Never stop your market research or risk the consequences

Systems integrators operate within an interesting paradox according to industry research:  the longer a firm has been working with a specific customer, the less market research, i.e. environmental scanning, it performs.

After working with a customer for 10 or 15 years or more, the company believes that it knows the customer better than anyone else.  Unfortunately, a long-term customer relationship invariably becomes taken for granted.

Nearly 250 take Lockheed buyout

A voluntary buyout program at Lockheed Martin Corp. has netted nearly 250 mid-level managers who will leave the company.

Federal Times reports that 260 employees applied for the program and 243 were approved for buyouts. The departing managers will leave by March 22.

The company is not planning more layoffs but will continue to evaluate its workforce needs, a spokeswoman told the newspaper.

SAIC wins $10M anti-submarine surveillance contract

Science Applications International Corp. has won a $10 million contract with the U.S. Navy for research and development of anti-submarine warfare surveillance.

Under the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, the company will provide system architecture and design, sensors and processing, communications mobility and energy requirements.

Draft RFP out for $10B NIH IT contract

The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center has released a draft request for proposals for the $10 billion NIH ECS III follow-on, known as CIO-CS, to allow the government to get IT commodity solutions related to health and life sciences capabilities and other IT needs.

CIA's $600M Amazon award heralded as game-changer

I've updated this blog to correct a most embarrassing typo in how I spelled "public."  Thanks to the anonymous commenter who didn't give even after I couldn't spot the mistake the first time around.

Did the CIA give Amazon Web Services a $600M cloud contract?

Who needs sales and BD training? Everyone

We’ve all heard the adage “selling is everyone’s job.” With the shrinking government budget, not only is selling everyone’s job, but so are marketing, business development and taking out the garbage.

Sales, marketing and BD departments are being downsized while companies try to figure out how to do much more with fewer key people in place.

Lockheed wins $250M as part of Wyle's NASA team

Lockheed Martin's piece of Wyle's huge NASA contracts could be worth $250 million to provide a variety of services to the International Space Station.

Lockheed is part of Wyle's team on the $1.76 billion NASA Human Health and Performance Contract it won earlier this month.

Harris gets ceiling extended by $500M for tactical communications contract

Harris has won a $500 million ceiling increase to its 2011 task order contract with the U.S. Army Communications Electronics Command.

The contract has Harris providing radios, accessories, systems and services to help the State and Defense departments, as well as their international partners.

Artel expands leadership team with four executive hires

Artel LLC has named four new executives to its leadership team, brining in business development, communications, systems integration and network operations expertise.

Jackie Berger has been named vice president of communications and marketing, where she will be responsible for the communications and marketing strategies integral to the company’s growth, Artel said. She was formerly director of marketing and communications at Harris Corp., where she worked with Artel CEO Ted Hengst.

Lockheed's 5-part succession plan

The succession planning at Lockheed Martin has been a picture of stability: Norm Augustine to Vance Coffman to Bob Stevens.

There was grooming and overlap from one to the other. The same was true of the succession from Stevens to Christopher Kubasik. But that one got messy as Kubasik was fired on the eve of becoming CEO and eventual chairman, after it was uncovered that he had an affair.