9th Annual Top 100 Federal Prime Contractors

On March 12, Joseph Kampf stood at the podium of the New York Stock Exchange and prepared to ring the opening bell. His company, Anteon Corp., was about to go public, and to mark the occasion, Anteon had passed out 5,000 company hats to the traders and to the five-dozen employees who accompanied Kampf to New York. He stepped forward and surveyed the trading floor, a sea of Anteon hats."Very few people get to ring that bell, so I felt almost blessed. To say it was exhilarating is an understatement," said Kampf, Anteon's president and chief executive officer.The crowd cheered loudly when he pressed the bell, and the Anteon employees cheered again about 30 minutes later when the first trade of the company's stock took place. The price was $21, more than 15 percent over Anteon's initial public offering price of $18 per share.Even before the war on terrorism sparked billions of dollars in new spending proposals, the government information technology market was a good place to be. Now many observers believe it might be the best. And Anteon isn't the only company reaping the benefits.Take a look at some of the other companies on Washington Technology's 2002 list of Top 100 prime contractors in the federal IT market. Lockheed Martin Corp., the No. 1 company for the eighth year in a row, has seen its stock price soar from about $34 a share a year ago to more than $60 today.The Top 100 rankings are based on General Services Administration data analyzed by the market research firms Federal Sources Inc. of McLean, Va., and Eagle Eye Inc. of Fairfax, Va.Other government IT companies also are benefiting from the strength of the federal market, which is expected to grow by nearly 10 percent from $48.5 billion in 2002 to $53.1 billion in 2003, according to FSI's FY2003 Federal Market Outlook report.In addition to Anteon (No. 17), ManTech International Inc. (No. 29) went public Feb. 7, raising $115.2 million with its IPO. Two other companies, SRA International Inc. (No. 31) and Veridian Corp. (No. 53) have since filed to go public. CACI International Inc. (No. 18) had a two-for-one stock split and a secondary offering of stock that raised $171 million. And like Lockheed Martin, many other publicly traded companies on the Top 100 list are trading near their 52-week highs."You are seeing companies being recognized for the value they can add in a sector that is growing and that is important to the government's missions," Kampf said. This recognition would have come even without the terrorist attacks, he said, "but Sept. 11 heightened everyone's sensitivity to the fact that this is a good sector to invest in."Industry executives said three major trends will shape the federal market in the year ahead. Foremost is homeland security, probably the most visible driver behind many projects today. At the same time, government integrators are looking to find strategic partners, not just among the smaller software and solutions providers, but with other large, first-tier integrators.And finally, many executives said they will maintain their aggressive pace of acquisitions and mergers, which enable them to obtain the required bulk and skills to compete for increasingly large and complex government IT projects.President Bush's proposed fiscal 2003 budget includes $37.7 billion in homeland security initiatives. Money will be going to support fire, police and rescue personnel, defend against bioterrorism and strengthen border security. Information technology and systems integration efforts cross all of those budget initiatives."There is definitely going to be a major marketplace there, and homeland security will be a major thrust for us," said Herb Anderson, president of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s IT unit. Northrop Grumman is ranked No. 2.Since the terrorist attacks, many companies in the government market have set up homeland security units to coordinate go-to-market strategies and respond to customer demands.The biggest business opportunity so far is the Transportation Security Administration's $2 billion project to install explosives detection equipment at all U.S. airports. The award is expected this month, and teams are being led by the Boeing Co. (No. 3), Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Co. (No. 7) and TRW Inc. (No. 8).Many of the initiatives being discussed, such as a proposed entry and exit tracking system to track the arrival and departure of non-U.S. citizens, will require agencies to share information in ways they never have before. The fiscal 2003 budget proposes $380 million for the project.Building such systems is a task many company executives said is long overdue."Data now can't easily be shared across agencies. Much of that is technical, in that they have old systems. Some is political, with certain agencies being unwilling to share information," said Pat Ways, civil group senior vice president for business development at Computer Sciences Corp., the No. 6 company on the Top 100. "Enterprise integration can go a long way to solving those problems."Overall, companies have not seen a deluge of homeland security money. And while executives said they expect spending to pick up toward the end of 2002 and after the 2003 budget is approved, there is still some uncertainty whether the Office of Homeland Security and its director, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, will play a strong role in determining how money is spent.Ridge's office is a wild card in the budget process, said one industry official. "[It] could find itself being anything from the center of the universe to 'Who was that guy again?' " he said.Government integrators, even the largest, have always needed partners on large-scale IT projects. But many company executives today are expressing interest in increasing and improving the quality of their partnerships with other integrators on these projects. "If you want to be a market leader, you've got to hunt [new business] with the market leaders," said Greg Baroni, president of Unisys Corp.'s global government unit. Unisys (No. 10) is talking to other systems integrators, as well as companies that are developing leading edge technologies in areas such as information sharing and biometrics, he said. Harvey Braswell, group president of government services at Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (No. 15), said he recently began meeting with his counterparts at companies such as Accenture Ltd. (No. 24), KPMG Consulting Inc. (No. 30) and Science Applications International Corp. (No. 4) to talk about doing business together. "I think they were a little surprised in the meetings that I was so open to that," Braswell said, noting that ACS lacks the design and consulting strength of some large integrators.While the right partnership can provide a company with needed skills and entry into new government markets, many executives also said they intend to rely on another tried and true method for obtaining new business: acquisitions and mergers. Moreover, the increasing emphasis by federal agencies on solution buying and outsourcing is forcing companies to get big in order to compete, analysts and industry officials said.Even Lockheed Martin, the company that leads the Top 100 list, is looking to do more deals after taking several years off to digest what it bought in the early and mid 1990s. In 2001, Lockheed Martin bought OAO Corp., which had ranked No. 42 on last year's list.The reason for the deal: Lockheed Martin wanted to strengthen its position to pursue IT outsourcing opportunities, such as the ones expected to come out of the Army Enterprise Infostructure Technology project, the service's program for updating and standardizing its desktop computers and networking infrastructure."OAO brought us a very well-managed seat management operation," said Linda Gooden, president of Lockheed Martin Information Technology. Adding OAO to Gooden's sector brought in almost 2,000 seasoned IT professionals and more than 100,000 seats in desktop outsourcing contracts.Northrop Grumman also has been an aggressive acquirer in recent years, making deals in 2000 and 2001 to pick up Federal Data Corp. and Litton Industries Inc. And the company's appetite isn't sated yet. It is now in the midst of a battle to acquire TRW of Cleveland.TRW Systems had overall revenue of about $3.2 billion in 2001, which includes aerospace, defense and IT work. Integrating a bite that big is risky, but the risks are necessary ones, Northrop Grumman's Anderson said."We need to be able to penetrate new markets, expand our current ones, pursue larger jobs and take away market share from other people," he said.If the deal happens ? and TRW so far is balking at the price per share being offered ? Northrop Grumman could challenge Lockheed Martin as the largest IT provider to the federal government, said Jean Stack, a vice president at the investment banking firm, Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin.Acquisitions also are going to play a larger role at Unisys, which just over a year ago was looking to unload its federal government business, but now sees it as a leading light for the Blue Bell, Pa., company."[The federal sector] will be a big business for Unisys going forward," Baroni said. The company is planning to embark on a series of acquisitions that five years from now will push its federal, state and local and international business to $10 billion in annual revenue, he said.Wall Street's new love affair with the government market has driven up the value of publicly traded companies and given them the ability to use their stock as capital to make acquisitions, said Jon Kutler, president of Quarterdeck Investment Partners Inc., a Los Angeles-based investment banking firm. The second half of 2002 will be very active with mergers and acquisitions, he said."It is still very shocking to me how fragmented the government IT market is," he said. "We are long overdue for another round of consolidation. It'll be good for the companies and good for the customer."XXXSPLITXXX-Industry executives said three major trends will shape the federal market in the year ahead:? Homeland security. Its uncertain promise is driving optimistic market expectations;? Increased partnerships and alliances among government integrators. Even the largest companies cannot go it alone on many of the wide-ranging federal IT projects;? Mergers and acquisitions. IT companies are looking to bulk up and add new capabilities to their portfolios.XXXSPLITXXX-Service Technology Alliance Resources III (STARS III) Immigration and Naturalization Service $2.5 billion November Services include IT program management; integration support; systems management, engineering, integration and maintenance; end-user servicesBroad Information Technology Services II (BITS II) Federal Aviation Administration $1.2 billion February 2003 Services include management of information, financial information, information resources and contracts; training; software engineeringProgram Information Systems Mission Services (PRISMS) NASA Marshall Space Flight Center $1 billion June Services include operating and maintaining existing equipment and software; gathering, analyzing, defining and documenting systems requirements; installing, testing and integrating new systems or enhancements to existing systems.Standard Army Management Information Systems (STAMIS) Computer Contract III Army $700 million May Acquisition of microcomputer systems for combat service support logistics (transportation, supply and maintenance) and personnel functional areas.Satellite Communications Control and Planning and Communication Systems Support III (SATOPS SETA III) Army $500 million January 2003 Services include strategic and tactical communications support, systems program support, mission analysis and architecture planning, systems engineering, development and integration support, operational planning and support, rapid prototyping and limited procurement.XXXSPLITXXX-Whether they are steering the ship at large companies, small companies or somewhere in between, many executives in the Top 100 share a similar concern: finding and keeping the right people.A survey of 45 Top 100 executives found that "people issues" are a top challenge or worry that is facing companies in the government market."Maintaining an environment and culture that attracts and retains the best and the brightest" is our biggest worry, one executive said.Companies are making big promises to customers to deliver innovative ideas, so "how are we going to be able to hire the kind of people we need to hire to deliver on those commitments?" another executive said.Other executives talked about culture and finding the right people to fit into the company. Some companies are growing rapidly, so their cultures are changing. "We have to get employees to embrace the internal changes the company is undergoing," an executive said.They worried about administrative details, such as managing and delivering affordable and satisfactory health care to employees. And since Sept. 11, they've begun worrying about how to keep their people safe in their offices and while on assignment around the world.Aside from people issues, Sept. 11 has also brought a host of worries to government IT companies. Executives want to make sure they are finding the right business opportunities among homeland security initiatives. They also worry about how the government is going to manage the challenge. A lack of sage leadership from Congress and the White House "can result in them putting Band-Aids on problems as opposed to the more difficult task of devising a long-term, permanent fix," one executive said.XXXSPLITXXX-The Top 100 is compiled through the work of two market research firms: Federal Sources Inc. of McLean, Va., and Eagle Eye Inc. of Fairfax, Va. They analyze data from the General Services Administration's Federal Procurement Data Center.The rankings are based on spending by agencies during fiscal 2001. The procurement data is analyzed using product service codes. This year's list of 74 codes is the same as last year's.The codes are selected to give the most accurate snapshot of government spending on information technology, telecommunications and systems integration work. After choosing the codes, Federal Sources, Eagle Eye and sift the data, account for mergers and acquisitions and then rank the companies.Some things to keep in mind:? Agencies report dollars obligated to prime contractors that are worth more than $25,000. This represents actual spending on a contract during fiscal 2001 and not spending over the entire life of the contract.? The reports are for prime contracting only and do not include subcontracting dollars.? GSA schedule transactions of more than $25,000 are included.? About 65 agencies are required to report contract obligations to the Federal Procurement Data Center except the U.S. Postal Service, the legislative and judicial branches and most intelligence agency spending. XXXSPLITXXX- XXXSPLITXXX-XXXSPLITXXX-XXXSPLITXXX-