Author: Travis Akers, Business Development Director
Two-minute read
Earlier this month, I had the privilege of representing Assured Information Security (AIS) at a three-day Naval Surface Technology and Innovation Consortium (NSTIC) collaboration event in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
All three days were packed with opportunities to engage with Naval Surface Warfare leaders, subject matter experts, program managers, technical directors and industry partners. The event included a full day tour of Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) with stops in the Human Systems Integration Lab, Hypersonic Integration and Test Facility, Vertical Launching System Lab and an LCS/Future Modular Capability demonstration. During the tours, we had the rare opportunity to speak directly with government researchers and engineers to better understand the challenges being faced within the Navy’s surface fleet and integrating rapidly evolving technologies and capabilities to maintain the competitive edge against adversaries in the maritime domain.
The highlight of the event was being one of 10 companies to present, allowing me to share the AIS story with more than 200 attendees, including an audience with senior Naval flag officers, large and small defense industry businesses and warfighters: the end users of our products and services contributing to the national security apparatus. Participants heard from numerous program managers who provided an overview of NSWCDD and the command’s technical approach. The published pre-event statement of needs provided industry partners an opportunity to explore new business with the U.S. Navy, where I was able to meet with government representatives and discuss the advanced research and development capabilities of AIS and how our teams of technical experts, engineers and scientists can meet the 21st century challenges facing the Navy. NSTIC 2024 contained a few light moments as well, with multiple networking events held throughout the three days and a social hour mixer with industry partners to establish new relationships and identify potential leads for new business opportunities in the coming months and years.
Attending the NSTIC collaboration event was a great experience and demonstration of how vital public-private partnerships are in national security. AIS continues moving forward in establishing a strong presence in the U.S. Navy and becoming the small business of choice for cyber operations, mission solutions and advanced research and development.