeline?
How a Federal IC Sales Partner Cuts Time-to-Revenue
For established public or well-capitalized technology companies, building an in-house team can work. But for early-stage, lesser-known or narrowly-defined segment products, partnering can have advantages:
- Existing access and cleared relationships
- Current pulse on emerging IC technology requirements
- Understanding of product-mission fit relative to the competition
- Experience with contract vehicles and procurement
- Gives partner the financial incentive to perform and lower your total financial risk
- Accountability to both the IC customer and tech product partners
It’s worth a conversation. Whether Blue Ivy Partners or someone else, ask questions like these:
- What active IC programs do you support?
- Which IC agencies do you specialize in, and why?
- How do you assess product-mission fit?
- How deep is your knowledge in our specific area of technology?
- How do you approach building qualified pipeline?
- What does your track record with similar tech product companies?
- How would we partner together?
- What resources do we need to commit in order to achieve our GTM objectives
- If this partnership goes well for the first 6 months, how do we continue to scale our Federal growth?
The bar is constantly being raised in the technology landscape and the US government — for all its challenges — is evolving to allow procurement pathways like the AWS ICMP to exist and benefit the people behind the missions.
If you’ve built a product that meets the high standards of the Intelligence Community, then the Defense and Civilian agencies are other large addressable markets.
However, getting listed on the AWS ICMP isn’t enough. Let’s talk about how to connect with IC program managers with real budgets, and how to build your Federal IC sales pipeline.