GovCon Glossary: Business Terms

Doing Business As (DBA) is a trade or "fictitious" name a company uses to operate publicly that differs from its legal, registered business name. Government contractors operating under a DBA must disclose it during SAM.gov registration and on proposals, since the legal entity name, not the DBA, is what agencies actually contract with.

Enterprise Information Technology (EIT) refers to the IT systems, software, and infrastructure that support operations across an entire organization rather than a single department or function. In federal contracting, EIT solutions are frequently procured through enterprise-wide vehicles and generally must meet accessibility and security requirements such as Section 508 compliance.

A Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), such as MITRE, RAND, or Aerospace Corporation, is a research organization sponsored by a federal agency to meet long-term technical or analytic needs that in-house staff or ordinary contractors can't fulfill. FFRDCs operate under special agreements and, due to conflict-of-interest rules, are generally barred from competing for other government contracts.