The Department of Defense (DoD) is one of Georgia’s largest employers. Most readers are likely aware of the large presence from Fort Benning (previously Fort Moore) but there are significantly more sites than that. More than 150,000 are directly employed by the DoD, with another 330,000 employed indirectly. According to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, this totals out to more than $22 billion in economic activity.
It only makes sense that our incubators and job creators would start turning their eye on defense-related companies and careers. A partnership between the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) and ManTech was a major step in cementing the DoD’s presence at the ATDC. This partnership will give a boost to startups working on cybersecurity-related technologies, part of Georgia’s anchor for DoD – being the home of the U.S. Army Cybercommand. ATDC has seen the potential and is expanding its focus in the area with new hires and new strategy.
“The expansion of this vertical is in response to an interest by the defense sector to solve immediate problems by onboarding up-and-running, ready-to-go technologies,” said John Avery, ATDC director. “Our goal is to provide a very rich, robust pipeline of talent and companies to solve problems in the defense category.”
The ATDC’s new staff all come from military backgrounds and are experienced working with the DoD, a big benefit for companies that are trying to find a toehold in the sprawling bureaucracy of the U.S. military. The Dod is already working with the Georgia Tech Research Institute to develop new innovations for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and other DoD units. Bob Nunnally is one of the new specialists at ATDC working in this area. He points to three areas that need focus at the same time.
“One is advancing the visibility of ATDC and our mission,” said Nunnally. “Second is finding companies that want to be affiliated and can meet the requirements of being part of the ATDC portfolio. And then the third is coaching and growing those companies that are part of the portfolio.”
It’s not just cybersecurity that is receiving increased attention, it also applies to supply chain, risk management, maintenance and all the difficult logistics that DoD faces.
“There’s a need on the DoD side to continue to do things smarter, faster, and cheaper,” said Nunnally. “It’s technology that’s resident in the brilliant young minds of entrepreneurs. ATDC can be the bridge to solve some of the most important and challenging problems. It’s a matter of — can we take this brilliant idea on the napkin and make that company sufficiently strong and competitive to win that work?”
