The White House wants to improve technology across government agencies. And that could lead to some opportunities for small businesses.
Inside the White House Tech Summit
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, said at the White House Tech Summit Monday, “We will foster a new set of startups focused on [government] tech and be the new global leader in the field, making government more transparent and responsive to citizens’ needs.”
The White House Tech Summit featured a meeting of the American Technology Council and some big names in the tech world, including Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Jeff Bezos, founder an CEO of Amazon and investor Peter Thiel, among others.
But small businesses also may want to pay attention to what came out of this event. Specifically, the government wants to modernize its technology by leveraging the creativity of the private sector. So tech startups that provide things like cloud programs and cybersecurity could have more opportunities for government contracts in the coming years.
The feds only recently hit some of their small business contracting goals, which aim to award at least 23 percent of government contracts to U.S. small businesses. But according to at least one advocacy group, the government is still short-changing small businesses when it comes to awarding those contracts.
This push for updated tech could take a while to enact across all government agencies. But if it leads to more government contracting opportunities for small businesses, it may well be worth the wait.
Jared Kushner Photo via Shutterstock
This article, “White House Tech Summit Good News for Small Businesses? Hope So!” was first published on Small Business Trends