Ambit Expands In the Face of Danger

Sequestration is forcing lots of government contractors to suffer quietly as they wait. But The Ambit Group is expanding its square footage by 30%. Its new CEO Kim Hayes (right), who took over after founder John Condon moved to the board chair role, tells us the Reston, Va.-based IT management consulting firm has been growing through contracts that help agencies analyze what's working in their IT portfolios, big IT consolidation projects, and data management programs. The woman-owned, service-disabled, vet-owned small business celebrated its 9th birthday Friday at the new HQ, which Newmark Grubb Knight Frank managing director Donna Koski helped find.

John chats with Ambit president Lou Kerestesy. At just under $25M in revenue, the company has been building a health IT team that includes clinicians and people with DOD health backgrounds. The company now has two years' worth of smaller health projects, including establishing virtual health and wellness plans for federal workers. As someone with Type 2 diabetes, Kim says the new focus is personal.The company has also been building its cybersecurity work and recently positioned itself to start competing for prime spots on contracts. Kim says Ambit got into cybersecurity work through partnerships and worked on building high performance ratings to be able to compete as a prime.

Tech solutions VP Doug Berry, PMP director Tom Oates, and COO Bob Nunnally discuss Ambit's new 10k square foot space, which includes a large training room for client working sessions and a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility) that will help the young company win more cyber work. (And add a cool vocabulary word to water-cooler convo.) Kim says the new office is strategically located within walking distance of the future Reston Metro stop, which will be a recruiting and retention tool, as well as an easier way for employees and clients to get to and from Washington.