Input: Big IT contracts are getting smaller

The biggest opportunities for vendors in the federal market are getting a lot smaller, according to a new report by market research firm Input.

Input reported that in fiscal 2007, the top 20 information technology contracts available for bid will be worth about $120 billion, down from about $240 billion in fiscal 2006, which just ended.

The average maximum value of the top 20 contracts will drop from $12 billion in fiscal 2006 to $6 billion this fiscal year, the firm predicts.

One thing may not change, however. The biggest buyers will continue to be the Army, the General Services Administration and the Homeland Security Department. Together, those agencies account for half of the top 20 contracts, according to Input.

Vendors still have plenty of business to pursue, but the competition on the biggest contracts will be fierce, Input reported. "Losing a top twenty opportunity can lock a vendor out of an agency for the next three to five years,” said Input analyst Ashlea Higgs, in a statement.