Information hardware and software vendors are also important potential teammates to have pre-existing partnerships with.
Companies like Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft for Cloud Computing as well as hardware and software vendors like Dell, IBM, Red-Hat, McAfee, etc. participate directly in FAR part 12 (Commercial Acquisition), but rarely do other FAR acquisitions. In most cases these companies prefer to work with a team behind a large Prime Systems Integrator who provide the personnel for a Services Opportunity while they in turn provide the technology that those personnel use (i.e., Applications and Storage solutions).
The following list covers just a few of the companies that should be included in any present or future partnerships that will assist in winning Navy work; specifically, companies with both Cloud Computing and Software Defined Networking (SDN), and AI expertise:
Dell has acquired 33 companies over the last 20 years, including EMC, which is one of the largest of all Dell acquisitions and in the technology sector in general. Richard Egan and Roger Marino founded the corporation in 1979 and is now one of the largest global computer data storage corporations. Services and products include data storage, archiving, backup, content management, virtualizations (VMware), cloud computing, data computing, customer support and more.
IBM has continually shifted business operations aimed at focusing on higher-value, more profitable markets. This includes spinning off printer manufacturer Lexmark in 1991 and the sale of personal computer (ThinkPad/ThinkCentre) and x86-based server businesses to Lenovo (in 2005 and 2014, respectively), and acquiring companies such as PwC Consulting (2002), SPSS (2009), The Weather Company (2016), and Red Hat (2019).
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon providing on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis. These cloud computing web services provide a variety of basic abstract technical infrastructure and distributed computing building blocks and tools. One of these services is Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which allows users to have at their disposal a virtual cluster of computers, available all the time, through the Internet. AWS's version of virtual computers emulates most of the attributes of a real computer, including hardware central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) for processing; local/RAM memory; hard-disk/SSD storage; a choice of operating systems; networking; and pre-loaded application software such as web servers, databases, and customer relationship management (CRM). Amazon Web Services is one of 4 companies (including Microsoft, Google, and Oracle) that was awarded the Joint War Fighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contracts in December of 2022.
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company which produces computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best-known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. Microsoft ranked No. 14 in the 2022 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue and the second largest software company by revenue. It is considered one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate headquartered in San Jose, California, in the center of Silicon Valley. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment and other high-technology services and products. Through its numerous acquired subsidiaries, such as OpenDNS, WebEx, Jabber and Jasper, Cisco specializes in specific tech markets, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), domain security and energy management. Just last week (Sep 21, 2023) Cisco's (CSCO) announced their mega-acquisition for AI-driven cybersecurity company Splunk (SPLK), which might just send tech deals soaring. After at least a year of near radio silence in tech mergers and acquisitions, Cisco is shelling out $28 billion for Splunk, indicating the current premium on cybersecurity and AI. It's also record-setting as Cisco's largest acquisition ever.As indicated above with the Cisco/Splunk Acquisition, Splunk
Oracle is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company sells database software and technology, cloud engineered systems, and enterprise software products—particularly its own brands of database management systems. In 2022, Oracle generated over 70% of its revenue from cloud services. The company also develops and builds tools for database development and systems of middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Human Capital Management (HCM) software, customer relationship management (CRM) software (AKA customer experience), enterprise performance management (EPM) software, and supply chain management (SCM) software.
Extreme Networks is an American networking company based in San Jose, California. Extreme Networks designs, develops, and manufactures wired and wireless network infrastructure equipment and develops software for cloud-based management, policy, analytics, security, and access controls. Through a series of historical and contemporary merger and acquisition activity, Extreme Networks claims an industry lineage that includes, at a minimum, the networking-focused elements of the following companies: Digital, Chantry, Siemens, Cabletron, Enterasys, AirDefense, Symbol, Motorola, Zebra, Wellfleet, SynOptics, Bay Networks, Nortel Networks, Avaya, Vistapointe, StackStorm, Foundry Networks, Brocade, and Aerohive Networks. Extreme Networks earned $1.1B in revenue in fiscal 2022, with a product backlog of more than $500 million, ranking it amongst the top enterprise networking companies by revenue.
ServiceNow is a software company based in Santa Clara, California that develops a cloud computing platform to help companies manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. ServiceNow is a platform-as-a-service provider, providing technical management support, such as IT service management, to the IT operations of large corporations, including providing help desk functionality. The company's core business revolves around management of "incident, problem, and change" IT operational events.
NetApp, Inc. is an American hybrid cloud data services and data management company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. NetApp competes in the computer data storage hardware industry and offers cloud data services for management of applications and data both online and physically.
Splunk Inc., as indicated above with the Cisco/Splunk Acquisition, is an American technology company based in San Francisco, California, that produces software for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data via a Web-style interface. Splunk (the product) captures, indexes, and correlates real-time data in a searchable repository from which it can generate graphs, reports, alerts, dashboards, and visualizations. It makes machine data accessible across an organization by identifying data patterns, providing metrics, diagnosing problems, and providing intelligence for business operations. Splunk is a horizontal technology used for application management, security, and compliance, as well as business and web analytics.
You can establish partnerships with commercial companies through members of their business development teams. Most of these commercial companies also have a partner program you can join – simply search the company name and “partner program” to learn more about their requirements and how to apply.