Federal agencies spent $10.4 billion via Other Transaction Authority from 2008 to April 2018 according to a new NextGov article published last week.  While some spending went toward traditional OTA projects such as prototyping and specialized technologies, significant money was also spent on professional consulting services and a variety of IT projects.  Another surprise is that the TSA has been a leading OTA agency, along with traditional user DOD.  The numbers show two main points:  1. OTA’s are nothing new; and 2. That, at an average spend rate of a little over $1B per year, contractors can’t afford not to pay attention to this acquisition method.  Recent publicity may have chilled OTA use in some areas, but the basic playing field that led to the use of this non-traditional acquisition method remains the same.  Rules, processes, and regulations needlessly complicate acquisition at DOD and other places.  Unless or until recommendations from the Section 809 panel or DOD’s own internal review make significant changes to traditional methods, the need for federal agencies to use OTA’s for certain critical projects will remain.  If your company hasn’t studied up on OTA’s and doesn’t have an OTA use plan, you could be missing out on business.