Glossary: Account Signal Intelligence and federal contracting terms
The words behind the work.
Short definitions for the terms capture and marketing teams use in defense and space, and the Trihelix names behind them.
A to Z
Account Signal Intelligence (ASI™)
The Trihelix discipline of connecting the signals around an account with the industry it operates in. Created by Joseph Bradley Watkins. Delivered through Refraction. More on Account Signal Intelligence →
Account Super Intelligence
Another name Trihelix uses for ASI. Not the same as artificial superintelligence, the theoretical AI concept.
Refraction™
The Trihelix intelligence platform for industry relationships. It connects data from any source into a graph of the industry around a company.
Aperture
Trihelix's federal contracting data source for defense and space. It follows contracts, incumbents, agencies, recompete windows and NAICS codes, updated daily.
Capture
The work of positioning a company to win a specific government contract before and during the solicitation.
Incumbent
The company currently holding a contract that an agency may compete again.
Recompete window
The period when an existing contract is approaching the end of its term and may be competed again.
NAICS code
A code from the North American Industry Classification System, the standard used by U.S. federal statistical agencies to classify business establishments. Federal opportunities and awards are tagged with NAICS codes. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, NAICS.
SAM.gov
The System for Award Management. Companies register there to be eligible for federal prime awards, agencies post contract opportunities there, and since February 24, 2026 it is the authoritative place to search federal contract award data formerly in FPDS.gov. Source: GSA, Contract Award Data in SAM.gov.
FPDS
The Federal Procurement Data System, where contracting officials report transaction-level contract data. Its public search moved to SAM.gov in 2026. Source: USAspending.gov, Data Sources.
USAspending.gov
The public federal spending site run by the Treasury Department. It publishes award data starting from fiscal year 2001, and anyone can search it without an account. Source: USAspending.gov, About the Data.
Federal contracting data sources
The public systems that record federal opportunities and awards, chiefly SAM.gov and USAspending.gov, plus commercial and proprietary sources built on them.
Intent data
Data that estimates which organizations are researching a topic, based on the online content they consume. Source: Bombora, What is intent data?.
Buying signal
An observed business event, such as a funding round or leadership change, that may change an account's buying conditions. Source: Amplify, ABM Intel.
DSP
Demand-side platform. Software advertisers use to buy digital ad inventory programmatically.
Location-based intelligence
Context about places, such as facilities and markets, used alongside contract, account and campaign data.