• E-Newsletter

Now hear this: On February 3 the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board will present “Israel-Virginia Technology Innovation and Collaboration,” a conference that will focus on trends in the U.S. and Israel in defense, aerospace, homeland security, border and infrastructure protection, and marine and land tactical surveillance. A delegation of 17 Israeli manufacturing companies will attend the event and there will be an opportunity for one-on-one meetings to explore partnerships with these companies. Click here.

I see clouds: Fairfax-based ICF International made waves Monday with the first major acquisition deal during John Wasson’s tenure as CEO since October, acquiring Incentive Technology Group of Crystal City, a provider of cloud-based platform services to the federal government, for $255 million, according to the Washington Business Journal. It represents an effort by ICF to get deeper into the IT modernization market.

Robots come standard: Tysons-based Appian acquired Spain-based firm Novayre Solutions as part of  a bid to get into the robotic process automation market. The acquisition, Appian’s first since its founding in 1999, means it also gets the Jidoka RPA platform, writes Andy Medici in the Washington Business Journal.

Leasing leader: Office leasing is strong in Northern Virginia, particularly in the Tysons, Reston and Herndon submarkets along Metrorail’s Silver Line, because of a steady increase in new jobs and resulting need for office space, writes Michael Wagoner of Quadrangle Development Corp. in REBusiness Online. FYI, the office vacancy rate in Fairfax County was 14.4 percent at midyear 2019. Click here to download the latest FCEDA Real Estate Report.

Reconfigured Mosaic: Redeveloped about 10 years ago, Merrifield’s Mosaic District was previously an expanse of parking lots, fast-food joints and industrial warehouses. Today it is a bustling town center. Whether it’s to shop, eat, or live, the Mosaic District combines 2 million square feet of retail, office, hotel, and residential space, according to a Washington Post article about the neighborhood.

5G whiz: Chantilly-based network services provider TeleWorld Solutions will be bought by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. The combination will help network operators accelerate and simplify rollouts of 5G communications networks across the U.S., according to Samsung. Potomac Tech Wire picked up a release.

Event equity: Tysons-based event software company Cvent has tripled in size in the past three years and continues to grow. In the years since its founding by CEO Reggie Aggarwal in 1999, the company has added a string of acquisitions over the years, writes Andy Medici in a story for subscribers in the Washington Business Journal.

May I see your ID?: Reston-based Zeva Holdings Group, an information technology software and consulting services provider, is expanding its presence in the identity-management market with the purchase of the Herndon-based firm NextgenID. Zeva says this acquisition is a “good marriage” because the ID technology could be important in the fed space, writes Carten Cordell in the Washington Business Journal.

Deals by the dozen: Tysons-based software company KLDiscovery completed its 12th acquisition in seven years, buying Richmond-based legal services company Superior Document Services (SDS), according to Virginia Business. The deal followed on the heels of KLDiscovery’s  merger completion with the NY-based investment company Pivotal Acquisition Corp. last month.

Volunteers for Vets: Chantilly-based Perspecta and PRA Health Sciences developed a web software platform to help the Department of Veterans Affairs recruit and engage potential health research volunteers nationwide. ExecutiveBiz covered the story.

Going Dutch: Tysons-based global cloud networking provider GTT Communications completed its acquisition of Netherlands-based KPN, a telecommunications and IT provider. GTT paid about $56 million to close the deal, according to Washington Technology.

Innovation kudos: Virginia ranked among 15 states to earn top-level honors as “Innovation Champions” by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), which every two years determines its ranking of the best states to start and build technology businesses within 12 quantitative and qualitative categories, including Internet speed and cost, STEM education and support for disruptive technologies. Potomac Tech Wire carried the story.

Check out the FCEDA’s newly released publications:

• Fairfax Leader 4Q 2019: recent news about the Fairfax County EDA’s activities, including quarterly jobs announcements, commercial real estate statistics and profiles of two Fairfax County companies.
• Area profiles: business highlights about 9 submarkets in Fairfax County.
• Real Estate Report: examines corporate leasing and lease rates, construction activity, vacancy rates and development trends in the county and its 17 commercial submarkets.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

Science Applications International Corp. won a potential $727 million contract to help the Air Force and Army migrate information technology applications to cloud infrastructure. Washington Business Journal

Parsons Corporation won a position and an initial task order on the $427 million multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Global Application Research, Development, Engineering and Maintenance (GARDEM) contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory. Military Embedded Systems

A joint venture of an Akima subsidiary and DTSV secured a potential five-year, $388.9 million contract to help the State Department process and sort through applications for visas. Washington Technology

AECOM’s management services group will provide integrated logistics services for Army tactical equipment as part of a potential five-year, $192 million task order awarded under the General Services Administration Schedule contract. Executive Biz

Peraton received four U.S. Navy Unmanned Maritime Systems Support (UMSS) task orders valued at $27.45 million. citybizlist

Kapsuun Group won a $14,5 million contract for A4/A6 staff support services at Shaw Air Force Base. Homeland Security Today

Modern Technology Solutions Inc. received a potential five-year, $11.1 million contract to help the Air Force Research Laboratory further develop tools designed to help U.S. Air Force Space Command collect and integrate situational awareness data. Executive Biz

Featured business events

January 22 — The Silver Line and Your Bottom Line: Leveraging Growth with Metro Expansion. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.

February 3 — Israel-Virginia Technology Innovation and Collaboration. Hosted by FCEDA and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board, a conference focused on trends in the U.S. and Israel in defense, aerospace, homeland security, border and infrastructure protection, and marine and land tactical surveillance. A delegation of 17 Israeli manufacturing companies will attend the event and there will be an opportunity for one-on-one meetings to explore partnerships with these companies. Click here.

February 4 — Entrepreneurship 101: Starting a Business in Fairfax County. The FCEDA presents monthly workshops with our partners: the Fairfax County Government, Fairfax County-based Community Business Partnership, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Click here.