Federal Spending Moves to Cybersecurity, Contractors Follow
dhs.gov
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, for example, plans to increase cybersecurity research spending by 50 percent over the next five years, according to an ExecutiveGov report
As the government is making moves to spend more in cybersecurity, contractors too are gearing up for projects in the cyber field. A recent report by the Washington Post indicated that many firms are now turning to cybersecurity.
SAIC Inc. recently opened an innovation center in Fort Meade last year, near the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.
Booz Allen Hamilton for its part opted to build a cyber network that can work with multiple clients nationwide from their McLean-based facility.
Booz Allen Chief Operating Officer Horacio Rozanski noted his firm is serving clients on the West Coast out of Red Bank, N.J. and Federal Aviation Administration clients out of Huntsville, Ala.
“Having that capability, we believe, is going to be market-driving,” he said.
Dave Melcher
Contractors are also looking to drive up revenue by what SAIC officials call “readiness and sustainment” of old equipment, trucks and aircraft. SAIC recently won two task orders worth $600 million to sustain blast proof trucks in Kuwait and Afghanistan.
ITT Exelis President and CEO David Melcher told the Post that sustainment work is the way to go.
“If you’re going to cut out the new systems, what are you going to do? You’re going to fix up the old systems,” he said. Contractors are also doing the work for contract wins themselves, rather than subcontracting the work.
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