Federal procurement is about to get easier

A recent Executive Order, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement” calls for a reformed, more efficient and streamlined Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Guidance on how federal agencies can implement changes is imminent. The memo states that “the FAR has swelled to more than 2,000 pages of regulations, evolving into an excessive and overcomplicated regulatory framework and resulting in an onerous bureaucracy.” It calls for comprehensive reform to “create the most agile, effective, and efficient procurement system possible” by amending the FAR to “ensure that it contains only provisions that are required by statute or that are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.”It goes further to say, “removing undue barriers, such as unnecessary regulations, while simultaneously allowing for the expansion of the national and defense industrial bases is paramount.” The plan is expected to be complete in October 2025.

Federal procurement processes are at the core of many recent memos

This reform of FAR is expected to be a welcome change, provided it does what it says it will do. It comes on the heels of many recent memos addressing the federal procurement of technology. In April 2025, the administration issued an Executive Order prioritizing the use of commercial and COTS applications in federal agencies. In March, a memo to DoD agencies, seemingly in response to March’s memo from the Secretary of Defense,  called for expediting the acquisition of software and weapons systems for the warfighter through the Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP).  Also this year, the administration issued orders removing barriers to American AI leadership, accelerating the federal use of AI, and guidance for procuring AI in the federal government. The overall gist of these orders is “implement AI in government as quickly as you can anywhere it can help drive efficiency.”

Overall, this is good news for our federal customers

What we’re hearing from all of this is that the administration is putting an emphasis on speed, efficiency, innovation and rapid implementation of hardware and software (and other goods) that will serve the warfighter and government agencies better. And that it places an emphasis on AI. You won’t find AI like Primer’s Enterprise Platform on a store shelf. Built for the front lines, it delivers decision-support AI with built-in verification; designed to reduce hallucinations, ensure traceability, and support confident action when it matters most. Innovative functionality will always be in demand in the DoD to keep our nation ahead of the curve.It’s also essential to procure pragmatically and thoughtfully. While these orders do have language here and there to this end, they mostly emphasize efficiency and cost-effectiveness. When it comes to the warfighter, “innovative”, “proven” and “effective” should also be among the words of the day.

These orders remove the barriers to the procurement of AI

It’s both possible and hopeful that these new edicts will help established providers and breakthrough functionality to rise to the top in service to taxpayers, federal workers and the servicemembers that keep us safe. The direction we are looking in right now is positive for both Primer and our customers. Everything seems to be flashing “go” for trusted solutions like ours. And, knowing the length of most federal procurement cycles, it’s good news for the DoD and our warfighters, too.