In a July 2025 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated the U.S. federal government makes over $100 billion in investment in IT and cybersecurity expenditures annually. Approximately 80% of that expenditure is for the operation and maintenance of existing systems. 

GAO singled out 11 critical legacy systems out of 69 systems it studied. Agencies had finished just three of the 10 projects identified by GAO in 2019 for modernization.  

There are risks and responsibilities in public-sector software projects which are not necessarily found in most commercial software projects. They include benefits, healthcare enrollment, tax services, and veterans' programs, providing service to millions of people. A system failure may disrupt vital operations and lead to public, regulatory and congressional investigation. 

This guide highlights 8 of the top US-based top enterprise software development companies firms that have some government or civic technology projects in their portfolio. Every provider has been matched with the mission area where there is a clear public record of the provider's support. The guide also provides important IT-related federal figures, small-business designations and frequently asked questions that agencies ask before awarding a contract. 

Federal IT Facts at a Glance 

Here is some background context for the software work that will be done in public sectors in 2026:

• Federal investment in IT and Cybersecurity is more than $100B per year. 

• Approximately 80% of Federal IT spending is for operations and maintenance. 

• In 2025, 69 systems were reviewed with the GAO finding 11 critical legacy systems that need modernization.  

• As of February 2025, agencies finished three of their 10 modernization projects identified by GAO in 2019.  

• GAO released this report on July 17, 2025, as GAO-25-107795. 

8 Top Enterprise Software Development Companies for Public-Sector Work 

Government buyers consider mission experience, security readiness, procurement eligibility and measurable outcomes in addition to technical capabilities. This review highlights 8 U.S. providers where the government or civic technology work is published. 

Baytech Consulting: Top Enterprise Software Development Companies Choice for Data-Heavy Mission Systems 

Baytech Consulting is able to build applications that rely on data with a fully in-house and onshore data team that avoids the use of offshore subcontractors. This delivery model can work for a public program that has data-residency, access-control and staffing requirements. 

Founders Bryan Reynolds and Jeff Skvorc are always on the ground with each matchup. The company records the price, schedule, scope and technical architecture before development starts in a written agreement. 

Industry experience has included education, healthcare, energy and Fortune 500 data systems. We partnered with Baytech Consulting to build an online education platform for Petra Medical College on time. For MedData, it created an app that matches patients with coverage programs that they might qualify for. 

Since 2007, the company has been reporting on over 120 projects. It's also a Microsoft Partner and has received the Better Business Bureau recognition. When evaluating vendors for multi-year programs, Baytech Consulting reports operating without debt. 

Published record: Over 120 completed projects, 85% process automation, 99% accuracy in project outcomes with AI. 

Oddball: Best for VA and CMS Platform Engineering 

Oddball offers government product engineering, platform systems, data pipeline modernization, compliance-as-code and identity services. These areas of mission are citizen services, healthcare, regulatory programs, and defense. 

They have published clients such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Air Force, Defense Health Agency. 

According to oddball, its sign-in services are available to all VA.gov users, and are 99.9% up. The company also helped move over over three million My HealtheVet accounts. It's published HealthCare.gov work supported 16.3 million enrollments with no consumer visible outage. 

Published record: reduced data processing time from 10 hrs/night to 2.5 hrs/night for data on over 60 million Medicare beneficiaries processed at BDAMAX. 

Ad Hoc: Best for Veterans’ Services and Medicare Platforms 

Ad Hoc is a digital team, systems transformation, data interoperability, and AI and agentic automation team for federal agencies. 

It has worked with clients such as HealthCare.gov, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicare and the General Services Administration. 

Ad Hoc has assisted the VA to streamline over 500 sites into one experience for veterans. It also created a mobile App that was rated 4.8 out of 5 and with almost 300,000 downloads. 

There are 2.6 million Medicare beneficiaries served by Medicare Plan Finder. According to Ad Hoc, the platform has seen a 40% enrolment growth without any downtime. 

Search.gov receives over 286.5 million queries on 2,110+ federal websites. 

Nava PBC: Best for Benefits and Unemployment Insurance Systems 

Nava PBC modernizes government services via data, design, product delivery and engineering. It is a publicly benefiting corporation. 

Some clients include the Massachusetts paid family and medical leave plan, the Massachusetts unemployment insurance plan, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Nava was established in 2015 by engineers who were working on the HealthCare.gov recovery. The company now has over 500 employees. 

Nava reports that for the VA, they have cut a backlog of benefits decisions in half in one year. 

Claim payments over $600 million awarded to over 90,000 Massachusetts claimants. 

Coherent Lab LLP: Best for Custom Software, Mobile App Development, and Enterprise Digital Solutions

Coherent Lab LLP is a team of software developers specializing in creating custom software solutions for startups, growing businesses, and enterprises. It mainly focuses on mobile app development, web development, AI-powered applications, enterprise software, and digital transformation services.

It caters to a wide range of industries, including healthcare, fintech, e-commerce, education, logistics, and on-demand services. It offers a wide range of development options, including Android, iOS, cross-platform applications, cloud integration, and scalable business platforms.

Coherent Lab LLP is a user friendly, secure and scalable digital product building firm based in Jaipur, India. It provides services in the field of product consultation, UI/UX design, software development, testing, deployment and technical support.

Specialties: Skilled in creating bespoke mobile applications, AI-driven application development, business software, cross-platform system development, and specialized development groups. 

Coforma: Best for Veteran-Owned Healthcare and Public-Interest Work 

Coforma is a developer, designer and researcher of information products and services for government, non-profit and commercial entities. It has three main areas, healthcare, veterans' services and public interest technology. 

Federal clients encompass Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health & Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Coforma was established in 2017 with an office staff of over 160. The company is owned by CEO Eduardo Ortiz and is one of the country's Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and SBA 8(a) certified companies. Coforma is also the founder of the Digital Services Coalition. 

Published record: In GovCon Vanguard FedCiv 250 and Elev8 GovCon lists 2025. 

Fearless: Best for Federal, State, Health, and Defense Product Teams 

Fearless offers experience design, data, engineering and solutions services for federal, state, healthcare and defence markets. 

The company's integration of research, design and engineering in the same product teams helps programs to progress through discovery, development and operations. 

Fearless was established in 2009 with over 17 years of mission-oriented activities reported. The company says its own systems provide service to over 60 million people. 

A portfolio of all mission driven work served to over 60 million people. 

Skylight: Best for Small, Senior Digital Transformation Teams 

Skylight is a firm specializing in digital transformation, procurement, product management, service design, software engineering, DevOps, data engineering and APIs for government organizations. 

Team members have experience in 18F, the U.S. Digital Service, and the Presidential Innovation Fellows program. 

Skylight was launched in June 2017 and has a team of 30. The company is also SBA HUBZone certified, which can provide agencies with certain set-aside and sole-source procurement opportunities. 

Published record: HUBZone certification, which means that at least 35% of employees reside in designated HUBZone areas.  

Agile Six: Best for Agencies Applying the Digital Services Playbook 

Agile Six offers the federal agencies full-service digital delivery and coaching. The company started in 2014 supporting government teams to implement the 13 practices in the U.S. Digital Services Playbook. 

It's a fully remote team who closely collaborates with government officials during plan and execution. One of Agile Six's long-term goals is to become completely employee-owned. 

It has five core values, by which its teams work with agency employees and its program stakeholders. 

Published record: Processes for delivering services organized around the 13 plays in the U.S. Digital Services Playbook. 

Small Business Designations Explained 

Federal procurement programs have an impact on who can receive set-asides and/or sole-source contracts. The first four categories listed below are certifications or designations from the SBA. A public benefit corporation is a legal entity.  

• SBA 8(a). The 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a) BDP) is a program of the Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides support services to eligible small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Certified companies will be eligible to bid on set-aside contracts and be among those companies eligible for certain sole-source contracts during a program term of up to 9 years. 

• HUBZone. The HUBZone program is designed to help small businesses based in historically underutilized business zones. Companies must be SBA owned, meet the SBA size requirements, maintain their principal office in a HUBZone, and employ 35% or more in HUBZone areas to qualify. 

• SDVOSB. A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business is one or more service-disabled veterans who are the owner and/or controlled of the business. As a result of SBA certification, a certified firm may be able to bid on veteran set-asides and some sole-source contracts. 

• WOSB. A Women-Owned Small Business is a business that is owned and controlled by one or more female entrepreneurs, and certified by the SBA. Qualified companies can compete for set-asides in those industries that have a relatively small percentage of federal contracting dollars awarded to women-owned companies. 

• PBC. Public benefit corporations are a legal vehicle that mandates a company to seek to achieve a public benefit in addition to financial profits. Having a PBC status does not qualify one to be on the federal set aside, but it may establish a formal commitment to a public mission. 

Conclusion 

Public systems provide services, information, healthcare, and other benefits to millions of people. If modernization comes to a standstill, agencies will keep spending money to keep the old platforms working and residents will experience a delay in decision making, enrollment, and payments. 

Best civic software development firms offer more than just engineering skills. They carry out security documentation, public launch procedures, procurement access, and measured outcomes of similar programmes. 

Include a question for each candidate asking for a public sector outcome that is measurable and that comes from a named program. Next, check the outcome with the product owner or contracting person of the program prior to award. 

Frequently Asked Question 

Q.1 Who does the security authorization? 

Ans. Inquire about how the vendor was able to provide an Authority to Operate on previous systems. The response must include security measures, necessary documentation, evidence gathering, and vulnerability management, along with communication with assessors. 

Q.2 How does the team deal with a public launch? 

Ans.Ask for load-testing data, rollback plans, monitoring plans, and incident response documentation from a past high traffic release. The vendor should also describe who has the authority to suspend, reverse, and/or resume a deployment. 

Q.3 What does the code and data do at the end of the contract? 

Ans. The contract needed to include the source code, documentation, runbooks, data, credentials and configuration files in open or commonly supported formats. The work should be able to be recompeteed by your agency or transferred to an internal team without reliance on the original agency. 

Q.4 What is the vendor's measure of outcome? 

Ans. Highly effective answers make a technical delivery link to a named program result. These measures are helpful, such as having fewer processing backlogs, more enrollments, quicker approval times, more uptime, and quicker payments of benefits.