From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jun 3 16:36:01 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2007 12:36:01 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] The corporate takeover of U.S. intelligence Message-ID: <20070603123505.O13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 3 June 2007 ; Salon The corporate takeover of U.S. intelligence http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/06/01/intel_contractors/ --- The U.S. government now outsources a vast portion of its spying operations to private firms -- with zero public accountability. By Tim Shorrock More than five years into the global "war on terror," spying has become one of the fastest-growing private industries in the United States. The federal government relies more than ever on outsourcing for some of its most sensitive work, though it has kept details about its use of private contractors a closely guarded secret. Intelligence experts, and even the government itself, have warned of a critical lack of oversight for the booming intelligence business. On May 14, at an industry conference in Colorado sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. government revealed for the first time how much of its classified intelligence budget is spent on private contracts: a whopping 70 percent. Based on this year's estimated budget of at least $48 billion, that would come to at least $34 billion in contracts. The figure was disclosed by Terri Everett, a senior procurement executive in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the agency established by Congress in 2004 to oversee the 16 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence infrastructure. A copy of Everett's unclassified PowerPoint slide presentation, titled "Procuring the Future" [1] and dated May 25, was obtained by Salon. (It has since become available on the DIA's Web site.) "We can't spy ... If we can't buy!" one of the slides proclaims, underscoring the enormous dependence of U.S. intelligence agencies on private sector contracts. The DNI figures show that the aggregate number of private contracts awarded by intelligence agencies rose by about 38 percent from the mid-1990s to 2005. But the surge in outsourcing has been far more dramatic measured in dollars: Over the same period of time, the total value of intelligence contracts more than doubled, from about $18 billion in 1995 to about $42 billion in 2005. "Those numbers are startling," said Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists and an expert on the U.S. intelligence budget. "They represent a transformation of the Cold War intelligence bureaucracy into something new and different that is literally dominated by contractor interests." Because of the cloak of secrecy thrown over the intelligence budgets, there is no way for the American public, or even much of Congress, to know how those contractors are getting the money, what they are doing with it, or how effectively they are using it. The explosion in outsourcing [2] has taken place against a backdrop of intelligence failures for which the Bush administration has been hammered by critics, from Saddam Hussein's fictional weapons of mass destruction to abusive interrogations that have involved employees of private contractors operating in Iraq [3], Afghanistan [4] and Guantnamo Bay, Cuba [5]. Aftergood and other experts also warn that the lack of transparency creates conditions ripe for corruption. Trey Brown, a DNI press officer, told Salon that the 70 percent figure disclosed by Everett refers to everything that U.S. intelligence agencies buy, from pencils to buildings to "whatever devices we use to collect intelligence." Asked how much of the money doled out goes toward big-ticket items like military spy satellites, he replied, "We can't really talk about those kinds of things." The media has reported on some contracting figures for individual agencies, but never before for the entire U.S. intelligence enterprise. In 2006, the Washington Post reported [6] that a "significant majority" of the employees at two key agencies, the National Counterterrrorism Center and the Pentagon's Counter-Intelligence Field Activity office, were contractors (at CIFA, the number was more than 70 percent). More recently, former officers with the Central Intelligence Agency have said the CIA's workforce is about 60 percent contractors. But the statistics alone don't even show the degree to which outsourcing has penetrated U.S. intelligence -- many tasks and services once reserved exclusively for government employees are being handled by civilians. For example, private contractors analyze much of the intelligence collected by satellites and low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles, and they write reports that are passed up to the line to high-ranking government officials. They supply and maintain software programs that can manipulate and depict data used to track terrorist suspects, both at home and abroad, and determine what targets to hit in hot spots in Iraq and Afghanistan [7]. Such data is also at the heart of the National Security Agency's massive eavesdropping programs and may be one reason the DNI is pushing Congress to grant immunity to corporations that may have cooperated with the NSA [8] over the past five years. Contractors also provide collaboration tools to help individual agencies communicate with each other, and they supply security tools to protect intelligence networks from outside tampering. Outsourcing has also spread into the realm of human intelligence. At the CIA, contractors help staff overseas stations and provide disguises used by agents working under cover. According to Robert Baer, the former CIA officer who was the inspiration for the character played by George Clooney in the film "Syriana," [9] a contractor stationed in Iraq even supervises where CIA agents go in Baghdad and whom they meet. "It's a completely different culture from the way the CIA used to be run, when a case officer determined where and when agents would go," he told me in a recent interview. "Everyone I know in the CIA is leaving and going into contracting whether they're retired or not." The DNI itself has voiced doubts about the efficiency and effectiveness of outsourcing. In a public report (PDF) [10] released last fall, the agency said the intelligence community increasingly "finds itself in competition with its contractors for our own employees." Faced with arbitrary staffing limits and uncertain funding, the report said, intelligence agencies are forced "to use contractors for work that may be borderline 'inherently governmental'" -- meaning the agencies have no clear idea about what work should remain exclusively inside the government versus work that can be done by civilians working for private firms. The DNI also found that "those same contractors recruit our own employees, already cleared and trained at government expense, and then 'lease' them back to us at considerably greater expense." A Senate Intelligence Committee report (PDF) [11] released on Thursday spells out the costs to taxpayers. It estimates that the average annual cost for a government intelligence officer is $126,500, compared to the average $250,000 (including overhead) paid by the government for an intelligence contractor. "Given this cost disparity," the report concluded, "the Committee believes that the Intelligence Community should strive in the long-term to reduce its dependence upon contractors." The DNI began an intensive study of contracting last year, but when its "IC Core Contractor Inventory" report was sent to Congress in April, DNI officials refused to release its findings to the public, citing risks to national security. The next month, a report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence rebuked (PDF) [12] the DNI in unusually strong language, concluding that U.S. officials "do not have an adequate understanding of the size and composition of the contractor work force, a consistent and well-articulated method for assessing contractor performance, or strategies for managing a combined staff-contractor workforce." U.S. intelligence budgets are classified, and all discussions about them in Congress are held in secret. Much of the information, however, is available to intelligence contractors, who are at liberty to lobby members of Congress about the budgets, potentially skewing policy in favor of the contractors. For example, Science Applications International Corp., one of the nation's largest intelligence contractors, spent $1,330,000 in their congressional lobbying efforts in 2006, which included a focus on the intelligence and defense budgets, according to records [13] filed with the Senate's Office of Public Records. The public, of course, is completely excluded from these discussions. "It's not like a debate when someone loses," said Aftergood. "There is no debate. And the more work that migrates to the private sector, the less effective congressional oversight is going to be." From that secretive process, he added, "there's only a short distance to the Duke Cunninghams of the world and the corruption of the process in the interest of private corporations." In March 2006, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who had resigned from Congress several months earlier, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of accepting more than $2 million in bribes from executives with MZM, a prominent San Diego defense contractor. In return for the bribes, Cunningham used his position on the House appropriations and intelligence committees to win tens of millions of dollars' worth of contracts for MZM at the CIA and the Pentagon's CIFA office, which has been criticized by Congress for spying on American citizens. The MZM case deepened earlier this month when Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the former deputy director of the CIA, was indicted for conspiring with former MZM CEO Brent Wilkes to steer contracts toward the company. U.S. intelligence agencies have always relied on private companies for technology and hardware. Lockheed built the famous U-2 spy plane under specifications from the CIA, and dozens of companies, from TRW to Polaroid to Raytheon, helped develop the high-resolution cameras and satellites that beamed information back to Washington about the Soviet Union and its military and missile installations. The National Security Agency, which was founded in the early 1950s to monitor foreign communications and telephone calls, hired IBM, Cray and other companies to make the supercomputers that helped the agency break encryption codes and transform millions of bits of data into meaningful intelligence. By the 1990s, however, commercial developments in encryption, information technology, imagery and satellites had outpaced the government's ability to keep up, and intelligence agencies began to turn to the private sector for technologies they once made in-house. Agencies also turned to outsourcing after Congress, as part of the "peace dividend" that followed the end of the Cold War, cut defense and intelligence budgets by about 30 percent. When the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency was created in 1995 as the primary collection agency for imagery and mapping, for example, it immediately began buying its software and much of its satellite imagery from commercial vendors; today, half of its 14,000 workers are full-time equivalent contractors who work inside NGA facilities but collect their paychecks from companies like Booz Allen Hamilton and Lockheed Martin. In the late 1990s, the NSA began outsourcing its internal telecommunications and even some of its signals analysis to private companies, such as Computer Services Corp. and SAIC. Outsourcing increased dramatically after 9/11. The Bush administration and Congress, determined to prevent further terrorist attacks, ordered a major increase in intelligence spending and organized new institutions to fight the war on terror, such as the National Counterterrorism Center. To beef up these organizations, the CIA and other agencies were authorized to hire thousands of analysts and human intelligence specialists. Partly because of the big cuts of the 1990s, however, many of the people with the skills and security clearances to do that work were working in the private sector. As a result, contracting grew quickly as intelligence agencies rushed to fill the gap. That increase can be seen in the DNI documents showing contract award dollars: Contract spending, based on the DNI data and estimates from this period, remained fairly steady from 1995 to 2001, at about $20 billion a year. In 2002, the first year after the attacks on New York and Washington, contracts jumped to about $32 billion. In 2003 they jumped again, reaching about $42 billion. They have remained steady since then through 2006 (the DNI data is current as of last August). Because nearly 90 percent of intelligence contracts are classified and the budgets kept secret, it's difficult to draw up a list of top contractors and their revenues derived from intelligence work. Based on publicly available information, including filings from publicly traded companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission and company press releases and Web sites, the current top five intelligence contractors appear to be Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, SAIC, General Dynamics and L-3 Communications. Other major contractors include Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI International [14], DRS Technologies and Mantech International. The industry's growth and dependence on government budgets has made intelligence contracting an attractive market for former high-ranking national security officials, like former CIA director George Tenet, who now earns millions of dollars [15] working as a director and advisor to four companies that hold contracts with U.S. intelligence agencies and do big business in Iraq and elsewhere. Congress, meanwhile, is beginning to ask serious questions about intelligence outsourcing and how lawmakers influence the intelligence budget process. Some of that interest has been generated by the Cunningham scandal. In another recent case, Rep. Rick Renzi, a Republican from Arizona, resigned from the House Intelligence Committee in April because he is under federal investigation for introducing legislation that may have benefited Mantech International, a major intelligence contractor where Renzi's father works in a senior executive position. In the Cunningham case, many of MZM's illegal contracts were funded by "earmarks" that he inserted in intelligence bills. Earmarks, typically budget items placed by lawmakers to benefit projects or companies in their district, are often difficult to find amid the dense verbiage of legislation -- and in the "black" intelligence budgets, they are even harder to find. In its recent budget report, the House Intelligence Committee listed 26 separate earmarks for intelligence contracts, along with the sponsor's name and the dollar amount of the contract. The names of the contractors, however, were not included in the list. Both the House and Senate are now considering intelligence spending bills that require the DNI, starting next year, to provide extensive information on contractors. The House version requires an annual report on contractors that might be committing waste and fraud, as well as reviews on its "accountability mechanisms" for contractors and the effect of contractors on the intelligence workforce. The amendment was drafted by Rep. David Price, D-N.C., who introduced a similar bill last year that passed the House but was quashed by the Senate. In a statement on the House floor on May 10, Price explained that he was seeking answers to several simple questions: "Should (contractors) be involved in intelligence collection? Should they be involved in analysis? What about interrogations or covert operations? Are there some activities that are so sensitive theyshould only be performed by highly trained Intelligence Community professionals?" If either of thee bills pass in theirpresent form, the overall U.S. intelligence budget will be made public. Such trs to expand, said Paul Cox, Price's press secretary. "As a nation," he said, "we really need to takepriate to contract and what's inherently governmental." --- [1] http://www.dia.mil/contracting/bralSession%201130%20Everett.ppt [2] http://dir.salon.com/topics/outsourcing/ [3] http://www.salon.comg_steve/ [4] http://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-archive-200post.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301759_pf.html [6] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/06/AR2006050601088.html [7] http://dir.salon.com/topics/afghanistan [8] http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/06/21/att_nsa/ [9] http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2005/11/23/syriana/index.html [10] http://www.odni.gov/publications/DNIHumanCapitalStrategicPlan18October2006.pdf [11] http://intelligence.senate.gov/11075.pdf [12] http://intelligence.house.gov/Media/PDFS/IAAFY08.pdf [13] http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/opr_gifviewer.exe?/2007/E/000/075/000075678|10 [14] http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/03/31/big_steve/ [15] http://salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/07/tenet_money/index.html From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jun 3 17:04:55 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sun, 3 Jun 2007 13:04:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] George Tenet cashes in on Iraq Message-ID: <20070603130442.R13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 3 June 2007 ; Salon George Tenet cashes in on Iraq http://salon.com/news/feature/2007/05/07/tenet_money/index.html --- The former CIA chief is earning big money from corporations profiting off the war -- a fact not mentioned in his combative new book or heard on his publicity blitz. By Tim Shorrock [...] At QinetiQ, Tenet is working with Duane P. Andrews, a former assistant secretary of defense who is QinetiQ's CEO for North America. Prior to coming to QinetiQ, Andrews served for 13 years as a senior executive with Science Applications International Corp. SAIC is one of the largest U.S. intelligence contractors and a major provider of private sector analysts to both the CIA and the National Security Agency. Vanity Fair recently referred to it as a "shadow government." There is an intriguing detail about SAIC buried in Tenet's acknowledgements in his new book: "Arnold Punaro of SAIC," he writes, "graciously provided me with a secure workspace to review and work with classified material." Punaro is identified on the SAIC Web site as the company's executive vice president for government affairs, communications and support operations, as well as general manager of its Washington operations. Getting use of such a secure room is no small feat. In the intelligence business, such rooms are known as sensitive, compartmented information facilities, or SCIFs. To prevent eavesdroppers from picking up top-secret conversations, a typical SCIF has film on the windows, walls fitted with soundproof steel plates and white-noise makers embedded in the ceiling. Punaro must have had approval from SAIC and the CIA to allow Tenet such access. Harlow, Tenet's co-author, explained to Salon that Tenet could have used office space at the CIA to work on the book, but that he "believed it would be better not to be producing his memoirs at a government facility." It was "a matter of convenience" to use the room at SAIC, Harlow said. [...] From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:35:08 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:35:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SM&A Congratulates Companies on Major Contract Wins Message-ID: <20070606213345.R13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 4 June 2007 ; Market Wire SM&A Congratulates Companies on Major Contract Wins http://new.marketwire.com/2.0/release.do?id=738584 --- NEWPORT BEACH, CA -- SM&A (NASDAQ: WINS), the world's leading provider of services which helps its clients win competitive procurements and perform on complex programs and projects they win, today offered congratulations to several companies for their recent major contract awards. Winning company proposals include: - Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract for system design and development of the Future Combat Systems Centralized Controller Device (CCD) for unmanned air and ground vehicles. The contract was awarded by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), teaming with The Boeing Company as the Lead Systems Integrator. The potential value for this development contract is in excess of $35 million through 2014. - Quantech was also awarded a PASS IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity) contract with Electronic System Center (ESC) at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts and other locations. The contract has a ceiling of $800 million over five years and the scope of work includes program management, financial management, resource management and administration. The IDIQ provides Quantech with a contract to bid all of ESC's future Advisory & Assistance Services on over 20 task orders for work across the U.S. - Stratos Mobile Networks was one of the recipients of an award from the GSA of the Satellite Services-II (SATCOM-II) IDIQ contract. Under its contract, Stratos will provide transport services, applications services and design, engineering and maintenance services for the SATCOM program. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:39:12 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:39:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Foolish Forecast: SAIC Speaks Message-ID: <20070606213510.P13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 June 2007 ; The Motley Fool Foolish Forecast: SAIC Speaks http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/06/05/foolish-forecast-saic-speaks.aspx --- BY Rich Smith Government contractor and NYSE newcomer SAIC (NYSE: SAI) reports its third set of earnings numbers as a public company tomorrow, when it releases its news on fiscal Q1 2008. Want to know what Wall Street expects to see? Read on. Want to know what really matters? Read on a bit more. What analysts say: * Buy, sell, or waffle? Fifteen analysts follow SAIC. The stock still has one sell rating and 14 holds. * Revenue. On average, they're looking for 6% revenue growth, to $2.08 billion. * Earnings. Profits are predicted to fall 26% to $0.20 per share. What management says: The big news at SAIC since last year's strong earnings report came out has concerned a spate of executive departures. First, SAIC Group President George Singley announced his retirement in April. Then, Enterprise and Infrastructure Solutions Group President Larry Peck announced he is stepping down from that post (but will remain with the company). Finally, late last month, SAIC Executive VP William Roper announced he is resigning to take on the CEO's job at VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN). Worrisome developments? Perhaps, if the company was flailing -- but it's not, as shown in its fiscal Q4 and full-year 2007 earnings report, discussed here [1]. What management does: Last quarter's revenue was greater than anticipated, and its net losses (exacerbated by higher taxes) less than feared. That said, the firm did see both rolling gross and net margins erode, while progress with operating margin halted its steady upward march. One Fool says: Reviewing the most recent trends in margins, though, I don't see much to worry about. Over the last two reporting quarters, sales were up 8%, cost of services provided up only 7%, and selling, general, and administrative costs up just 5%. Looks to me like the margins should start moving upward again shortly, if SAIC just keeps doing what it's been doing. Unsurprisingly, management agrees that things are going just fine. In last quarter's report, previous guidance for fiscal 2008 was reaffirmed [2] at $8.7 billion to $9 billion in revenue, and $370 million or more in free cash flow [3]. Want to learn more about SAIC? Get the word straight from the horse's mouth (no offense intended) -- the Fool's own Alex Dumortier interviewed Titan (now L-3 (NYSE: LLL)) alum and current SAIC CFO Mark Sopp early last month. Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. The Fool has a disclosure policy. --- [1] http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/04/20/say-what-saic.aspx [2] http://boards.fool.com/Message.asp?mid=25430905 [3] http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2005/commentary05122914.htm From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:40:52 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:40:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Wins Navy Deal Message-ID: <20070606214045.Q13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 5 June 2007 ; The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers SAIC Wins Navy Deal http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=207402 --- Science Applications International Corp. is being awarded a $10,438,103 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research and development, test and evaluation in environmental technology and engineering, marine science, chemistry, biological science, information technology and management, advanced sensor development, environmental platform systems, decision support systems and ocean/harbor/coastal surveillance in support of the Advanced Systems and Applied Sciences Division.This contract is one of two contracts awarded: both awardees will compete for task orders during the ordering period.This three-year contract includes one two-year option, which, if exercised, will bring the potential, cumulative value of the contract to $17,969,822.Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed May 2010.Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website and posting to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems e-Commerce Central website, with two offers received.The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego, Calif., is the contracting activity (N66001-07-D-0091). From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:42:40 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:42:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Executive VP Exercises Options Message-ID: <20070606214234.W13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 June 2007 ; Houston Chronicle SAIC Executive VP Exercises Options http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4866775.html --- NEW YORK -- The executive vice president of Science Applications International Corp. exercised options for 54,999 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday. In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Joseph P. Walkush reported he exercised options Tuesday for $9.53 apiece and then sold 26,574 of them the same day for $19.73 apiece. Walkush also surrendered 12,471 shares back to the company for $19.73 apiece. Insiders can surrender shares as a way to cover either taxes or the cost of exercising options. Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction. SAIC is based in San Diego. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:44:32 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:44:32 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Contracts for 6/6/2007 Message-ID: <20070606214420.H13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 June 2007 ; United States Department of Defense Contracts for 6/6/2007 http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3532 --- CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense No. 701-07 FOR RELEASE AT June 06, 2007 Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public/Industry(703) 428-0711 CONTRACTS AIR FORCE [...] Science Application International Corp., Orlando, Fla., is being awarded a $5,912,133 cost-plus-award-fee contract modification. The overall systems engineering integration contract represents a Department of Defense long-term engineering and integration effort for the mission planning enterprise. It will support operation and maintenance; life cycle upgrades of the portable flight planning software and mission planning legacy systems and supports the technical and management tasks associated with migrating from these legacy systems to Joint Mission Planning Mission Systems. The scope of the current contract includes continued Mission Planning System Engineering and Integration effort for the next twelve years and includes technical and managerial tasks associated with the Integration of the Joint Mission Planning Systems. The purpose of this modification is to incorporate the requirements of an engineering change proposal including additional Navy Systems Engineering and Test, Air Force Maintenance and Sustainment Tasks, and foreign military sales platform integration. The contract data requirements list are updated to incorporate OSD required cost reporting deliverables. At this time, no funds have been obligated. This work will be complete April 2017.Headquarters 951st Electronic Systems Group, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., is the contracting activity (FA8720-05-C-0005/P00038). [...] From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 01:46:52 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 21:46:52 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Profit Slumps at SAIC Message-ID: <20070606214646.K13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 6 June 2007 ; The Street Profit Slumps at SAIC http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/newsanalysis/general/10361076.html --- By Daniel Del'Re Government contractor SAIC missed first-quarter earnings estimates as profit tumbled and sales posted only modest gains. Net income fell more than 24% to $80 million, or 19 cents a share, from $106 million, or 31 cents a share a year earlier. Discontinued operations from SAIC's ANX and Telcordia subsidiaries accounted for a penny per share of profit. Analysts had expected earnings of 20 cents a share, excluding discontinuing operations, according to Thomson Financial. The company sold both subsidiaries last year. SAIC attributed a 1% fall in operating income to "the timing of business development and internal research and development spending." The company expects this trend to last throughout the fiscal year. Acquisitions helped lift revenue by 6% to $2.1 billion, roughly in line with analysts' consensus forecast. The company said that internal growth unrelated to acquisitions contributed 2 percentage points to the quarter's revenue gains. During the quarter, SAIC won a $394 million contract for computer systems support with the Air Force, and a $62 million contract with the Army for engineering support and handling of chemical materials. "Thanks to the hard work of our 44,000 employees, the company is off to a good start for the year," said Chief Executive and chairman Ken Dahlberg. "In addition, the enactment of the (military) supplemental spending bill in May should allow our primary customers to fund their critical missions." For the full year, SAIC forecast revenue between $8.7 billion and $9 billion and earnings of 83 cents to 88 cents a share, both in line with analysts' views. Shares were trading down 34 cents, or 1.7%, to $19.25 following the earnings announcement after the markets closed. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 21:56:08 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 17:56:08 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Investing in Your Backyard: San Diego Message-ID: <20070607175540.P13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 June 2007 ; The Motley Fool Investing in Your Backyard: San Diego http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/06/07/investing-in-your-backyard-san-diego.aspx --- By Anders Bylund Break out the green tea lattes and California burritos -- it's a backyard investing barbecue in southern California! There are many good reasons for researching investment opportunities in a certain geographic area. Today, it's San Diego, Calif., where the weather is always great for a barbecue. Let's see how the business ambiance matches up. If you happen to live in Normal Heights or Linda Vista, you already have a few advantages when it comes to evaluating the local market, such as access to local news sources and the word on the street, and a high probability of being a customer or employee of these companies. And if you're not a local resident, you might still want to know whether the weather matches the business climate -- a hot area could be chock-full of undiscovered treasures on their way to greatness. Without further ado, here are the largest companies headquartered between Carlsbad and San Ysidro: [Table containing Market Cap, CAPS Rating, and Bull Ratio for Qualcomm, Sempra Energy, SAIC, Leap Wireless, and Amylin Pharmaceuticals. ] You can't miss the half-ton gorilla in town -- wireless equipment maker Qualcomm stands simian head and hairy shoulders above the rest. That doesn't automatically translate into respect from our CAPS community, though, and its current grade is very much average. The bears think that the stock's P/E ratio is too high, and that the mainstay CDMA technology is getting outdated. The latter might not be a concern though, at least not if you ask all-star CAPS player FearlessCal: I don't understand why QCOM bears don't believe QCOM has a play in GSM. The 3G technology is WCDMA -- which is CDMA on top of 2G GSM networks. Actually, I find it somewhat disturbing that when the 3G standards were being set, all the GSM providers knew about QCOM's royalty payments for CDMA and agreed to the standard, only to now complain about the royalties. Food for thought, indeed. Military tech-support provider SAIC has a much easier time finding friends. This Motley Fool Inside Value pick [1] is rolling in cash according to even its detractors, and as long as the government keeps spending money on defense, SAIC will collect plenty of it. Surf's up, dude Though Qualcomm is the undisputed heavyweight champ, the biotech industry is perhaps a larger contributor to the local economy. Of the 99 company tickers I found in San Diego with my trusty Capital IQ screener, 46 work mainly in health care and pharmaceuticals. Though their market caps add up to less than half of the telecom giant's, that's certainly a respectable cadre of businesses. After all, this is the home of UC San Diego and its world-class medical school, not to mention the Torrey Pines medical research center. Access to top-notch research facilities and highly qualified med-school graduates always helps when you're kicking off a biotech upstart -- just look at Boston [2] for further evidence of that theory. There's also a surprisingly healthy real estate market here, with several mid-cap REITs on the market, and a handful of smaller wireless communications players living in Qualcomm's massive shadow. And that, somewhat shockingly, is it. Outside those four fields, you won't find any other major business concentrations here, only one-off outliers like apparel retailer Charlotte Russe (Nasdaq: CHIC) and fast-food chain Jack in the Box (NYSE: JBX). And all of the 16 current four-or-five-star stocks in town are biotechs. Final Foolishness Maybe it's something to do with the weather. Almost every area I've touched on in this article series has come out looking at least decent, and many of my destinations have dazzled me -- Austin [3], Seattle [4], and the Twin Cities [5] would be good examples. But now I'm looking at a decidedly mediocre vista. Not since Miami [6] has the CAPS community been so down on a backyard of mine, despite the plethora of stocks in the supposedly booming medical sector. The average CAPS grade here is an uninspiring 2.6 -- a D+ at best. And our newsletter analysts seem to largely agree on the lack of opportunity in San Diego. SAIC is the only current pick, though two former recommendations lie discarded in a ditch by the bay in La Jolla. It's not for a lack of economic advantages. Convenient trade with Mexico, a fine seaport, and easy access to two large airports should lead to good things. But you could say similar things about Miami, too, and that was my previous worst-performing city. Are the suits sipping margaritas out on the beaches in Torrey Pines and South Beach rather than conducting serious business? OK, that's probably exaggerating things, but the city that was dubbed "Enron By the Sea" [7] by investigators just three years ago might have earned its unwelcome nickname. Unless you're a focused biotech investor, you might prefer looking elsewhere for your next portfolio pick. Just one Fool's opinion, backed by that of nearly 30,000 rated CAPS users. Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to weigh in on the market of the extreme Southwest -- or on any stocks at all, really -- by joining Motley Fool CAPS and blasting away with your ratings and commentary pitches. And if the Plymouth of the West isn't your 'hood, maybe we'll come around where you live the next time. Hit the beach with some further reading: * Qualcomm Shares the Wealth [8] * A Biotech Triple Play [9] * Heads Up, Biotech Investors [10] SAIC is a Motley Fool Inside Value pick. Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here, but those burritos sound good. You can check out Anders' holdings if you like, or follow him around the world on these Foolish local-business treks. Foolish disclosure is always red-hot. --- [1] http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/14/index.htm?source=iivedilnk825093 [2] http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2007/05/21/investing-in-your-backyard-boston.aspx [3] http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/01/05/investing-in-your-backyard-austin-texas.aspx [4] http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/01/19/investing-in-your-backyard-peerless-in-seattle.aspx [5] http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2006/12/01/investing-in-your-backyard-twin-cities.aspx [6] http://www.fool.com/investing/small-cap/2006/11/27/investing-in-your-backyard-miami.aspx [7] http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060809-110520-1624r.htm [8] http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2007/05/23/qualcomm-shares-the-wealth.aspx [9] http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2007/05/29/a-biotech-triple-play.aspx [10] http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2007/05/01/a-weekly-planner-for-biotech-investors.aspx From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 7 21:59:37 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 17:59:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Choppy Behavior Message-ID: <20070607175926.X13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 7 June 2007 ; The AntiBrokers (Blog) SAIC Choppy Behavior http://hipegg.blogspot.com/2007/06/saic-choppy-behavior.html --- Image: SAIC stock price w/ overlay [1] Technical Analysis: SAI has not been on the market long, but there is enough information to provide some guidance. The initial downtrend (B) was broken in April 2007. An uptrend (C) was formed at that time and it has just been broken. SAI has established support (D) at $17 and resistance (A) around $20. Expect SAI to bounce around in this range before making a real move. SAI becomes a buy when it breaks resistance (A). If you really like the company, begin accumulation after a successful retest of support (D). Summary: Sell. --- [1] http://bp1.blogger.com/_1iapOFiGaJ0/RmhUxUUOu3I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/nVR_-nByGRg/s320/sai07jun.JPG From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Jun 9 14:27:57 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sat, 9 Jun 2007 10:27:57 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Auditor issue stirs 1st SAIC stockholders' meeting Message-ID: <20070609102612.S13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 9 June 2007 ; San Diego Union-Tribune Auditor issue stirs 1st SAIC stockholders' meeting http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070609-9999-1b9saic.html --- By Paul M. Krawzak COPLEY NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON -- During its first stockholders' meeting as a publicly traded company, SAIC yesterday shortened its board members' terms to one year and defended its rehiring of an independent auditor. The San Diego-based defense contractor, also known as Science Applications International Corp., re-elected three board members, including CEO Ken Dahlberg, who doubles as chairman of the board and is now the only employee of the company who sits on the board. The company also added retired Air Force Gen. John P. Jumper to the board to replace J.P. Walkush, an executive vice president at the company. About 80 shareholders showed up for the meeting, which proceeded smoothly without any objection until Ralph Siver, a shareholder and former employee, stood up. Siver questioned the reappointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP to perform the yearly audit. Noting the accounting firm has served as SAIC's independent auditor for several years, Siver said not changing auditors could lead to "too close of contact" between the auditor and company, compromising the integrity of the audit. "The value of our holdings in the company are most sensitive to our reputation," Siver said. Wolfgang Demisch, a board member who serves on the board's audit committee, responded that the practice of changing the Deloitte managing partner in charge of the audit every five years prevents undue familiarity from developing between employees and auditor. Demisch said he was reluctant to change auditors frequently because SAIC is "not a simple company." "It is complex, it is difficult, it is lots and lots of judgment," he said. After the meeting, Dahlberg said he was pleased the proposal to shorten board members' terms received the necessary two-thirds vote to pass. "It's just good governance that we have all directors stand for annual elections," he said. Dahlberg also defended the transition away from past boards that had heavy representation from company executives. "More independent directors with a variety of skill mix and experiences helps me, helps the company better develop a strategy for long-term success," he said. Dahlberg said the consolidation of several classes of employee-owned preferred stock into a single series would not have any impact on the owners. The stock was separated into four series, each with a different date when it could be sold, to promote orderly trading when the company went public last year, according to SAIC financial statements. Under that plan, all of the stock would have been able to be sold as of Oct. 8. That will not change under the consolidation. SAIC's stock closed at $18.04 per share, up 7 cents. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 12 22:10:32 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:10:32 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Names Dr. Amy Alving Chief Scientist Message-ID: <20070612181024.E13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 June 2007 ; Earthtimes.org SAIC Names Dr. Amy Alving Chief Scientist http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,119881.shtml --- SAN DIEGO and MCLEAN, Va., June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Science Applications International Corporation announced today that Amy E. Alving, Ph.D., has been appointed chief scientist. Alving will work with the corporate Office of Technology to make SAIC's world-class technical capabilities known to its customers and industrial and university teammates. She will also foster scientific collaboration across the company and work to strengthen SAIC's ties with the academic community. "This appointment allows Dr. Alving to use her abilities on behalf of the entire company to build new, technology-driven business for SAIC," according to Trey Smith, executive vice president and chief technology officer. Alving joined SAIC in 2005 as the chief technology officer for the Engineering, Training and Logistics Group. Prior to joining SAIC, Alving served as the director of the Special Projects Office at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where she was responsible for strategic planning, operations, finances, security and program development and execution. Alving was a White House fellow serving at the Department of Commerce from 1997 to 1998. Prior to that, she was an assistant and associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Minnesota, where she taught mechanics, fluids and experimental methods, served as a thesis advisor to graduate students and conducted research. Alving graduated from Princeton University in 1988 with a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering and has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 12 22:12:40 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:12:40 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Stumbles Message-ID: <20070612181234.E13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 June 2007 ; The Motley Fool SAIC Stumbles http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/06/11/saic-stumbles.aspx --- By Rich Smith According to CEO Ken Dahlberg, government contractor SAIC (NYSE: SAI) "is off to a good start for the year." Shareholders who've seen the value of their investment drop 8% since Wednesday's fiscal Q1 2008 earnings news may feel differently. If they do, you can't really blame them. In a world where double-digit growth has become de rigueur for many investors, SAIC's 6% increase in sales year over year probably doesn't pass muster. Especially when you consider that only two percentage points of that growth was organic, with twice as much growth deriving from acquisitions. Moreover, where the firm did get double digits -- earnings from continuing operations -- it headed in the wrong direction, dropping 33% year over year to $0.18 per share. Uneaten cake Then again, investors who aren't also employees of SAIC can't really complain too much about the drop in earnings per share. That would evoke references to "having your cake and eating it too." Only half the decline in per-share earnings came from weakness at the business per se (a 50-basis-point drop in operating margins to 6.8%, reduced further at the net margin level by higher taxes). The rest of the decline was a function of the very event that permitted non-employee investors to buy into SAIC in the first place -- the IPO. You see, when SAIC "went public" last year, it issued new shares to the ... public. This increased the share count by 20%, which increased the number of slices among which the firm's total profits got divided. Although SAIC subsequently reversed some of the dilution by buying back 5.2 million shares last quarter, in the end, the IPO in and of itself reduced earnings per share by another 17% or so. Plenty of cake left over So the bad news wasn't quite as bad as it appeared at first glance. Was there any good news as well? Turns out there was. For one thing, the reduced margins still sit higher than those of rivals DynCorp (NYSE: DCP) and Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) (if far below those of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and L-3 (NYSE: LLL)). For another, management dismissed the reduced operating margin as a function of increased R&D spending (an investment in future profitability) and "the timing of business development." In other words, SAIC says investors should not worry about one quarter's results, but focus on the long term instead. Speaking of which, it says plans remain on track to hit its previous guidance for this year: $8.7 billion to $9 billion in sales, and $0.83 to $0.88 per share in earnings. Want to learn more about SAIC? Get the word straight from the horse's mouth (no offense intended) -- the Fool's own Alex Dumortier interviewed Titan (now L-3 (NYSE: LLL) alum and current SAIC CFO Mark Sopp early last month. --- Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. SAIC is an Inside Value pick. The Fool has a disclosure policy. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 12 22:14:01 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:14:01 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Paid Lobbyist $480K Over Two Years Message-ID: <20070612181354.G13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 June 2007 ; Forbes (AP) SAIC Paid Lobbyist $480K Over Two Years http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/11/ap3810289.html --- Defense contractor SAIC Inc. paid Egle Associates $480,000 in 2005 and 2006 to lobby the federal government on various issues, according to nine federal disclosure forms. The firm had lobbied for contracts with the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as the Defense, Homeland Security, and Agriculture departments, according to the forms filed Friday. A separate federal form indicated that the San Diego-based SAIC terminated its contract with the lobbying firm. Under a federal law enacted in 1995, lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches. They must register with Congress within 45 days of being hired or engaging in lobbying. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 12 22:16:31 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:16:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Northrop Grumman and SAIC to Restructure Ownership of AMSEC LLC Message-ID: <20070612181624.T13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 June 2007 ; Earthtimes.org Northrop Grumman and SAIC to Restructure Ownership of AMSEC LLC http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,120688.shtml --- NEWPORT NEWS, Va., June 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE: NOC] and Science Applications International Corporation [NYSE: SAI] announced a plan to restructure their joint venture, AMSEC LLC (AMSEC), by dividing the company along customer and product lines. AMSEC is a full-service supplier that provides engineering, logistics and technical support services primarily to Navy ship and aviation programs. Under this restructuring, Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector will retain the ship engineering, logistics and technical services businesses under the AMSEC name. SAIC will receive the aviation, combat systems and strike force integration services businesses from AMSEC. These businesses include AMSEC's subsidiary Eagan, McAllister Associates, Inc. (EMA), a command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, information technology and naval aviation support services firm, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC and part of SAIC's Defense Solutions Group. In addition, SAIC will receive AMSEC's Strike Force Systems and Integration Division (SSI), which provides combat systems (including Aegis), integration, training, and engineering support to a number of major Navy customers and which will also be integrated into SAIC's Defense Solutions Group following completion of the restructuring. The restructuring is not expected to be material to Northrop Grumman's financial results. Since AMSEC currently is a majority owned subsidiary of SAIC and its results are included in SAIC's financial results, following completion of the transaction, the restructuring will be accounted for in SAIC's financial statements as discontinued operations. The revenue associated with the portion of the business remaining at AMSEC that will be removed from SAIC's financial results following completion of the restructuring is estimated to be approximately $200 million on an annual basis for SAIC's 2008 fiscal year and is expected to have a negligible impact on SAIC's earnings per share from continuing operations and cash flow from continuing operations for SAIC's fiscal 2008. Completion of the restructuring is subject to customary conditions, including termination or expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The restructuring is expected to be completed in mid-July 2007. Following completion of the restructuring, AMSEC LLC will operate as a separate business unit of Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector and will report to Irwin F. Edenzon, vice president of technology development and fleet support "We are enthusiastic about the future of AMSEC. The joint venture with SAIC has been very successful and the proposed restructuring will allow us to focus on supporting Navy ships throughout their service life," Edenzon said. "Throughout the joint ownership of AMSEC LLC, we have enjoyed a successful relationship with Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector," said Deborah Alderson, president of SAIC's Defense Solutions Group. "The professional services afforded by AMSEC's employees serving our customers have been invaluable. We now look forward to the increased ability to focus on our core business areas of command, control and communications and enterprise solutions and providing more depth in our solution offerings to our customers through the realignment of EMA and SSI into SAIC." AMSEC LLC was formed in 1999 as a joint venture between Northrop Grumman Newport News sector and SAIC and has since grown from $100 million in revenue in 2000 to approximately $500 million in fiscal year 2007, which ended in January 2007. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 12 22:19:07 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:19:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Slims Down Message-ID: <20070612181857.N13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 June 2007 ; Forbes SAIC Slims Down http://www.forbes.com/markets/economy/2007/06/12/saic-northrop-defense-markets-equity-cx_er_0612markets15.html --- BY Evelyn M. Rusli SAIC has slimmed down for the Street. Defense equipment suppliers, Northrop Grumman and SAIC, agreed to break up its joint venture, Amsec. On Tuesday the companies announced they will carve up Amsec along customer and product business lines. Along with the Amsec name, Northrop will keep the ship engineering, logistics and technical services businesses. Meanwhile, SAIC will retain the aviation, combat systems, and strike force integration service lines. The venture, formed in 1999, has ballooned over the last seven years. Since 2000 Amsec's annual revenues have quintupled from $100 million to $500 million in 2007. Because SAIC is the major stakeholder of Amsec, the break-up will knick the company's finances in 2008. After the transaction, the restructuring will be counted as "discontinued operations," the company said. Northrop's pieces of the Amsec pie represent close to $200 million of annual revenues. This loss "is expected to have a negligible impact on SAIC's earnings-per-share" for 2008, the company said. Investors seemed concerned by the split as shares of SAIC fell 1.0%, or 18 cents, to $17.88 in morning trading. However, the break-up may help SAIC, which went public last year, zero in on its key businesses and create a simplified business model for Wall Street to follow. (See: "Homeland Security Goes Public." [1]) "We now look forward to the increased ability to focus on our core business," said Deborah Alderson, president of SAIC's Defense Solutions Group, Tuesday. Benchmark Company analyst Alex Hamilton agreed. "They're trimming their portfolio, that's a good thing," he told Forbes.com Tuesday. "The story needs to get a little simpler in order for the Street to understand their name." Hamilton said the broadly diversified company, which churns out some $8 billion in annual revenues, should concentrate on its larger businesses such as cargo screening and the information technology services it provides to the federal government. (See: "Beltway Bet: SAIC." [2]) --- [1] http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/08/02/saic-homeland-security-ipo-cx_wl_0803saic.html [2] http://www.forbes.com/businessinthebeltway/2007/02/16/saic-dahlberg-tech-biz-wash-cz_gm_0216saic.html From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 14 11:25:07 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:25:07 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] iRobot Teams with Lockheed Martin to Develop FCS Centralized Controller Message-ID: <20070614072501.N13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 14 June 2007 ; Business Wire iRobot Teams with Lockheed Martin to Develop FCS Centralized Controller http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070613006156&newsLang=en --- BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT) today announced it has been selected by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), the provider of the Centralized Controller Device for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, to be a key supplier of design and development for the project's controls and display through its estimated delivery in 2015. Managed by the Lead Systems Integrator team of Boeing and partner Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the FCS development contract represents the Army's premier modernization program, comprising a family of sensors, air systems, and both manned and unmanned ground systems, all of which are networked to provide soldiers with enhanced situational awareness and survivability. The Centralized Controller is a handheld device that will allow an individual soldier to remotely control or query the systems in an FCS brigade -- from a Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to an unmanned ground system. Traditionally, this would require numerous disparate controllers and multiple personnel to manage. With FCS, all the systems will be networked and able to be controlled by a central device. iRobot's role will be to develop controls and display designs for the Centralized Controller. The company was selected in part due to its expertise in developing robots based on the ever-changing needs of soldiers in the field. "The Centralized Controller puts the power of FCS into the palm of our soldiers' hands," said Vice Admiral Joe Dyer (U.S. Navy, Ret.), president of iRobot Government & Industrial Robots. "FCS is transforming the Army into a faster, smarter fighting force, and we are proud to contribute our direct in-theater experience to the project." A lead partner on the Army's groundbreaking FCS program, iRobot also is developing the SUGV, which is based upon the combat-proven iRobot PackBot platform, to meet the needs of 21st-century warfighters. The company also is building PackBot robots to meet current orders of $66 million for the Naval Sea Systems Command's Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) program. To date, iRobot has delivered more than 1,000 PackBot robots to a broad range of military and civilian customers worldwide. The iRobot PackBot is used to detect and defuse road-side bombs, known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), while keeping soldiers out of harm's way. The robots have performed tens of thousands of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are credited with saving soldiers' lives. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 14 11:29:18 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 07:29:18 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] TECH: Healthcare Informatics 100 is not very helpful Message-ID: <20070614072909.H13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 14 June 2007 ; The Health Care Blog (Blog) TECH: Healthcare Informatics 100 is not very helpful http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2007/06/tech_healthcare.html --- The Healthare Informatics 100 list of companies in Health IT is out. It's fawned over with reverence by lots of companies on the list, and it even gets an encouraging nod from MrHISTalk--who's usually a lot more sensible. Which is a pity because the list is basically rubbish, and not very helpful to the industry. Who's the biggest Health IT company, and #1 on their list? It's Cardinal Health. Err, really? Well they may have $80--odd billion in revenue, but that's because they sell lots of drugs wholesale. Even Healthcare Informatics realizes that and has a note saying "share of revenue from IT" and for Cardinal they say it's 3%. Even that ($3ish billion) from sales in Health IT is a big number, although I think it's stretching the definition to say that Cardinal has that amount in IT sales. And of course on that logic McKesson should be #2 on the list. But they only make it to #9, somehow down from #4 in 2006 Who's next? #2 is SAIC. A big time defense contractor with lots of revenue ($8 bn) from the taxpayer, but only 4% ($200m) in health care. Third and fourth are Henry Schein and CGI. Who? Exactly. (Henry Schein is a medium sized medical products distributor and CGI is a Canadian version of SAIC which bought mid-sized US based outsourcers AMS which had a decent health care business in 2004). Neither of them are real players in health care IT. Henry Schein claims less than $100m in health care IT sales. #5 is Perot, which is probably in the right place, but #6 is SAS. Great company and all that but it's probably not even the biggest business intelligence company in healthcare. By the time we get to #7, 8, 9 & 10--Agfa, Sage (ex-Emdeon/Medical Manager), McKesson Provider Technologies and Cerner, we're now talking about real health care IT companies. Although again the Agfa & Sage rankings are way high as there's lots of non-health care revenue in there too. And then there's a few small companies not on the list -- and like in War Games what's not on the list matters. One is called Siemens, another is GE, and a third is called Philips. Two of those are in the top 4 health IS companies by revenue, not to mention each of their PACS sales alone which probably exceed Agfa's. For that matter if SAIC belongs on the list where is EDS, ACS, or CSC? (And I'm not talking about #88, an Ohio company with $18m in revenue called strangely enough "The CSC Group"). By the way GE used to be on the list at #1 before it bought IDX because the dummies at Healthcare Informatics used to count its medical imaging business as IT revenue. Now for some reason it's disappeared. Finally a bunch of consultants are on the list including some great niche firms like #79 ECG and #89 Healthia. But if they're on the list where the heck is Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, PWC etc, etc. So what does Healthcare Informatics, one of the "bibles" of health IT say to defend this schlock it puts out every year? "As you peruse our annual ranking, keep in mind that the data is self reported. As such we rely on the companies to report only healthcare IT-generated revenues and to do it accurately. Though not perfect we have faith that our survey provides a valuable resource to the industry. Some companies may have a significantly different ranking to previous years because in changes of how IT revenues were attributed or defined as a result of reorganization. And absent entirely are some large industry players due to limits on the granularity of the information they are willing to share." So in other words we're printing garbage, but it's not our fault. For a start they know that they're not ranking companies by their health IT revenue or else they wouldn't have Cardinal #1, SAIC #2 or Henry Schein in there at all. So it would be easy for them to rank the order by reported health care IT revenue. Why they don't do that I can't fathom. But that's not the real problem. Do you think Forbes uses the "self-reported" approach when it's putting out its list of the world's richest people. Do you think that the Hong Kong shipping magnates, Colombian drug dealers and Arab princes and terrorists on their lists fax in a form detailing their net worth? Exactly how hard would it be for Healthcare Informatics to make a couple of phone calls to Wall Street (which of course knows the real numbers), do a bit of real investigative work, talk to a few consultants and come up with a decent list. That would provide a real "resource to the industry". But someone coming to try to figure out the real state of who's big and who's not in health care IT from this list would be hopelessly confused. CODA: And if you're searching for Healthcare Informatics online, good luck. --- [1] http://tinyurl.com/yqxeva From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jun 14 21:38:41 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:38:41 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Contracts for 6/14/2007 Message-ID: <20070614173835.C13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 14 June 2007 ; United States Department of Defense Contracts for 6/14/2007 http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3538 --- CONTRACTS from the United States Department of Defense No. 743-07 FOR RELEASE AT June 14, 2007 Media Contact: (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public/Industry(703) 428-0711 CONTRACTS [...] ARMY [...] Science Applications International Corp., San Diego, Calif., was awarded on June 11, 2007, a delivery order amount of $24,466,333 as part of a $24,466,333 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for intelligence and operational support for the Counter Improvised Explosive Device Targeting Program. Work will be performed in Charlottesville, Va. (28.10 percent), Fort Belvoir, Va. (28.10 percent), Afghanistan (19.16 percent), and Iraq (24.64 percent), and is expected to be completed by June 7, 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. There were four bids solicited on May 4, 2007, and one bid was received. The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (W911W4-04-D-0002). From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jun 17 23:49:02 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 19:49:02 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Professional Investors, as Well as Curious, Trying to Figure Out SAIC Inc. Message-ID: <20070617194855.R13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 17 June 2007 ; San Diego Business Journal Professional Investors, as Well as Curious, Trying to Figure Out SAIC Inc. http://www.sdbj.com/article.asp?aID=114553 --- Is Cubic Corp.'s 92-Year-Old CEO Behind Shake-Up? By MIKE ALLEN San Diego Business Journal Staff SAIC Inc. is San Diego's second-largest company by sales (its $8 billion in revenue ranks it just behind Sempra Energy) and largest in terms of employees (44,000), but most people have never heard of it. This probably has something to do with the fact that it derives a great deal of its business from such federal agencies as the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, and thus prefers a low profile. Formerly called Science Applications International Corp., and founded by Robert Beyster in 1969, SAIC was referred to as a "stealth company" in a sensational piece in Vanity Fair earlier this year. Even though it gets more than 90 percent of its contracts from Uncle Sam, it divulges little about what it does, and appears to enjoy operating below the radar screen. This behavior appears even more peculiar in light of SAIC's decision to abandon its employee-owned status and go public in October. Yes, there is much more data available about the business now. But professional investors, as well as the curious (including reporters), still have difficulty figuring out what's going on. So when SAIC held its first annual shareholder meeting June 8 in Northern Virginia outside Washington, D.C., rather than here in San Diego, where it is headquartered, one wonders just what is going on. SAIC has held the shareholders meeting at its much larger East Coast office several times before in recent years, but the timing behind the first meeting following the October IPO is curious. To be sure, SAIC is not the only local public company to hold its shareholders meeting outside the boundaries of the county. Sempra held its annual meeting a few years ago in London, and last year in Costa Mesa. Still, SAIC continues to befuddle, and cares little for the level of name recognition that many public companies such as Qualcomm Inc., Sempra, or even fellow defense contractors the Boeing Co. and General Dynamics Corp. seek out. At the meeting, shareholders approved changing length of terms for directors to one year instead of staggered three-year terms. The company said it wanted to allow shareholders to express opinions on individual board members each year. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Jun 18 10:49:55 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 06:49:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Radiation detection coming to port Message-ID: <20070618064937.V13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 18 June 2007 ; Panama City News Herald Radiation detection coming to port http://www.newsherald.com/headlines/article.display.php?a=1770 --- More vessels, containers boost work for agents By Daniel Carson PANAMA CITY Customs agents at Port Panama City will have a new tool to screen containers later this summer as the number of vessels at the port rises. The port will install a Radiation Portal Monitor, or RPM, to check departing containers at a new gate. The RPM screens for radiation from nuclear devices, dirty bombs, special nuclear materials, natural sources and isotopes used in medicine and industry. Any time containers go out of the port via truck, drivers will pass through the RPM, Customs and Border Protection Director Judy McKee said. Personnel will need to be standing by in case a truck's containers trigger a radiation alarm. "There needs to be two people on duty if containers go out of the gate," McKee said. An arm will go down to stop the truck if an alarm goes off. The driver then will be directed to a secondary station, McKee said. "If it looks like it's dangerous, we won't even open it," She said. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, operates more than 800 RPMs nationwide, including 181 at seaports, according to the agency's Web site. CBP personnel also are equipped with handheld radiation detectors called Radiological Isotope Identifiers. Showing her RIID, McKee said the device could identify the radiation and send information to a lab for further processing if necessary. The port's CBP staff still will use RIIDs even after the radiation monitor is installed at the new gate, McKee said. The device is so sensitive, it will go off if Berg Steel Pipe is X-raying its pipes, or if someone walking by has undergone radiation treatment. CBP agents always have to identify the source of radiation, she added. "We've never had anything that wasn't legitimate," McKee said. McKee said she also has a request in for two more CBP officers. More vessels U.S. Customs and Border Protection installed McKee as its Port Panama City director in 1997, and she said the port never had a container discharge prior to September 2005. She has seen traffic grow at the port, especially after Hurricane Katrina. The year before Katrina devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts, Port Panama City averaged 10 vessels a month, McKee said. After Katrina, shipping company Linea Peninsular arrived at the port, accelerating the workload for the federal agency inspecting and manifesting that new cargo. Six months after the first Linea Peninsular vessel arrived in Panama City, the port's average ballooned to 33 vessels a month, she said. In fiscal year 2005-2006, the port handled more than 14,000 containers and saw an increase in ships to 382, up from 108 in the prior fiscal year. During the first four months of 2007, more than 4,000 containers entered the port, all coming from Mexico. Charlie Lewis, the port's deputy director, said CBP has to meet every ship that enters the port. The CBP staff has adjusted well to the rush of containers and new tasks, such as fruit inspection, he said. "They have kept up with the flow of ships. They haven't delayed us one bit," Lewis said. About 99 percent of CBP's local activities take place at the port, but McKee pointed out that Panama City's staff has more duties than just ship inspection. CBP also goes to the area's marinas for inspections of private vessels and occasionally is called to the airport for commercial and private flights entering the country, McKee said. The department's new "24-hour" rule requires that manifest information be provided prior to the sea container being loaded onto a vessel in a foreign port. McKee said there also are CBP officers in foreign ports that examine high-risk containerized cargo as part of the Container Security Initiative. "It's a lot better than it used to be, knowing what's coming," McKee said. Jacksonville's CBP office sends over a mobile Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System, or VACIS, to X-ray containers about four times a year to look for anomalies and help with ship searches, McKee said. The mobile VACIS also is available in the event of an emergency, she said. McKee said the port could be receiving an on-site VACIS in the future, but she didn't know an exact date. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 19 01:52:16 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:52:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Selects Tele Atlas Digital Map Data for New Mission-Critical Government Solutions Message-ID: <20070618215208.C13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 18 June 2007 ; Earthtimes.org SAIC Selects Tele Atlas Digital Map Data for New Mission-Critical Government Solutions http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,123819.shtml --- SAN DIEGO /PRNewswire/ -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), one of the nation's leading systems integrators in the government market, today announced that its Geospatial Enterprise Architecture Rack (GEAR) products will demo the use of the latest digital map data from Tele Atlas (FSE: TA6, EUNV: TA), a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location based solutions. Tele Atlas will provide customized map data specific to each GEAR application, which will be pre-configured and installed according to the map coverage needs of the agency or department implementing the GEAR solution. The GEAR product line is on display at the ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, both in the SAIC (#1725) and Tele Atlas (#1307) booths. GEAR products allow operationally focused users in federal, state and local governments and commercial enterprises such as insurance and utility companies to quickly collaborate in a geospatial environment so that resources can be immediately targeted to areas in need. The products combine hardware and software applications, delivering a turnkey and highly mobile solution that can be quickly deployed in times of crisis, such as during a major weather event or other disaster, and ensure continuity of operations. "With immediate access to critical location-based information, governments can efficiently allocate resources when disaster strikes, and mitigate the impact of a crisis," said John Auble, director, Government and Utilities, Tele Atlas. "Combining the strength of our digital map database with SAIC's expertise in the government market provides customers a highly-versatile and scalable solution to meet their GIS application needs, whether in their general day-to-day operations or crisis situations." Available in four different configurations -- GEAR Enterprise, GEAR Appliance, GEAR GO, and GEAR EON (Edge of Network) -- GEAR can also be used as a primary GIS infrastructure. It is hardware and software independent, meets OGC standards and is built on a customizable ESRI(R) product-base, making it easy to implement in virtually any IT environment. The hardware component is designed for rapid recovery, featuring redundant services and power, and fail- over protection, making it highly desirable for use in mission-critical applications where interruptions must be kept to a minimum. "Our government customers depend on us to provide the most highly accurate map data available, which is why we turned to Tele Atlas to help us deliver the customized geospatial solutions required in this market", said Jim Sippel, director of Strategic Relationships, Geospatial Technologies Operations for SAIC. About Tele Atlas Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world's most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). The information is the foundation for a wide range of personal and in-car navigation systems and mobile and Internet map applications that help users find the people, places, products, and services they need, wherever they are. The company also works with business partners who trust its digital map data to deliver critical applications for emergency, business, fleet, and infrastructure services. Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and today has approximately 2,400 full-time staff and contract cartographers at offices in 24 countries and uses a sophisticated network of professional drivers, mobile mapping vans, and more than 50,000 data resources to deliver highly accurate and up-to-date digital maps. Tele Atlas is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (TA6) and on Euronext Amsterdam (TA). For more information, visit http://www.teleatlas.com/. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jun 20 11:58:22 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:58:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Hampton office opens to support Langley work Message-ID: <20070620075813.C13243-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 20 June 2007 ; The Virginian-Pilot Hampton office opens to support Langley work http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=126989&ran=71839 --- By JON W. GLASS HAMPTON -- Science Systems and Applications Inc., a Lanham, Md.-based technology services company, will officially open a 22,000-square-foot office today to support a five-year, $140 million contract it holds with NASA Langley Research Center. Around 100 employees will work in the leased space in the Hampton Roads Center South Campus off Magruder Boulevard. SSAI won a contract last fall that was previously held by San Diego-based SAIC to provide technical support to NASA Langley scientists doing Earth and planetary atmospheric science research. About 225 SSAI employees support the contract, with about half working in NASA Langley offices. Most migrated to the company from SAIC and subcontractors under the previous contract, said Anoop Mehta, SSAI vice president and chief financial officer. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jun 22 21:16:13 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:16:13 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Haas TCM Signs Agreement To Support SAIC [...] Message-ID: <20070622171541.I1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 22 June 2007 ; Chemical Online Haas TCM Signs Agreement To Support SAIC On Program To Provide The U.S. Government Supply Chain Management Services For Chemicals, Packaged Petroleum, Oils, Lubricants http://www.chemicalonline.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID=%7B81A4C262-582A-4AEB-8ED9-DC65BD9B58D5%7D&Bucket=Current+Headlines&VNETCOOKIE=NO --- West Chester, PA - Haas TCM announced it has signed a subcontract with Science Applications International Corporation to support SAIC's recently awarded prime contract it won from the Defense Supply Center - Richmond, Va., (DSCR) for privatization of chemicals and packaged petroleum, oils and lubricants (POLs). The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity subcontract has a five-year base term and one five-year option period consistent with SAIC's prime contract. The prime contract has a ceiling value of $6.2B , if the customer exercises all options. Both the subcontract and the prime contract result from a government initiative to privatize the supply of chemicals and POLs to the U.S. warfighter and other government operations. SAIC will provide services formerly covered by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) including comprehensive management of chemicals and POLs to include demand forecasting, order processing, procurement, inventory management, quality control, environmental compliance, hazardous materials management, storage, packaging, worldwide distribution, obsolescence management, data management and customer support services. Haas TCM is SAIC's primary subcontractor in this effort and will provide a wide range of products and logistics services. The goal of this performance-based program is to improve overall product support by decreasing cycle times and increasing the availability of chemicals and POLs to DLA customers at a lower cost of ownership. Using its chemical distribution infrastructure, JIT work processes and tcmIS, its state-of-the-art chemical lifecycle management platform, Haas TCM will provide to SAIC and the U.S. Government the service it has provided to its commercial aerospace and defense industry customers. "We have learned through collaboration with our customers in the aerospace and defense industries how to better manage the unique chemical-related business and environmental stewardship challenges facing these industries", said Thad Fortin, Chief Executive Officer of Haas TCM. "We are thrilled to work with SAIC to deliver this kind of value to the warfighter and the U.S. government", adds Fortin. Haas TCM is headquartered in West Chester, Pa, with about 350 employees, annual revenues of $240M and operations on four continents. Haas TCM currently provides chemical lifecycle management services to customers in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, semiconductors, energy, metalworking, transportation, food/beverage and heavy equipment manufacturing industries. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jun 22 21:17:59 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:17:59 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Senior Vice President Sells Shares Message-ID: <20070622171752.U1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 22 June 2007 ; Forbes (AP) SAIC Senior Vice President Sells Shares http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/21/ap3845289.html --- A senior vice president of defense contractor SAIC Inc. sold 21,352 shares of common stock, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In a Form 4 filed with the SEC Wednesday, Steven P. Fisher reported he sold the shares Monday for $17.99 apiece. Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Jun 25 22:23:31 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:23:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Other U.S. Services May Buy FCS Technology Message-ID: <20070625182324.T1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 25 June 2007 ; DefenseNews.com Other U.S. Services May Buy FCS Technology http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2854036&C=landwar --- By KRIS OSBORN The U.S. Marine Corps, Navy and even the Air Force may buy armored vehicles, sensors and networking gear being developed for the Army's Future Combat Systems, which would give joint backing to the embattled $164 billion modernization program. "The Marines are expected to buy the FCS armored vehicles, at least a certain number of the eight-man ground variants. It would be great if they bought all of them. We would be saving in production costs as well as maintenance and logistics," said an official with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). The Marines are also looking at FCS networking gear the Army is developing. "Down the line, the Marine Corps will step up and buy a lot of this, and it might also lower the long-term production costs. If you have the Marines also buying it, the price should come down," the TRADOC official said. Marine officials acknowledged interest, but stopped short of commitment. All the U.S. services will be watching as the Army deploys various FCS technologies in the run-up to the fielding of the first full brigade combat team in 2015. Army officials said other branches are interested in the FCS computer systems that draw data from the network and distribute it around the fire-control and navigational computers aboard an armored vehicle. These include the System of Systems Common Operating Environment (SOSCOE), Integrated Computer Systems and the wireless communications device, the Joint Tactical Radio Systems. "We've had interest in SOSCOE from the Air Force and Navy," said Scott Davis, the Army's FCS deputy program manager for operations. Air Force and Navy officials did not respond to queries by press time. But the Marines have a deep interest in the program and have embedded people with various Army FCS offices and units to learn about the nascent systems. "We work hand in hand on a variety of solutions. Sometimes it's gear and sometimes it's war-fighting concepts," said Marine Maj. Jay Delarosa, a spokesman for the Marines at the Pentagon. For instance, during a February experiment at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., Marines tested the FCS' Micro Air Vehicle and Unmanned Ground Sensors in simulated combat. Other Marines will be embedded with the Army's FCS evaluation task force when it stands up at Fort Bliss, Texas, later this year, Army officials said. The unit will begin testing vehicles equipped with the battlefield network gear in the lead-up to a major exercise in July 2008, said U.S. Army spokesman Paul Mehney. For their part, Army FCS leaders have returned the interest by sending troops to work in relevant Marine offices. "We have put some of our folks in Quantico to work that issue," Davis said. "We have embedded with them and are working on how they want to do battle command and how that works into our network. They were intrigued, but they were not sure how the FCS battle command fits with their requirements. We have contributed some money to have Boeing and our guys to work with them." Even engineers from Boeing, which with SAIC is the program's lead systems integrator, have been sent to learn about Marine battle command technologies and how they might hook up to the FCS network. "The Marines have been interested in buying portions of FCS," said Mary McAdam, a spokeswoman for Boeing. Some parts of the sprawling FCS program have long had joint involvement. The Fire Scout unmanned helicopter was originally a Navy program, and the sea service is still involved with the Non-Line-of-Sight gun. And the main tactical network node will be the Joint Tactical Radio Systems, now being purchased by the thousands in several variants. These software-defined radios will pass encrypted voice, video and data on the battlefield. FCS will get a good multiservice wringing-out during Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008. Slated for next February and March at bases around the United States, the exercise will use command-and-control technology from all of the services in war-fighting simulations. FCS officials see the exercise as something of a coming-out for their systems. They want to prove FCS gear can keep tabs on friendly and enemy forces and move targeting data from sensors to shooters wearing many different uniforms, according to a written statement from Air Force Col. Stephen Moulton, modernization and innovation director at the Air Force's Global Cyberspace Integration Center, Langley AFB, Va. "The FCS is a joint network. We expect to be able to have all the services play a role in the network," said U.S. Army spokesman Lt. Col. William Wiggins. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jun 26 11:01:31 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 07:01:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Core Systems in San Diego CA provide SAIC industrial rackmount systems Message-ID: <20070626070120.S1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 June 2007 ; Military Embedded Systems Core Systems in San Diego CA provide SAIC industrial rackmount systems http://www.mil-embedded.com/news/db/?6972 --- Core Systems in San Diego CA is contracted to provide SAIC industrial rackmount systems for the IES-Interoperability Engineering System. The IES is used for military datalink for scenario simulation and monitoring . SAICs product is then being sold within the military. Core Systems was chosen becuase are products and services are dependable and meet all applicable requirements. We look forward to working closely with SAIC now and for future programs say Chris Schaffner, President of Core Systems Core Systems is a premier provider of complete integrated systems for the Industrial, Embedded, Military and Communications marketplaces. Core Systems also supplies a large line of off the self and custom integrated enclosures and displays. We design, manufacture and customize open system platforms to meet the demanding requirements of our customers' programs, using both standard and enhanced Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jun 27 00:51:25 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:51:25 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] App Security Evaluated for Common Criteria Message-ID: <20070626205120.C1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 26 June 2007 ; Dark Reading App Security Evaluated for Common Criteria http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=127735 --- ORLANDO, Fla. -- Underscoring its leadership role in database security, Application Security, Inc. is in evaluation for Common Criteria certification for the current versions of its market-leading vulnerability assessment, real-time monitoring and auditing solutions, through the Accredited Testing and Evaluation Labs of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of Columbia, Md. As the industry's only vendor with a full suite of products under evaluation, Application Security, Inc. continues to enhance its position as the most comprehensive and widely deployed database security solution on the market. The pursuit of certification extends the Company's momentum within the public sector by demonstrating compliance with stringent U.S. Government criteria and exacting International Standards Organization requirements. The Common Criteria, officially instituted in 1999, is an internationally approved set of security standards that ensures a clear and reliable evaluation of the security capabilities of information technology products. By providing an independent assessment of a product's ability to meet established security standards, the Common Criteria offers a level of confidence for security-conscious customers. "In many ways, the federal government is a catalyst for innovation in the development of security best practices at the database application level," said Ted Julian, vice president of marketing and strategy for Application Security, Inc. "With Common Criteria certification of Application Security, Inc.'s database security suite, a wide range of government agencies can more easily extend security best practices to the crown jewels -- organization databases -- thereby documenting continuous improvement and ensuring prompt incident response on the systems where data lives." From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jun 27 10:56:22 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:56:22 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Top 22 recipients of US&A tax billions Message-ID: <20070627065539.W1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 27 June 2007 ; The Ideal Government Project (Blog) Top 22 recipients of US&A tax billions http://www.idealgovernment.com/index.php/blog/top_22_recipients_of_usa_tax_billions/ --- Knowing of my interest in such amtters, the lovely Martha has me sent a list of the top US federal contractors [1]: "At least 22 companies made Washington Technology's 2007 list of top federal prime contractors because they received more than $1 billion from government contracts in fiscal year 2006, according to data compiled by FedSources, Inc. "Lockheed Martin leads the list with $12.7 billion, nearly 75% higher than the second ranking company, Boeing, which reported $7.3 billion in government sales. The others in the top 22, in descending order, are: * Northrop Grumman Corp. * KBR Inc. * Science Applications International Corp. * Raytheon Co. * General Dynamics Corp. * Fluor Corp. * L-3 Communications Corp. * EDS Corp. * Computer Sciences Corp. * Battelle Memorial Institute * Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. * Bechtel Group Inc. * BAE Systems Inc. * ITT Industries Inc. * Dell Inc. * IBM Corp. * Verizon Communications Inc. * United Technologies Corp. * Harris Corp. * CACI International Inc. "The rankings were based on GSA's Federal Procurement Data System database of federal contract actions of $25,000 or more in FY 2006. Describing "How We Got Our Numbers," Washington Technology cautions that the data may be skewed because: * Agencies report contract actions that are worth more than $25,000 and are obligated to prime contractors. Such amounts represent actual spending on a contract during the time period analyzed, not over the contract's life. * The reports are for prime contracting only and do not include subcontracting dollars. * GSA Schedule transactions of more than $25,000 are included, but some agencies are better than others at reporting their GSA spending. You have to say it. Wibbi our world were less dominated by arms manufacturers and taxpayers spent a great deal more money on non-violent conflict resolution. --- [1] http://www.usa.gov/Federal_Employees/USA_Buzz/Newsletter_0626.html#industry%3E%E2%80%9C%20title= From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jun 27 10:58:50 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:58:50 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] Why SOA is More Cost Effective in the Long Run Message-ID: <20070627065843.O1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 27 June 2007 ; IT Business Edge Why SOA is More Cost Effective in the Long Run http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/mia/?p=161 --- by Loraine Lawson One of the big questions about SOA is how to fund it. Creating services just doesn't lend itself to project-by-project funding in the same way traditional integration projects do. In fact, SOA is somewhat unusual in that its cost actually goes down the more you connect to the services. So, who should foot the bill for services that help the whole organization? I've seen theoretical discussions of how you can fund the creation of services, but I've never seen a piece so exhausting in its calculations as the lengthy analysis published today at SOA World. [1] It's written by Marc Rix, an SOA solutions architect at SAIC. Rix's points out that, so far, there hasn't been a good model for comparing SOA development costs to traditional point-to-point integration projects. As a result, companies often start out with good intentions, but are turned off by the immediate, higher costs of SOA development. In turn, they decide "SOA is just too expense" and revert to what they know best -- point-to-point integration. What Rix does is take the long view of paying for SOA versus point-to-point integration. While P-2-P may keep costs down on a per-project basis, it actually costs the business more in the long run. Ultimately, he doesn't provide an easy answer for "who pays for SOA," though he does raise a few good points for why it's in IT's best interest as a strategic partner to commit to SOA over point-to-point integration. Put on your accountant hat and check it out. --- [1] http://soa.sys-con.com/read/393665.htm From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jun 29 03:08:45 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:08:45 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC energizes CU with $300,000 Message-ID: <20070628230838.X1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 June 2007 ; Boulder County Business Report SAIC energizes CU with $300,000 http://www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=87145 --- BOULDER - The University of Colorado signed a three-year, $100,000 sponsored research agreement with Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAI) to support CU's Energy Initiative. The initiative coordinates university research on renewable and sustainable energy and energy efficiency. As a founding member of CU's Energy Initiative, Science Applications will serve on the initiative's external advisory board, assist CU in reducing its overall energy costs and emissions of greenhouse gases, explore joint marketing opportunities, and explore working on energy and climate-related activities with CU faculty and researchers. "SAIC looks forward to working with the University of Colorado to support their sustainable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals," said Ron Rudolph, vice president and director of strategic business development for Science Application's Engineering and Infrastructure Business Unit, in a statement. San Diego-based Science Applications, which has 44,000 employees and offices in more than 150 cities worldwide, provides energy management and greenhouse gas reduction services to customers globally. From saic at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jun 29 03:10:12 2007 From: saic at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily SAIC News) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:10:12 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [saic] SAIC Board Member Sells Shares Message-ID: <20070628230945.L1802-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 June 2007 ; Forbes (AP) SAIC Board Member Sells Shares http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/28/ap3868432.html --- A director on the board of defense contractor SAIC Inc. sold 35,452 shares of common stock, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, Anita Jones reported she sold 35,452 shares of common stock for between $17.50 and $18 apiece. Insiders file Form 4s with the SEC to report transactions in their companies' shares. Open market purchases and sales must be reported within two business days of the transaction. SAIC is based in San Diego.