Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Authored by Kevin Brandt

Government contracting has always been characterized by complex processes, documentation and rigorous compliance requirements. The processes traditionally demand human resources and expertise to navigate. Additionally, these legacy processes often lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for innovation. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are deployed to address these longstanding challenges. The intersection of AI and government contracting showcases a shift in how government contractors operate and maintain compliance. The impact of AI in the contracting industry is beyond automation of routine tasks, it is now enabling a more strategic approach that can adapt to changing needs and leverage data in unprecedented ways.

Proposal development and optimization

Government contractors are now using AI-powered tools to improve their proposal development process and win rates. These systems analyze past successful proposals, client-specific requirements and evaluation criteria to help contractors create more compelling and compliant bids. AI tools in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can parse complex government solicitations in minutes rather than the hours it would take proposal teams to do manually, extracting key requirements, deadlines and evaluation criteria into organized formats. Practical applications include:

• Extraction of requirements from complex requests for proposals (RFPs)
• Analysis of past successful proposals to identify winning patterns
• Compliance checking to ensure all requirements are addressed
• Automated generation of proposal outlines based on RFP structure

For contractors of all sizes, these AI capabilities mean more proposals can be developed with fewer resources, while simultaneously improving quality and compliance. This can be a genuine competitive advantage in the federal marketplace.

Contract management

Once a contract is won, AI can ensure successful performance, identify potential issues before they become problems and gather data to strengthen future bids. AI capabilities automatically extract and track key contract terms, deliverable schedules and compliance requirements, alerting when deadlines approach or potential performance issues emerge. More sophisticated systems can analyze performance data across multiple contracts to identify trends and patterns. For example, these tools might recognize that certain types of deliverables consistently fall behind schedule, allowing contractors to address systemic issues before they impact customer satisfaction. Practical applications include:

• Extraction and tracking of contract requirements and deliverables
• Early warning systems for potential performance issues
• Resource allocation optimization across multiple contracts

These capabilities not only improve performance on current contracts but also build a stronger foundation for winning future work by ensuring customer satisfaction and documenting past performance.

Risk mitigation

Government contractors operate in a highly regulated environment where compliance failures can lead to serious consequences. AI-powered ERP solutions can continuously monitor transactions, communications and activities for potential compliance issues. For example, these tools can analyze expense reports to flag potential violations of contract billing rules. Beyond these applications, predictive analytics models embedded in AI enable contractors to take preemptive measures to reduce potential issues by forecasting future risks based on historical data. Practical applications include:

• Analysis of financial transactions for potential billing issues
• Real-time verification of cybersecurity compliance requirements
• Monitoring of relationships for FAR/DFAR compliance

By identifying and addressing compliance issues before they escalate, AI can help contractors avoid costly problems while simultaneously reducing the administrative burden of manual compliance reviews.

Decision-making

AI-integrated solutions integrate data from across the organization to provide executives with actionable insights that drive better business decisions. Specialized government contracting platforms such as Deltek have incorporated AI capabilities that go beyond traditional reporting. These tools use machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and relationships in complex data sets that would be impossible for humans to discover through conventional analysis.For example, the solutions can identify correlations between specific proposal strategies and win rates or between contract types and profitability metrics, helping leadership allocate resources more effectively.Practical applications include:

• Bid/no-bid decision support using historical performance data
• Identification of the most profitable contract types for your company
• Strategic planning support through predictive market trend analysis

By replacing intuition and gut feelings with data-driven insights, these AI systems are helping contractors make more objective, evidence-based decisions about where to invest their limited resources for maximum return.

How we can help 

Deltek solutions for government contractors leverage AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and provide data-driven insights. These capabilities help reduce manual effort, mitigate risks and optimize performance, ultimately driving greater efficiency and compliance. As a trusted Deltek alliance partner, Baker Tilly provides seamless implementation, integration and optimization of Deltek’s enterprise solutions.

Contact a Baker Tilly specialist to learn more. 

The Social Impact Partner Spotlight series highlights various nonprofit organization partners that are helping transform the lives of individuals and communities. This blog features Splunk’s partnership with Per Scholas, showcasing their transformative work to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity and IT professionals through Splunk’s Core User and Power User technology training.

In a world where cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated and high-profile data breaches make headlines, the need for cybersecurity professionals is greater than ever. Yet today, too many people lack access to the training that can launch cybersecurity careers.

Per Scholas is on a mission to change that. It provides rigorous, tuition-free technology job training and connections to opportunities for adult learners from low- to moderate-income households across the U.S. The organization’s focus on expanding access makes it a natural partner for Splunk, which seeks to open doors to tech opportunities by providing in-demand data skills and tools. 

Our partnership has a proud history. In 2018, Splunk began to provide free technology training and support for Per Scholas’ programs for untapped talent pools in New York City. In 2021, Splunk began offering unrestricted grant funding to aid Per Scholas in its swift expansion, with enrollment figures growing from 3,500 learners and alumni across 16 campus locations to an expected 7,500 learners and alumni across 24 campuses by 2025. Today, those investments have come full circle, as Splunk has hired four Per Scholas graduates to full-time Cybersecurity roles. Splunk’s reputation and visibility has played a key role in the due diligence of major investments from other funders, including a $20 million grant from MacKenzie Scott received in 2023.

Cybersecurity training that transforms careers and lives

Per Scholas’ programs are more than just training classes. Students receive hands-on learning, career development resources, and interview opportunities with Fortune 500 companies to help take their careers to the next level. In addition to technical instruction, Per Scholas provides business skills training, covering communication, collaboration, feedback exchange, and career navigation, which makes up about 20% of a learner’s experience. Over ten weeks, learners engage in workshops that help them develop a career plan, conduct a strategic job search, create a personal brand, prepare for interviews, negotiate offers, and navigate the onboarding process with a new company.

Their technical offerings include the 15-week Cybersecurity Analyst course, which provides training in Splunk tools and leads to a Splunk Core User certification. Alumni help meet market demand for roles such as cybersecurity associates and support specialists. The learning opportunities don’t stop there: alums can upskill through the Career Accelerator program, which offers both the Splunk Core User and Power User certifications.

The demand is only growing, and Per Scholas is expanding to meet it. In the past three years, their annual participation has surged, and the number of campuses has grown across 18 states. Within one year of graduation, 80% of graduates attain a job earning $21+/hour, generating an anticipated $148M in annual earnings for learners and their families.

Per Scholas’ growth makes a powerful difference in both individual lives and society as a whole. Research from Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), a nonpartisan organization, found that for every dollar spent on Per Scholas training, eight dollars returns to the local economy through increased taxes and spending by Per Scholas graduates and reduced use of public benefit programs.

“Our partnership with Splunk has been transformative, equipping our learners with cutting-edge skills in data analytics and cybersecurity that prepare them for the future of work. This collaboration not only drives meaningful career opportunities for our alumni but also creates a stronger, more inclusive tech workforce. As we look ahead, we are excited to expand these impactful programs, and with the support of partners like Splunk, we can continue unlocking potential and transforming lives.”
– Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala

A bridge to corporate cybersecurity careers

Per Scholas’ Tech Talent Solutions team works with hundreds of employer partners to source open positions and refer graduates for promising opportunities. Splunk is proud to employ four Per Scholas alumni, including customer trust analyst Farquleet Fajar. Originally from Pakistan, she discovered her interest in technology in high school and later decided to pursue a career in cybersecurity.

“In the course, we got great hands-on experience and learned a lot about different fields in cybersecurity,” she says. “The teachers were so helpful and supportive, and they went above and beyond to make sure everyone in the class was learning and having a good experience.”

After graduating from Per Scholas, Farquleet completed an internship at Splunk and was selected to join as a full-time employee. Her learning journey continues as she pursues more cybersecurity certifications and eventually hopes to earn a master’s degree in cybersecurity.

Farquleet’s story is one of thousands of successes through Per Scholas, and the organization is poised to create thousands more. To learn how you can support their vital work, visit perscholas.org.

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By Page Leggett

Consider the eel.

Unlike most eel species, which live in saltwater their entire lives, the American eel spends most of its life in freshwater before returning to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.

It’s probably their final journey, but scientists say much about their life cycle remains a mystery, said Mike Abney, a project manager with Duke Energy, whose expertise comes from a decades-long effort to restore eel populations in the Catawba-Wateree and Pee Dee rivers.

But eel aren’t the only species making a comeback. Duke Energy is also reintroducing American shad, another migratory fish that, in reverse, hatches in rivers, matures in the ocean, then returns to freshwater to spawn.

A 100-year homecoming

Historically, eels thrived in the Pee Dee River, but in 1912, a Duke Energy dam near the North Carolina/South Carolina border blocked their migration to generate electricity that would drive the region’s economic growth.

“As the U.S. developed, rivers were altered for industry, power, and infrastructure. One of the drawbacks, however, was reduced habitat for some species,” said Jason Brown, lead Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) consultant at Duke Energy.

A newly constructed eel ladder at Blewett Falls Hydroelectric Station in Lilesville, N.C, is changing that. To date, nearly 18,000 still-maturing eels have taken up residence in the waters near Blewett Falls Lake.

“By restoring access to hundreds of miles of habitat, the American eel can access previously blocked upstream riverine habitat. We want to bring the river systems back to what they once were,” Brown said of the company’s work to enhance environmental habitats for fish and other aquatic life.

How the eel ladder works

The ladder guides eels upstream using flowing water and was designed with help from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA for short).

“Eels sense moving water and follow it to continue their migration upstream,” Brown explained. “We provide flow by pumping water from the lake down a long ramp. That gets them over the dam and into the lake.”

Eels travel up the ladder, which consists of five aluminum ramp sections connected by resting pools, and into a collection tank where the team counts, measures and weighs them – both to ensure they are healthy and to track how many eels migrate each year. Then, the eels are funneled to Blewett Falls Lake.

Eventually, Duke Energy will phase out manual collection, allowing eels to migrate independently – a Duke Energy first. Their lifespan in Blewett Falls Lake is about eight to 10 years, Brown explained, so they’ll likely be here for an extended stay before instinct lures them back toward the Sargasso Sea.

Shad make their return

Unlike eel, shad are picky about their migration routes. “The eel ladder is simple and runs on its own, so you don’t need a person on-site to operate it,” Abney said. “American shad, however, required a more sophisticated approach.”

Siting studies were done to position both facilities in the right spot. “We did extensive studies back in 2015 and ’16 to see where the majority of eel and shad congregate,” Brown said. “Had we not, we could’ve constructed them in the wrong spot.”

Migrating shad are similarly attracted toward flowing water, but the shad facility lifts collected fish up two levels where they are sorted through a system of tanks. This requires a dedicated team of scientists to carefully examine and sort the shad from other species.

American shad are loaded into a large tank on the back of a pickup and transferred above the dam and into the lake, while other fish and aquatic life return to the river through several large pipes.

Conservation in action

Blewett Falls Lake remains a popular destination for boating, swimming, and fishing – but anglers must release any American shad they catch.

“If there’s one in Blewett Falls Lake, that means we passed it,” Abney said. “And if we’re putting in all this effort, we don’t want people taking them home.”

For Abney and Brown, seeing these species return is deeply rewarding. “Watching critters use the passageway we created – and in large numbers – is gratifying,” Brown said. “It’s a key milestone in my career.”

Many who helped launch the project have since retired. “When this project was first discussed, we talked about it taking decades,” Abney said. “John Crutchfield, one of our project managers retired. He was instrumental in those early discussions.”

Though this restoration took years, its impact will last for generations. “I want my kids to enjoy what I got to experience growing up,” Brown said. “This project builds a bridge to the future.”

Also happening at Blewett Falls

Alongside efforts to restore migratory eel and fish populations, Duke Energy has enhanced its water management system at Blewett Falls Hydro Station with new spillway gates designed to enhance operational efficiency and lake management.

The gates allow for more precise control of water levels, improving conditions in Blewett Falls Lake and downstream areas. Their modular design simplifies maintenance, while a pneumatic support system ensures reliable operation – even during power outages.

The gates also allow for safe passage of floodwaters, helping protect upstream properties by minimizing the risk of overtopping.

View original content here.

CLEVELAND and CAMPBELL, Calif., May 22, 2025 /3BL/ – Intelligent power management company Eaton, together with ChargePoint, a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, today announced a collaboration to accelerate and simplify the deployment of EV charging infrastructure in the U.S., Canada and Europe. The companies will integrate EV charging and infrastructure solutions, co-developing new technologies to advance bidirectional power flow and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) capabilities—enabling EVs to act as a power source for homes, buildings and more.

Providing a one-stop shop for the EV charging ecosystem, the companies will deliver chargers, electrical infrastructure and engineering services as turnkey offerings enabling the electrification of transportation, from vehicles to chargers to the grid. Eaton and ChargePoint will streamline the purchase, design and deployment of EV charging projects, offering joint solutions that will help customers effectively manage site power requirements, optimize infrastructure and enhance reliability at a reduced cost.

Paul Ryan, general manager, energy transition at Eaton, said: “Customers rely on Eaton to solve their toughest power management challenges. This game-changing partnership will help do just that for vehicle charging—bringing together trusted power distribution and EV charging solutions to simplify electrification at scale.”

With Eaton’s collaboration, ChargePoint elevates its strategic position as an end-to-end enabler of the EV ecosystem, from grid to vehicle. As EV charging infrastructure matures, core components like chargers and infrastructure must integrate at scale to realize their fullest potential. ChargePoint’s work with Eaton and numerous automotive OEMs will enable the seamless integration of chargers, infrastructure and EVs, managed with ease on the ChargePoint cloud software platform.

“Our partnership with Eaton will deliver innovation that addresses the biggest barriers to electrified transportation,” said Rick Wilmer, CEO of ChargePoint. “Together with Eaton, we will create unprecedented value for institutions that deploy EV charging, accelerating electrification, and decarbonizing the planet in parallel.”

Information regarding available EV charging and infrastructure solutions, which address every charging scenario, including fleet, workplace, commercial real estate, fueling and convenience, multifamily, residential and public transportation charging needs, is available here.

About ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. 
ChargePoint is creating a new fueling network to move people and goods on electricity. Since 2007, ChargePoint has been committed to making it easy for businesses and drivers to go electric with one of the largest EV charging networks and a comprehensive portfolio of charging solutions. The ChargePoint cloud subscription platform and software-defined charging hardware are designed to include options for every charging scenario from home and multifamily to workplace, parking, hospitality, retail and transport fleets of all types. Today, one ChargePoint account provides access to hundreds of thousands of places to charge in North America and Europe. For more information, visit the ChargePoint pressroom, the ChargePoint Investor Relations site, or contact the ChargePoint North American press office, or Investor Relations.

About Eaton 
Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come.

Founded in 1911, Eaton has continuously evolved to meet the changing and expanding needs of our stakeholders. With revenues of nearly $25 billion in 2024, the company serves customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:
Kristin Somers
+1.919.345.3714
Kristincsomers@eaton.com

Regina Parundik 
Cobblestone Communications
+1.412.559.1614
Regina@cobblecreative.com

ChargePoint
John Paolo Canton 
Vice President, Communications
JP.Canton@chargepoint.com

AJ Gosselin 
Director, Corporate Communications 
AJ.Gosselin@chargepoint.com 
media@chargepoint.com

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Our culture of giving is one of the defining aspects of life at Gen. All over the world, our team members find myriad ways to get involved with the causes they care about, from in-person volunteering to virtual skills sharing to targeted donation campaigns and more.

This spirit of service was on full display over the past year of business. Between April 2024 and March 2025, more than 67% of our global workforce took part in our Giving@Gen program, our highest participation rate to date. Team members logged upwards of 8,300 volunteer hours and donated nearly $153,000 to 1,710 nonprofits.

To celebrate these milestones, we’re taking a moment to recognize our employees for making such a positive impact. Thanks to their passion and dedication, we’re proud to see our culture of giving continue to grow and thrive.

Coming Together to Make a Difference

In-person volunteering is one of the ways our team members contribute to their local communities. In addition to organizing company-wide events such as our Global Volunteer Week and holiday giving campaigns, we empower our local sites to find opportunities that resonate with their employees.

For example, volunteers at our Dublin office partnered with a local elementary school for Time to Read, a nationwide literacy program that aims to address disparities in education. As part of the program, volunteers took a group of students to their local library and later welcomed them to the Gen office to learn Cyber Safety skills and more about what we do each day.

“I volunteered with Time to Read not only because I love working with kids but also because encouraging them to engage with reading is such a great opportunity,” said Márcio Barros, a web producer at Gen Dublin. “I wish I had something like this when I was a kid.”

Efforts at other sites include a “Girls in Tech” event in March at our Chennai, India office. There, team members welcomed students from nearby colleges for a day of in-depth cybersecurity training, with the aim of expanding the talent pool for the country’s growing tech industry. This office has the highest giving program participation rate across the company and holds regular events to support nonprofits such as Bhumi and Team Everest.

Additionally, nearly 100 team members at our U.S. sites in Mountain View, CA, Tempe, AZ, and Plano, TX, spent a March afternoon assembling and decorating “superhero boxes” of essential items, creative toys and art supplies designed to empower children in the foster care system in collaboration with Foster Love.

Making a Deeper Connection

In addition to in-person volunteering and donations, our team members volunteer to serve on boards and put their day-to-day skills to use for causes they care about.

Utam Reddy, our Head of Partnership Sales for North America, joined the board of the Center for Child Protection, an organization based in Austin, Texas, that provides healing and prevention services for abused children.

“Being on the board has been a great way to donate my time and skills to an important nonprofit in my community,” said Reddy. “I attend monthly board meetings and serve additional time on the finance/audit committee, and I appreciate Gen’s donation that I can give back to the Center.”

Our work with HBCU Heroes pairs Gen mentors from across the company with students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities to offer career advice and skills development as they prepare to enter the professional world. This skills-based volunteering offering allows Gen team members to share their expertise both with the HBCU students and each other. Volunteers first undergo training from our People & Culture team and Talent Acquisition partners to enhance their abilities to set the students up for professional success.

This practice of peer-to-peer skills volunteering has continued across the company. Bogomil Shopov, Program Management Director of Digital Trust Service, is currently leading a global community of remote volunteers through workshops on how to use OpenStreetMap. Together, they participate in challenges such as mapping freshwater resources and underrepresented rural areas to enhance resource management, environmental conservation and data-driven decision-making.

Employees also lend their expertise to our nonprofit partners. Iskander Sanchez-Rola, our Director of AI and Innovation, spoke on a webinar hosted by TechSoup supporting our targeted product donation campaign to the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV), and team members across the company can volunteer through Career Connect from Discovery Education to give virtual presentations about their jobs to classrooms around the country.

All of our Giving@Gen efforts are designed to empower our teams to use their skills, time and passions to make a positive impact. We’re grateful to our employees for an incredible year of service and are excited to continue to offer exciting giving opportunities in the years to come.

These grants were awarded from the Gen Foundation, a corporate advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.