Carlen Capenos, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency‘s Office of Small Business Programs, said the agency is promoting different measures to foster good working relationships with the small business community, C4ISRNet reported Tuesday.
In an interview with with C4ISRNet’s Brandon Knapp, Capenos said the agency has formulated its systems engineering, technology and innovation requirements to cater to small businesses and encourage them to work for the Defense Department.
To help smaller firms adhere to the DoD’s federal contracting standards, DISA conducts monthly seminars and gives primers on how to reach the qualifications that the department is looking for, Capenos said.
She noted that when it comes to spurring new technologies, small firms readily deliver; however, when it comes to addressing cybersecurity issues, some small businesses still find it challenging due to expense considerations.
“The challenge really is for DISA to keep up with small business. We need to learn how to be more flexible and less stagnant on how we approach small business, how we get them under contract, how we utilize [Other Transaction Authorities], and those are things we are working on,” Capenos said.
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