The silver lining to plummeting PC sales

I read and mostly dismissed the headlines from earlier this week that PC sales slumped in the last quarter, falling 13.9 percent.

International Data Corp., the market research firm that tracks these things, said it was the biggest quarterly drop ever.

Obviously, PCs and laptops aren’t the technology driver they once were. The power of smartphones and tablets has usurped that role, but the rise of mobile devices is more about the network than the device.

2014 budget brings cuts, increases and plenty of debate

We offer a roundup of some of the top stories covering the release of President Obama's 2014 budget proposal, including the possible impact on the IT budget, GSA, VA and major defense spending.

Feds feel the pinch in Obama’s proposed 2014 budget

Salient Federal Solutions taps two new VPs

Salient Federal Solutions has named two new people to its executive team who will enable the company to maintain a strategic focus on the integration of technology, systems and solutions, said Bill Parker, Salient chief operating officer.

The company has named Sujey Edward vice president of its Agile Center of Excellence, who will focus on best practices for delivering scaled agile solutions to agencies and organizations, Salient said in a release. Read More

Northrop wins $40.5M contract for R&D, other services

Northrop Grumman Information Systems has won a $40.5 million task order contract to provide research and development services to the Air Force, Homeland Security Department, Defense Intelligence Agency and other intelligence and Defense Department customers.

Under the contract, the company will provide research, development, enhancement, integration, deployment and sustainment of the Secure Access Baseline for the Enterprise multi-level access solutions to these customers.

Work will be performed in Herndon, Va., and is expected to be completed by April 9, 2018.


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Northrop Grumman names new sector VP of human resources

Northrop Grumman has named Constance A. Soloway vice president of human resources for the company’s Electronic Systems sector, where she will be responsible for developing and implementing human resources strategies, programs and initiatives to support the sector as well as employee career development. Read More

New QinetiQ North America CEO shapes his C-suite

QinetiQ North America has named Mark Hewitt executive vice president and chief strategy officer, where he will lead strategy formulation, corporate development and strategic investments.

He will also oversee business development activities and will lead the company’s defense and commercial innovation programs, the company said in a release. Read More

Who made March's biggest hires?

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include four new hires at Artel LLC that we reported on during the month of March .

The pace of personnel moves may have slowed from January and February to March, but the month still saw a variety of executive hires and promotions as well as some high-level departures too.

The 2014 budget (yawn) is released

I remember the good old days when the president would release his budget. We’d actually plan ahead of time. There would be the main budget briefing, and then most of the agencies would have individual briefings.

We make assignments, and of course, we had to order copies of the budget ahead of time and dispatch a couple people to pick printed copies. This was before they were available online.

4 ways to win during sequestration

Expect fewer opportunities and stiffer competition in 2013 for government contracts. Layoffs, budget cuts, and price shoot-outs will be commonplace. To win in 2013, you need strategies. Consider this “4-D” approach:

1) Diversify.

Can your existing solutions help commercial companies? If so, refocus (and rebrand, if needed) your products and services to support small and large commercial companies, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions. There is likely an underserved niche or an unanswered challenge that you can solve with your existing solutions.

Northrop wins $71M Global Hawk UAV contract

Northrop Grumman has won an $71 million undefinitized contract for its Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system from the U.S. Air Force.

The award is an add-on to a previous Lot 10 contract for block load and production acceptance infrastructure, Northrop Grumman said in a release.

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