A small IT firm pursuing its first federal contract needs to find buyers that purchase work it can deliver. A contract to maintain a database or support an existing application may be a more useful starting point than a department's entire technology budget.
We used FedFathom to search for maintenance and support for existing business applications, including database administration, reporting, bug fixes, integrations, and user support. The search covered NAICS 541512 from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025 and returned 675 matching historical awards.
We reviewed the buyer and incumbent breakdowns, then checked two of the first ten results against their official award records. A separate USAspending analysis supplied the smaller-dollar examples below.
Where FedFathom found buyers
These agencies had the most matching awards in our search:
| Agency | Matching awards |
|---|---|
| Department of Defense | 263 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | 84 |
| Department of Transportation | 58 |
| Department of Homeland Security | 38 |
| Department of the Treasury | 26 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 26 |
The counts apply only to this search. We did not apply a dollar limit or assess every match for small-business suitability.
A firm with healthcare-system experience could start with the HHS records and look for a specific office buying comparable work. A company with transportation clients could do the same with the Transportation results.
FedFathom's incumbent breakdown included 34 matching awards for CDW Government and 30 for Accenture Federal Services. These firms may be worth researching as competitors or potential teaming partners, depending on the contract and the work.
Two GSA awards identify the office, systems, and incumbent
Two of the first ten relevance-ranked results were awards to Lifespring Resources from GSA's Public Buildings Service, R11 Building Services Division Center 2.
The 2022 contract describes a software interface between utility metering and billing systems at HOTD. The 2024 contract describes reporting and maintenance for a Telog enterprise data-acquisition system.
The same office and vendor appear in both records. We have not established that the 2024 contract replaced the 2022 contract.
Both official records report only-one-source procedures and no competition. Before pursuing similar work, check the acquisition history and current notices; these awards do not establish an open competition.
The amounts also require care. FedFathom displayed matched transaction obligations of $140,436 for the 2022 record and $152,664 for the 2024 record. USAspending reported total award obligations of $271,656 and $339,676, respectively, on the research date. A transaction can represent only part of a contract's history. Based on total obligations, neither award belongs on a list of contracts totaling $250,000 or less.
Three examples of smaller awards
Separately, we searched USAspending for new NAICS 541512 awards during FY2023-FY2025 with reported award amounts from $1 through $250,000. The search returned 17,094 awards. It used different filters and is not a subset of the 675 FedFathom matches.
Three records describe work worth examining:
| Buyer | Work described in the award | Recipient | Reported award amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Aviation Administration | Technical and administrative support for an existing management information system database | Orion America Technologies, LLC | $50,000 |
| National Institutes of Health | Support for a financial and strategic planning system | LCG Systems LLC | $249,993.36 |
| HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration | Site maintenance and upgrades for the USCDI+ platform | Sky Solutions LLC | $249,970.04 |
Official records: FAA database support, NIH system support, and HHS platform maintenance.
We selected these examples for their descriptions from two small samples of results. They do not establish the most common types of work or the largest buyers in this price range.
A company that maintains business applications could use the NIH record to investigate the system, incumbent, and contract used. A database specialist could use the FAA record to look for related requirements from the same office.
The descriptions can help a contractor decide whether to obtain the scope of work. They do not establish staffing, security requirements, or delivery effort.
Check how the work was bought
The HHS platform-maintenance description identifies an 8(a) STARS III task order.
GSA describes 8(a) STARS III as a governmentwide contract for IT services with a pool of 8(a) industry partners. Its website provides information about those partners and subcontracting opportunities.
That detail matters: a company needs to check whether it can compete through the relevant contract or whether working with a contract holder is the practical route.
Before adding an award to a prospect list, record:
- The buying office and incumbent.
- Whether it is a standalone contract or an order under another contract, including the parent contract or vehicle where applicable.
- Any reported set-aside and the eligibility requirements in the acquisition documents.
- The current period of performance and available option information.
Work your team can deliver may still be bought through a contract your business cannot access. Check that before spending time on a proposal.
Read the description alongside the NAICS code
The separate USAspending NAICS 541512 analysis also returned a $50,000 Air Force award described as "media converters." Another record near $250,000 described research involving integrated circuits.
A broad IT classification can therefore return purchases that have little to do with database administration or application support.
The three service examples above also used different Product and Service Codes:
| Example | PSC | Reported category |
|---|---|---|
| FAA database support | DF01 | IT management support services |
| NIH planning-system support | R499 | Other professional support |
| HHS platform maintenance | 7A20 | Application development software |
Read the description alongside the code. When an award resembles your work, note the buyer's terminology and use it to investigate related records. A single PSC alert may miss relevant work.
Search FedFathom with a description of your work
FedFathom lets contractors search historical awards using a description of their capabilities, then review matching buyers, vendors, codes, and source records.
Our live search used this description:
Maintenance and support for existing business applications, including database administration, reporting, bug fixes, integrations, and user support.
Use a description that matches work your team has delivered. Review the matching awards and official records for scope, amounts, incumbent history, and contract access.
A company with strong commercial database experience should describe that work clearly. Adding cybersecurity, cloud migration, and every other IT service broadens the research without necessarily producing better prospects.
Build a short list for further research
Start with ten historical awards that resemble work your company could deliver. For each, record the requirement, office, incumbent, reported amount, contract vehicle, and the next fact you need to verify.
The FAA example might lead to research on the office's database-support requirements. The HHS example might lead to relevant STARS III contract holders. Both can be useful leads for further research, though they call for different business-development work.
Check current notices in SAM.gov and the agency's procurement channels before treating a historical award as an active opportunity. A period-end date is a reason to investigate; options, extensions, or a changed acquisition approach may affect what happens next.
You can create a FedFathom account and run five free searches. Start with one service you can support with references, then choose a few matching awards for closer review.
Research method
Research performed September 22, 2026 using a live FedFathom Market Research search and the USAspending API. The FedFathom search used the quoted capability description, NAICS 541512, and October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025. The 675 awards form a relevance-ranked snapshot of that search. Buyer and vendor counts refer only to those results. The date range includes matched contract actions; some underlying contracts began before FY2023. No dollar filter was applied. We reviewed the first ten results and verified the two GSA examples through USAspending's award-detail API.
The separate 17,094-award count uses contract award types A, B, C, and D; required NAICS 541512; the new-awards-only date filter for October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2025; and award amounts from $1 through $250,000, inclusive.
The new-awards filter uses the base transaction date. A performance start date can differ. Reported award amounts reflect the records retrieved on the research date, including subsequent changes. They are not necessarily the original award amount, maximum contract value, or obligations within those three fiscal years. The $250,000 cutoff is an editorial research boundary.
To select examples, we inspected the ten highest-amount results in the main filter and five highest-amount results in an additional $20,000-$50,000 filter. These examples are not a representative sample. NAICS 541512 covers only part of federal IT purchasing and includes records describing products or research.
The study does not identify first-time winners, measure how easy an award was to win, or establish current bidding opportunities.