WT 360: The market from all angles

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All about Empower AI's shift to solutions Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

With a new majority owner and chief executive in place, Empower AI is embarking on a new approach in its push to be a leading provider of artificial intelligence tools in the federal landscape.

The path Empower AI has mapped out for itself is the focus of this episode featuring Jeff Bohling, who was named chief executive in February as the global investor KKR took majority ownership of the company.

Empower AI is starting to talk about itself more as a solutions-oriented business versus one focused on making products, a shift Bohling describes as giving the company greater focus and alignment with how agencies are looking to buy AI.

ChatGPT featured prominently in this conversation. Bohling shares with our Ross Wilkers his perspective on what that technology has done to the overall AI dialogue, and how his time as cofounder and owner of a restaurant informs him in this current role.

Deloitte's view of how tech implementation, integration and consulting go together Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

Deloitte's identity as a global professional services firm means it looks to be more than just a provider of advisory support for its clients and particularly with federal agencies.

Jason Salzetti, who leads Deloitte's government and public services practice, explains in this episode how that 26,000-employee team is working with its federal clients today on navigating the increasing speeds and rates of change with technology and how they operate.

A big component of that approach means Deloitte looks to be at the intersection of implementation, integration and consulting. In speaking with our Ross Wilkers, Salzetti goes over how Deloitte does that and why he sees federal clients now thinking differently about risk when it comes to innovation.

Other topics on the agenda included how the "GPS" team will work with Deloitte's space practice, and Salzetti's perspectives on human capital macrotrends his colleagues at the Deloitte Center for Government Insights studied.

Deloitte ranked at No. 15 on our 2023 Top 100.

BAE sees teaming as foundational to its success Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

BAE Systems' U.S. subsidiary has made working well with others across the government and commercial technology landscapes a core part of its strategy and story to tell as a federal systems integrator.

Peder Jungck, vice president and general manager for intelligence solutions at BAE Systems Inc.'s intelligence and security segment, knows both of those worlds well given he was chief executive of a cybersecurity company that became a government contractor in the early 2000s.

As Jungck explains in this episode, knowing the market will be disrupted and where said disruption is coming from means his business is off to a good start. Jungck and our Ross Wilkers also go over today's role of the federal integrator, data management trends across government and what the I&S business is up to in working with BAE's Fast Labs advanced research team.

BAE Systems Inc. ranked No. 24 on our 2023 Top 100.

The tech and investment threads of Noblis 'Vision 2030' Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

Noblis' goal is to be at the intersections of research, science and technology for federal agencies as they think beyond just adopting "what's next."

For this episode, Noblis' chief executive Mile Corrigan explains how company No. 76 on our 2023 Top 100 is carrying out the seven-year blueprint for itself that the team calls "Vision 2030."

Vision 2030 at its core is all about aligning everything inside Noblis to those common goals, including its many teams of employees and how Noblis recruits the people for them. Corrigan describes to our Ross Wilkers how Noblis focuses on both how new hires get onboarded and the experiences prospective candidates have when applying to join the firm, including so-called "boomerang hires."

Corrigan also updates Wilkers on the continuing shift in Noblis' delivery model they went over on this podcast nearly two years ago, where the firm finds itself writing "more code than papers."

WT 360's Info Session dissects the 2023 Top 100 Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

Edition number 30 of the Washington Technology Top 100 rankings is now live for all to use as a resource for more than just the numbers behind the federal market's largest technology and services contractors.

This latest episode of WT 360's Info Session series has our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers do some talking about some of the numbers, including those that do not jump off the page. But the majority of their chat is about what the Top 100 tells us about what directions these government contractors are going in and that of the market.

One company of particular interest to everyone in the market is No. 9 Peraton, whose CEO Stu Shea sat down with Nick for an on-stage interview at WT's June 6 event to unveil the list. Nick summarizes his takeaways from that conversation, as does Ross from the perspective of an audience member.

The upcoming CEO transition at Science Applications International Corp. is on the agenda for this episode as well.

Ultra I&C's gameplan for its new private equity era Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Advent International's acquisition of Ultra Electronics in the summer of 2022 was one in a series of investments the private equity firm has made in defense and government contractors: $28 billion to be exact within the past three-and-a-half years.

For this episode, we turn the lens on the Ultra Intelligence & Communications business unit by hearing from its president Jon Rucker on how that team contributes to the larger whole that is Ultra Electronics.

Rucker is six months into this role in leading Ultra I&C, whose core product and service lines also include cybersecurity and electronic warfare. Where the business is looking to invest is a main focus of this conversation between Rucker and our Ross Wilkers, as is how Ultra balances honoring its nearly 100-year brand amid the push into new markets.

ICF's vision for its tech office goes beyond ones and zeros May 22, 2023

Show notes

ICF has a new organization in place that focuses on enabling technology innovation and its connection to service delivery across all of the firm's public and private sector markets.

Joining WT 360 to take us through the team's mission and its place in ICF's overall strategy are Mark Lee and Kyle Tuberson, respectively chief technology executive and CTO at ICF.

This is merely the latest in a series of moves by ICF to place itself further at the intersection of tech implementation, advisory and consulting work for government and commercial clients.

As ICF sees things: the client demand landscape has similar themes no matter which market is of discussion. As Lee and Tuberson tell it to our Ross Wilkers: those with the job title of technologist and others more in the domain knowledge type of role all have equal importance.

All about AT&T's public sector strategy and today's 5G landscape May 18, 2023

Show notes

AT&T is constantly looking for ways to bring its commercial networking and other technologies forward to government agencies.

Our guest for this episode to go over that strategy is Zee Hussain -- president of public sector, FirstNet and healthcare at AT&T. He explains how the public sector team works to align itself with the goals and vision of the corporation at-large to be a world leader in technology and connectivity.

In speaking with our Ross Wilkers, Hussain highlights both the investments AT&T has made in its core network and partnerships with other companies in the federal market to make both 5G and its augmenting capabilities a reality for agencies.

What's next for the FirstNet public safety network AT&T has been building out since 2017? Hussain answers that question as well.

Our snap reax to Jacobs' spinoff plan May 10, 2023

Show notes

For this episode, Washington Technology's Ross Wilkers and Nick Wakeman give their initial reactions to Jacobs' plan to spinoff the company's government services business into an independent, publicly traded company.

Jacobs had spent the past decade building that unit and creating a $4.4 billion-annual revenue entity with close to 16,000 employees. But Jacobs now sees itself going down a different path and believes Critical Mission Solutions is better off pursuing its own goals and vision as a standalone.

All of that said: Jacobs has left the door open to different options for that business if they present themselves again, as the executive team stated to an audience of inquisitive investors.

WT 360's Info Session unpacks the government's two biggest health tech efforts May 05, 2023

Show notes

A pair of big-ticket programs focused on health care for veterans, soldiers and their families is the focus of this newest WT 360 Info Session series of episodes that bring together reporters from across the GovExec media team.

FCW's executive editor Adam Mazmanian and NextGov reporter Edward Graham join our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers to update the current situation regarding the ongoing electronic health record integration programs at the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments.

On the surface, both programs appear to be going on very different tracks. But nothing in the world of government technology at this scale we're talking about is simple.

Mazmanian and Graham explain where both departments are looking to go with their EHR programs, how they got there and the roles of the companies involved in each. The common thread between them is in how both adopting variants of Oracle Cerner's electronic health record.

Leidos is the lead contractor for DOD's EHR program with Oracle Cerner, Accenture, Henry Schein One and 35 other supporting businesses as teammates. Oracle Cerner is the prime for the VA EHR program with Leidos and Accenture included as teammates.

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