Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Thursday that a major defense contractor, Perspecta Inc., would be opening a regional office at the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta. The new office will bring 178 jobs to Richmond County and the area in support of the U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon. The jobs will be split between on base and at the Georgia Cyber Center.
“It’s a pleasure to see this pioneering company put down roots at the Georgia Cyber Center,” said Kemp. “Perspecta’s investment here is a testament to Georgia’s significant investments in cybersecurity and information technology as well as the talent required by these industries. I look forward to seeing the opportunities that this announcement creates for the hardworking Georgians in the Central Savannah River Area.”
The president of Perspecta noted the strategic advantage of the Georgia Cyber Center and hinted at its potential future benefits.
“The Georgia Cyber Center offers the perfect environment to attract the highly skilled cyber professionals needed to solve mission-critical, complex cyber challenges,” said Mac Curtis, president and CEO of Perspecta. “We are excited to make the move to Fort Gordon alongside our ARCYBER customer, and we are honored to support them as they defend our nation in this critical domain.”
The announcement comes at an interesting moment for Perspecta, with the company’s recent protest of a large Navy contract they were not chosen for getting denied by the Government Accountability Office. The $7.7 billion Navy NGEN (Next Generation Enterprise Network) contract went to competitor Leidos. Perspecta had held the contract since 2000 – long before Perspecta actually existed but its predecessors held it – and was reportedly the largest contract in Perspecta’s portfolio, comprising some 15-20 percent of annual revenue.
Perspecta is positioned well though in the cybersecurity space, and indeed they did just win a contract by the Army on the Autonomous Defensive Cyber Operations program. The contract is a fraction of the NGEN project but just one of many coming down the pipeline from the U.S. military on cyber-related initiatives. The goal of the project is to deliver machine learning capability for defensive cyber strategies – something potentially much faster than a system that requires human reaction to malware or other cyberattacks.
The announcement is likely to be one of many related to cyber services for the Augusta region as cybersecurity becomes an increasingly important piece of defense strategy.
“We are excited that yet another world-class company has selected Augusta, the Georgia Cyber Center, and the State of Georgia for their expanded operations,” said Steven Kendrick, chairman of the Augusta Economic Development Authority. “Our Authority and community are working hard to bring great companies to the area like Perspecta, which will provide excellent job opportunities and will continue to grow the cyber ecosystem here. We are grateful for the partnerships we are developing alongside the Georgia Cyber Center, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, and Governor Kemp.”
