Overview
A HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone) is a program created and maintained by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to promote economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing access to federal contracting opportunities. The HUBZone program aims to stimulate economic growth and increase employment in these areas.
HUBZone Program Qualifications
– The business must be based in a designated HUBZone
– Must be majority-owned by a U.S. citizen
– At least 35% of its employees reside in a HUBZone
– Meet the SBA’s size standards for small businesses based on industry classification
– Maintain the SBA HUBZone-Certified status through an annual recertification process
Socioeconomic Impact
The SBA promotes increased utilization of SBA-certified small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals through several programs that stimulate economic empowerment, job creation, and a thriving business landscape within historically disadvantaged communities.
Federal agencies set new records for contracting with small businesses in fiscal 2023, awarding 28.4% of all eligible federal contract dollars to women-owned small businesses, small businesses, serviced-disabled small businesses, and HUBZone-certified businesses (Miller, 2024). The VA, IRS, and CMS intend to award 3% of their eligible contract dollars to HUBZone-certified businesses while the Army has a more specific goal of 1.76% (Army.mil, 2024). If you’re interested in learning more about how well federal agencies performed toward their small business contracting goals in 2023, check out the FY2023 Small Business Procurement Scorecard.
Our Capabilities
As a woman-owned, HUBZone-certified small business, Pivotal holds a unique position in the market. We are honored to assist various federal agencies in deploying modern IT services, including DataOps, low-code/no-code (LCNC) software development, and cybersecurity while bringing a distinct perspective and value to our clients.
DataOps
DataOps (Data Operations) is an agile, process-oriented methodology that significantly enhances the speed, quality, and reliability of data analytics. Gartner defines DataOps as an agile and collaborative data management practice focused on improving communication, integration, automation, observability, and data flow operations between data engineers and consumers. It’s a powerful tool for designing, implementing, and maintaining data workflows and pipelines, combining data engineering, data integration, and data quality with operations. Implementing continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD) practices ensures new data processes and features are tested, integrated, and deployed efficiently. DataOps is designed to increase collaboration, remove bottlenecks, and reduce time to value from concept to production data, analytics, and AI deliverables. It also eliminates various inefficiencies and misalignments between data management and consumption use cases by streamlining delivery processes and operationalizing data platforms, pipelines, and products. Pivotal has a dedicated DataOps team that focuses on these tasks within all projects across the sister companies.
Low-Code/No-Code Solutions
Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) platforms enable the rapid development of applications with minimal hand-coding, allowing users to create, modify, and deploy applications quickly. At Pivotal, we are currently working on multiple LCNC software development projects utilizing Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pega, and Appian. Our developers are user-centric and utilize point-and-click interfaces and out-of-the-box (OOTB) components to accelerate development life cycles, saving time and resources for our federal clients. LCNC platforms can scale to meet the needs of growing user bases and increasing data volumes while accommodating wide-ranging customization requirements through extensible frameworks. Our expertise in LCNC software development enables rapid product development through User-Centered Design (UCD). UCD is a process that continuously integrates user feedback, which allows us to reimagine solutions that provide access to life-changing systems and critical information, enabling our clients to thrive, now and in the future.
Cybersecurity Services
Cybersecurity involves protecting systems, networks, and data from cyber threats through various technologies, processes, and practices. At Pivotal, we conduct comprehensive risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies. Utilizing advanced threat detection systems and establishing incident response protocols allows us to address cyber threats promptly. We also ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations (e.g. NIST, GDPR, and HIPAA) and establish robust governance frameworks. Our Zero Trust principles ensure all users and devices are continuously authenticated and authorized before accessing resources. We conduct regular penetration tests and vulnerability assessments to identify and remediate security weaknesses, providing a comprehensive and robust cybersecurity solution. As a result of our in-depth cybersecurity knowledge and services, Pivotal is proud to announce that we have also been awarded our MAS HACS SIN (54151HACS) on the GSA MAS HACS multiple award schedule. Of the only 639 businesses that have been awarded, only 78 are economically disadvantaged woman-owned businesses (EDWOB) like Pivotal (GSA.gov, 2024). The HACS SIN is designated solely for cybersecurity IT services, enabling Pivotal to position itself as a trusted partner in providing proactive and reactive cybersecurity services for systems categorized as High-Value Assets (HVA) to the federal government.