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Fairfax County E-Bird for June 13, 2019

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June 13, 2019

Follow the leaders: Washington Technology is out with its ranking of the 100 largest government contractors in the federal market, and Fairfax County companies dominate the list. Twenty-nine are headquartered here, including six of the top 10 — Leidos and SAIC in Reston, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman in the Falls Church area, Booz Allen Hamilton in Tysons, and Perspecta in Chantilly — and 78 have a presence here. Nick Wakeman crunched the numbers for Washington Technology.

On the move: Jacobs Engineering, which has offices in Reston and Herndon and vaulted from 25th to 11th on the Washington Technology Top 100, announced the completion of its purchase of KeyW. According to William McCormick’s story for ExecutiveBiz, the deal enhances Jacobs’ position in government services, enabling its aerospace, tech and nuclear business to deliver innovative and unique technical solutions. With a workforce of more than 50,000, Jacobs generates approximately $12 billion in annual revenue.

To the degrees we’ll go: Seeking to promote a cloud-ready workforce, Amazon Web Services announced that it entered a partnership with George Mason University to establish a bachelor’s degree program focused on cloud computing. AWS last year partnered with Northern Virginia Community College to offer an associate degree program. The Washington Business Journal’s Carten Cordell reports that Mason’s degree program will focus on technical skills such as cloud architecture, cybersecurity, software development and DevOps.

With millions, not magic: Merlin International, which has headquarters in Tysons and is focused on the cybersecurity industry, says it is leading an $8 million funding round for Israel’s Cyber Observer, developer of a platform designed to help clients remain secure against cyber threats. Katishi Maake of the Washington Business Journal reports that Merlin will take over Cyber Observer’s U.S. and Canadian operations, using its own sales and engineering teams to extend Cyber Observer’s technology into the North American market.

It’s a jungle out there: The Washington Business Journal’s Michael Neibauer reports that Amazon subsidiary VAData is under contract to purchase all or part of a 57-acre site on EDS Drive in Herndon that is owned by an affiliate of Perspecta. Sources told the Business Journal that demolition of 1980s office buildings and a parking garage could make way for construction of a data center.

Expanding its reach: Tysons-based TEGNA is paying $535 million to acquire two TV stations from Dispatch Broadcast Group. The deal includes WTHR, the NBC affiliate and top-rated station in Indianapolis, and WBNS, the CBS affiliate and No.1-rated station in Columbus, Ohio. The deal also includes WBNS Radio, a sports radio station in Central Ohio. Laura Spitalniak broadcast this for the Washington Business Journal.

Brick by brick: Databricks, with offices in Tysons, forged an alliance with Booz Allen Hamilton to help federal clients implement big data and analytics technology platforms for on-premises and cloud computing environments. Databricks will integrate its open-source tool with Booz Allen’s Open Data Platform to accelerate migration of customer data. Darwin McDaniel has more for ExecutiveBiz.

Makes Sense: Tysons-based Senseware, developer of a facility monitoring and controls platform for commercial and industrial buildings, received an unspecified investment from GreenCen Ventures. Potomac Tech Wire cited the release.

De Lux addition: Tysons-based DXC Technology received regulatory approval to complete its acquisition of Luxoft Holding Inc., a global strategy and engineering firm. The deal, expected to close this month, will bring DXC new capabilities in digital engineering and an expanded portfolio of digital offerings, according to a release picked up by citybizlist.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

  • Northrop Grumman secured a potential $958 million contract to manufacture and deliver 30 multi-mission radar systems, retrofit kits and spare components to the Marine Corps. GovConWire
  • Telaforce received three contracts with a combined potential value of $153.3 million to help the Bureau of Labor Statistics collect and process nationwide employment data. GovConWire
  • Boeing secured a $194.2 million delivery order modification to provide seven heavy-lift helicopters to the U.S. Special Operations Command. GovConWire
  • Huntington Ingalls won a potential five-year, $687.1 million contract from the Navy for support and modernization of the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford. GovConWire
  • Deloitte received a contract to assist NASA on a one-year urban air-mobility project to plan introduction of new vehicles, such as passenger drones and flying taxis, into the U.S. air transportation system. ExecutiveBiz
    Harris nailed down a $6.2 million contract from the Air Force to build a ground antenna platform with ability to connect to multiple satellites simultaneously. ExecutiveBiz

Upcoming Business Events

  • June 26: Access to Success Multicultural Business Conference — Roadmap to Resources. Free event designed to provide practical knowledge to small, women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned businesses. Presented by the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity. Click here.
  • June 26: No Pressure Prospecting: Techniques to improve sales performance. Part of the Business Education Series presented by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce. Click here.

FAIRFACT: Fairfax County is investing in smart technologies including autonomous vehicles, drones, smart communities and blockchain. Check out our new Emerging Technologies Industry Profile.