State and local IT business doing very well for Northrup

After acquiring a number of companies to build a $10 billion federal IT contracting business, Northrup Grumman found it had also acquired a substantial business in state and local contracting, worth about $400 million. In 2004, the company acted to pull those disparate businesses together in a headquarters in Herndon, Va. And over the past 18 months, Northrup has landed three major pieces of state and local business, WashingtonTechnology's Ethan Butterfield reports in the Washington Post.

In 2005, the company landed a 10-year, $2 billion contract "to revamp and run Virginia's outdated IT infrastructure" and a seven-year, $667 million contract to run San Diego County's IT and telecommunications capabilities, Butterfield reports.

The new business pushes Northrup into the second tier ($500m to $1b) of state and local IT contractors in WashingtonTechnology's annual ranking.

“Any of our competition could argue one of those [wins] was a fluke,” [VP for IT bizdev Cheryl] Janey said. “But all three in a row says, ‘These guys are for real, and now we’re going to have to deal with them.’ ”

Industry analysts are noticing Northrop Grumman’s increased focus and investment in the state and local market, where Janey said the company aims to grow by double digits and cross the $1 billion barrier, though she said no timetable is set for when the company anticipates realizing that goal.