www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-government-contracting-help-20130128,0,6213437.story

Mentoring, networking and other resources for government contractors

By Jamie Smith Hopkins, The Baltimore Sun

8:19 PM EST, February 2, 2013

Catonsville-based Alpha Omega Technologies performs work for one federal agency, and it wants more contracts— a daunting goal for a small company in a time of tight budgets.

But the head of the 25-person software firm thinks he has a leg up after months of assistance from industry veterans, introductions to federal decision-makers, advice about how to get a foot in the door with the National Security Agency, and lots of specifics about how other companies succeeded or got tripped up in pursuing and handling federal work.

"It would have taken me probably 20 years to learn all that on my own," said Efrem Perry, president of Alpha Omega.

The mentoring program in which he participated, put on last year by the Fort Meade Alliance, is an example of local efforts to help companies break into or expand their reach in the often-baffling world of government procurement.

There's never been any shortage of companies eager to get into the game in a state where the federal government spends billions of dollars on contracting each year. But with big budget cuts looming, the assistance looks increasingly valuable.

"This government market is getting tougher and tougher," said Richard Knight, a vice president at WIMSCO, an information-technology and consulting firm based in Bowie. "It's not for the faint of heart."

Knight is co-chair of the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber's government contracting council, one of the groups working to increase networking and information-sharing in the industry. The council organizes several workshops a year — a women-in-contracting session is planned for March,and "How to Win Contracts in the Intel Community" follows in May.But the main event is its annual government procurement fair.

More than 300 businesses, along with procurement officers from 50 federal, state and local government agencies, turned out for last year's fair in November, said Walt Townshend, president of the Laurel-based chamber.

"They can do really in four hours what it would take them months or years to do otherwise — make that one-on-one contact," Townshend said.

Laura Neuman, CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, says her agency should be doing more to assist government contractors: "They're a big part of our community."

The first step is gathering more information about the resources already available so the county can at least point contractors in the right direction.

Neuman is trying to get the word out about a new federal effort to make small-business contracting easier — and therefore more competitive. RFP-EZ, which launched in January, runs in its current pilot form until May, with a simplified bidding process for technology contracts worth $150,000 or less.

The project, part of the Presidential Innovation Fellows program and the Small Business Administration, gives small businesses an opportunity to avoid writing massive bid proposals and instead answer just four questions, said Clay Johnson, presidential innovation fellow for RFP-EZ.

"The questions are: 'Who are you?' 'What have you done in the past?' 'How would you solve this problem?' 'And how much is it going to cost?'" he said. "And that's it. ... All of a sudden, the largest buyer in the world might be a client of yours."

Some of the local contracting help is relatively new as well. The two-year-old Harford Business Innovation Center in Belcamp, a business incubator, is home to six companies performingor pursuing work at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The center also has services for other contractors, including procurement training provided by the state.

"A lot of businesses are concerned about the uncertainty, so they're looking for information," said Jill M. McClune, who works for the contractor Avon Protection Systems and volunteers as president of the Harford Business Innovation Center across the street.

The Fort Meade Alliance's Meade Business Connect Mentorship Program is even newer than the center — it started with its first class of a dozen companies last year. The second year kicks off in March.

The alliance, a group that builds ties between the military base and local industry, received such positive feedback on the nine-month program that organizers are thinking of launching spinoffs, such as aprogram focused on the accountants and other service providers who work for contractors rather than the government itself.

"I would be a perfect person at that session," said Steve Tiller, an attorney and chairman of the alliance's Meade Business Connect committee. "I want to learn more about what keeps them up at night so I can better service them."

The mentorship program runs for 12 two-hour sessions, plus additional networking, at a cost of $1,500 to $2,000 per participant. Last year, the organizers brought in experts to speak on technical subjects ranging from "capability statements" to the specialized insurance that NSA contractors need, along with mentor executives to share specifics about their successes and failures.

The focus is specifically Fort Meade, home toan eye-popping number of agencies — nearly 100. A few, including the secretive NSA, are particularly difficultto start doing business with.

"Because they don't advertise [their contracts] publicly, you have to become part of the community — you have to become a known name," said Ivan Belyna, a program manager at the Virginia-based Delta Resources. "And what the Fort Meade Alliance did was open those doors."

Delta, which provides program management and other services, got a toehold at Fort Meade when one of its customer agencies moved there in 2011. The company sees the base as an important market, so Belyna was delighted by the opportunities to meet procurement officials, pitch to bigger contractors and cooperate with other relative newcomers.

"We have to team up," he said. "Nobody can do this alone, especially in this environment."

Many small or smaller companies in the federal sphere work as subcontractors to bigger "primes," rather than as the prime contractor themselves. That's how Perry's Alpha Omega Technologies landed work writing software for an agency at Fort Meade. And that's how he's going after more contracts now — thanks to the past year of networking.

"We started the program working with one company, and we finished the program on teams with seven," he said.

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Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) January 23, 2013

KoolSpan Inc., the leading global provider of encrypted solutions for connected devices, now enables encrypted calls between mobile devices and desktop phones with the availability of TrustBridge.

Ideal for large enterprises and governments, TrustBridge provides a secure hardware-based crypto gateway between phones in the field and in the office. TrustBridge can support hundreds of simultaneous calls to and from an unlimited number of desktop phones by utilizing KoolSpan’s patented FIPS 140-2TrustChip® and TrustCall technology.

“TrustBridge increases the reach of TrustCall by providing simple integration of secure mobile voice with enterprise phones,” said Bill Supernor, Chief Technology Officer. “The need to place and receive secure phone calls is growing, particularly for organizations with large telework teams. TrustBridge also allows large enterprise and government employees deployed overseas to place secure calls into the US from locations where networks might not be as secure.”

To deploy TrustBridge, the TrustChip is plugged into the TrustServer, which is connected to the private branch exchange (PBX) via standard Voice over IP (VoIP) protocols. With the TrustServer connected to the PBX, calls are encrypted as they leave or enter the system. When a TrustCall is placed on a mobile device, the secure voice data is routed through the TrustRelay server. TrustRelay sends the voice data and call notification through TrustBridge, which encrypts the information over the PBX. The secure, encrypted call then reaches the enterprise desk phone. The enterprise phone sends out encrypted TrustBridge calls through the same process.

TrustBridge is compatible with a wide variety of PBX systems including standard SIP/RTP, Microsoft Lync, and Cisco. Deploying TrustBridge is as simple as adding a VoIP trunk to the existing phone network. For simplified maintenance, the TrustRelay and notification server can run on the same hardware.

KoolSpan’s TrustChip, the foundation for TrustBridge, is a hardened, self-contained security engine. Because it is deployed in its own optimized hardware environment, the TrustChip remains insulated from threats that can reside in mobile devices and other platforms. This self-contained structure ensures that “TrustChip Secured” encryption protects your phone from attacks made on the host device, as well as across network connections end-to-end.

For more information about the TrustBridge solution or KoolSpan’s TrustSuite of products, please visithttp://www.koolspan.com/trustbridge/.

About KoolSpan: 
KoolSpan is the leading global provider of encrypted solutions for connected devices. The foundation for all KoolSpan solutions is the TrustChip®, a microSD-based hardware token for mobile devices, laptops, tablets and servers. Supported by a strong patent portfolio, KoolSpan offers a robust API for application developers and system integrators, as well as encrypted voice and text applications for wireless carriers, enterprise and government deployments. The FIPS 140-2 Validated solution has been tested and deployed in 50+ countries. For more information, visit http://www.koolspan.com.

(Savage, MD – December 19, 2012) – Tiresias Technologies, an Intelligent Systems technology and engineering services provider, announced today that the company has joined the bwtech@UMBCResearch and Technology Park as an affiliate member. Intelligent Systems are characterized as the intersection of embedded systems, high-performance operating systems, and networks, “The Internet of Things.”

The bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park member companies enjoy business support services from bwtech@UMBC’s experienced entrepreneurial services team, robust and redundant data connectivity, shared reception areas and conference rooms, and a strategic location along I-95 in a federal HUBZone and state Enterprise Zone. Clients companies have access to the many resources of the UMBC campus.

Clients also have the opportunity to collaborate with the talented faculty and students of UMBC, currently ranked #1 among Maryland institutions for graduating the greatest proportion of students in computer and information science, according to the “CyberMaryland” report commissioned by Governor O’Malley. In addition to being a national leader in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, UMBC has been designated a “Center of Academic Excellence” in research sponsored by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

“We are excited about the prospects for collaboration with the companies and staff of bwtech@UMBC as well as research opportunities with University of Maryland, Baltimore County faculty,” stated Sharon Brackett, Tiresias Technologies, President/CEO. “All three incubator programs in Clean Energy, Life Sciences and Cyber Security have the potential to benefit from Tiresias Technologies applying Intelligent Systems to solving their technical challenges.”

About bwtech@UMBC

bwtech@UMBC (www.bwtechumbc.com) is a 71-acre research and technology community at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). With over 500,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, it is home to nearly 60 technology and life science companies at all stages of development. bwtech@UMBC offers collaboration with university faculty and students and enjoys a strategic and convenient location, close to downtown Baltimore, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Washington, D.C. Its annual economic impact on the state is estimated to be over $300 million.

About Tiresias Technologies

Tiresias Technologies is a new venture founded in 2011 by veteran technologist and entrepreneur Sharon Brackett. Tiresias Technologies focuses on solving tough technical problems that exist in Government and Commercial organizations alike. The company tackles those challenges by applying Intelligent Systems to problems creating timely and cost effective solutions. The company is an SBA registered Woman Owned Small Business and is headquartered in Howard County, MD smack dab between Washington DC and Baltimore.

Bears, beets ... biofuels? Plant Sensory seeks alternative to corn

Plant Sensory Systems LLC has a formula that’s growing plants — and the Baltimore biotechnology company.

Plant Sensory has landed a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energyto hone a technology that can be used to get more out of vegetables used for biofuel. The grant could expand a market for the five-person company, which has so far licensed its genetic modification technology largely for use in growing food.

Since launching in 2007, the company has been developing ways to genetically modify seeds that will maximize their growth and make them heartier while minimizing the amount of care they need. For example, the federal grant will be used to test genetic modifications in sugar beets that will increase their sugar content. Such sugar can be used in biofuel. Not only will the beets have more usable resources, but growing them will require less fertilizer and water.

The beets could be used in biofuel instead of corn. They could grow in less fertile land, and the sugar they produce could more easily be converted for biofuel than corn, said Frank Turano, the company’s chief research officer. Turano and his wife,Kathleen Turano, run the company.

Ethanol production has grown about 113 percent over the last five years, from 6.5 billion gallons in 2007 to 13.9 billion gallons in 2011, according to data from the Renewable Fuels Association. A February 2012 report by the association noted that despite the growth, weather and corn prices are two factors that work against profitability. The industry contributed a total of $42.4 billion to the national gross domestic product in 2011, according to that report.

Biotech seeds are still a niche industry, said Bjorn Frogner, the entrepreneur-in-residence at UMBC’s Clean Energy Technology Incubator,

“I wouldn’t say it’s a growing market, but it’s a growing need,” Frogner said.

Farmers are increasingly seeking for ways to maximize their crops. The fact that the company’s technology can also be used to grow plants used in biofuel is an added bonus, he said.

Plant Sensory has previously licensed its technology for companies that want to grow plants genetically modified to better withstand drought and hot weather, which are valuable characteristics to farmers in regions with seasonal weather fluctuations.

“The bottom line is all companies want more — either bigger plants or more seed — it depends on what their crop is,” said Kathleen Turano.

The three-year grant for beets is only one sign of growth at Plant Sensory Systems. The company raised $157,000 in 2012 and has raised a total of $607,000. In 2013, Plant Sensory plans to launch a $1.5 million fundraising campaign.

To handle the new work associated with the grant and other projects at the company, Plant Sensory has plans to hire at least four more scientists within the next four months.

The company is not yet profitable, but is able to cover its expenses, Kathleen Turano said. She declined to give specifics about the company’s sales totals. Plant Sensory is based theUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County’s bwtech@UMBC Research & Technology Park.

Alan Kinnersley, a retired plant biotech scientist, is among the company’s top investors. Since 2009, he has invested about $450,000 in the company.

Giving the Turanos money was an easy decision for Kinnersley, who used to accomplish the same genetic modifications in plants as Plant Sensory by using a spray on the plants’ leaves.

“I’ve seen the technology work in the field and understood what they’d come up with was a much more sophisticated way of doing what we were already doing and making money from,” said Kinnersley, of East Lansing, Mich.

Plant Sensory Systems Awarded $1.8 Million

from ARPA-E to Engineer Beets for Biofuel

The award will support the development of high-output, low-input energy beets, optimized for biofuel production

Plant Sensory Systems, LLC today announced the award of $1.8 million in funding from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The award will support a three-year program to develop an enhanced energy (sugar) beet, optimized for biofuel production. The beets will be engineered to use fertilizer and water more efficiently and produce higher levels of fermentable sugars compared to current feedstocks. The new beet crop will have lower production costs and increased yield for biofuels without competing against food-grade sugar.

“ARPA-E’s support will allow us to accelerate the development of the enhanced energy beets for biofuel,” said Frank Turano, Plant Sensory Systems’ Chief Research Officer. “We anticipate a 30% increase in fermentable sugars which will substantially increase domestic fuel production. The benefits will be shared by a number of entities in the biofuel supply chain including beet producers as well as the biorefineries.”

The energy-beet project, headed by Dr. Frank Turano, will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Ann Smigocki, a sugar beet research geneticist at the US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD and economists at North Dakota State University led by Dr. David Ripplinger. The team will work closely with ARPA-E to expedite the development and commercialization of the enhanced beets for biofuel production.

ARPA-E supports transformational research that translates science into breakthrough energy technologies that are too early for private-sector investment. Projects are selected through a merit-based process that is highly competitive. Plant Sensory Systems’ Energy-Beet project was one of 66 projects selected from thousands of concept papers and hundreds of full applications.

“The 66 projects selected today represent the true mission of ARPA-E: swinging for the fences and trying to hit home runs to support development of the most innovative technologies and change what’s possible for America’s energy future,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

Plant Sensory Systems’ Energy-Beet project is one such innovated project whose goals are closely aligned with ARPA-E’s mission. If successful, the engineered beets will enhance the economic and energy security of the US by expanding and diversifying the biofuel feedstock in the US and increasing the biofuel production capacity per acre, and they will reduce energy-related emissions by requiring less nitrogen fertilizer.

About Plant Sensory Systems

Plant Sensory Systems, LLC is a privately held agricultural biotechnology company that develops technologies to improve crop performance for production of food, feed, fiber, biofuel and bio-based products. Plant Sensory Systems has developed traits that increase yields, improve nitrogen and water use efficiency, promote tolerance to drought and high temperature, increase seed oil content for biofuel production, and enhance nutritional value. The company is located in Baltimore, Maryland at bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park. For more information visit: http://www.plantsensorysystems.com

It started back in 1989 – with two trailers and just five companies. By 2006, the bwtech@UMBCResearch and Technology Park was a major player – boasting 42 companies, bringing thousands of jobs to Maryland, and generating $100 million in income. Now, six years later, bwtech just topped 100 companies and is widely recognized as one of the top parks for nurturing small companies.

There are about 20 incubators in Maryland, but bwtech is one of only two working to grow the region’s cybersecurity industry. Twenty-four companies call the cyber incubator home, along with the CyberHive, a unique venture which provides a virtual incubator for companies outside the region and physical space for networking. The incubator’s contributions were recognized last year, when Ellen Hemmerly, president and executive director of bwtech, received the 2011 Innovator of the Year Award from The Daily Record.

"I’ve been involved in incubators for twenty years," says Hemmerly, who has spent 15 of those years at bwtech. "In all my years of working with area incubators, the bwtech cyber incubator is the fastest growing and has much potential economic impact." That, she says, is due in large part to its relationship to UMBC and to its partnerships with both the private and public sectors, such as Northrop Grumman and the Maryland Department of Economic Business Development.

But, it’s not all about cyber. For bwtech diversity is key. While cyber accounts for 40 percent of the companies at bwtech, the life sciences make up 40 percent and clean energy 10 percent. The remaining 10 percent are organizations dedicated to training and research.

There’s no question that the diversity of companies at bwtech contributes to the park’s success.

"With diverse companies developing innovative products and services in cybersecurity, clean energy and life sciences, bwtech@UMBC addresses the most compelling issues we face as a state and as a nation." says Christian Johansson, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

The defining characteristic that draws all the park’s activity together is a focus on nurturing early stage companies.

For example, the Life Sciences and Clean Energy Tech incubators host a monthly round table where 10 to 15 CEOs gather. Sometimes the research park will bring in an outside speaker, says David Fink, director of entrepreneurial services at bwtech. The bwtech park also supports entrepreneurs-in-residence, who help companies not only define their goals, but achieve them.

Kimberly Brown, CEO of Amethyst Technologies, values the opportunities to connect with other companies. Other CEOs, such as Eric Fiterman of Rogue Networks, say that having access to the entrepreneurs-in-residence is key to learning about business. "I’m just an average Joe," says Fiterman, "I’ve never done this before."

Kathleen Turano, President of Plant Sensory Systems agrees. "We were new to the business world," says Turano, a former professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, "and the most attractive feature of bwtech@UMBC was the mentoring service.” That experience, she says, was invaluable. It also appears to have paid off. Turano’s company, Plant Sensory Systems, entered a collaboration this past October with DuPont Pioneer to evaluate proprietary genes for increasing the nitrogen use efficiency in corn.

Delali Dzirasa, CEO of the cybersecurity company Fearless Solutions, says Victor Hess, his entrepreneur-in-residence, tells him to focus. More than once, Hess has helped Dzirasa take a step back: "He’ll tell me that I’m kind of looking at too much."  

Companies like Brown’s, Turano’s, Fiterman’s and Dzirasa’s usually come into the incubator with a couple of people and stay for a few years. Then they "graduate" and become accelerator companies, moving into more long-term space at the park.

In its six years at bwtech, Amethyst Technologies has grown from two to 24 people, starting in the incubator and quickly moving to the accelerator. The company stays for the creative energy of the park and the financials, says Brown. “We get lab space at a below-market price."

The company started with 400 square feet of office space; now it’s up to 4,000 square feet of office space and 1,000 square feet of wet lab space.

As companies grow, they can take advantage of partnerships with large, mature companies that work with bwtech, and sometimes call it home. Take for example, the Northrop Grumman Cync Program, a partnership between Northrop Grumman and the cyber incubator. The Cync Program, as it’s called, is designed to grow companies that commercialize cyber technology. The program, which has seven companies, provides rent-free space and cyber business expert support.

"One of the goals," says Chris Valentino, director of cyber at Northrop Grumman, "is to help them build their brand."

After all, nurturing small companies that will meet the product and service demands of the 21st century is what bwtech is all about.

(10/17/12)

Cyber Monday puts spotlight on Md. firms that keep it all secure

Posted: 7:28 pm Mon, November 26, 2012
By Alissa Gulin 
Daily Record Business Writer