Filnet Receives SBA 8a Certification; Minority-Owned, Full Service Web Solutions Firm Well-Positioned to Break into Federal Markets.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Today Filnet, Inc., a full service web solutions company, announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded the firm with 8(a) certification status for a period of nine years. Designed to assist small, woman or minority-owned businesses compete with larger and more established enterprises, SBA 8(a) program participation would allow Filnet greater access to the federal procurement market.
Filnet's growth, experience in government contracting, recent accolades and General Services Administration (GSA) certification to provide IT services have positioned the firm for a successful entree into federal markets. "Filnet has always offered smart solutions to meet the challenges and needs of a number of businesses, and local and state agencies," says Chris Baltazar, president and CEO. "Participation in the SBA 8(a) program is the next strategic step in Filnet's plan to become the leading, fully integrated Web services company for federal agencies."
Small and disadvantaged businesses play a key role in the overall U.S. economy. According to the SBA's Office of Advocacy, small businesses represent about half of the economy's output. Companies that participate in the SBA 8(a) program receive business development assistance from the SBA and other government agencies. In addition to opportunities to bid for special 8(a)-only, "set-aside" contracts of any size, SBA 8(a) participants are qualified to receive so-called "sole-source" contracts worth up to $5 million.
"This is a win-win for minority-owned businesses and other enterprises that are ineligible for 8(a) designation," says Robert Gillespie, vice president of business development. "New regulations allow us to partner with any business as needed regardless of their designation or category. Building strategic partnerships with strong companies is integral to our goal to provide the best answers to our clients' challenges. In the end, our clients are the biggest winners."
Filnet is a web services and systems integration firm that specializes in increasing the amount of information and services that an organization makes available to its various audiences and creating efficiencies that streamline internal workflows. In 2004 Filnet ranked 14th in Deloitte & Touche's Virginia Fast 50 and ranked nationally in the Fast 500. Diversity 100 also named Filnet to its top 100 list of Virginia diversity-owned firms. The company was listed as one of the largest interactive firms in 2004 by the Washington Business Journal's Book of Lists and was the winner of the International Association of Business Communicators-Washington's 2004 Silver Inkwell for Web Design. Filnet is on the web at www.filnetinc.com.
