Cybersecurity started to evolve into an enabling technology area more than a decade ago, which means today it is in the core of what government technology companies do for federal agencies.

Dr. Sarbari Gupta founded Electrosoft in 2001 to focus on helping agencies with their own postures in cyber, the evolution of which she describes in this episode that also goes over what the government is asking of industry in today's cyber landscape.

Gupta explains to our Ross Wilkers how companies such as hers have carried out their own cyber practices and cultures amid the emergence of standards like CMMC as the final rule is in-the-works for that particular program.

She also shares her lessons learned along the way on growth, entrepreneurship and industry teaming as a small business founder.

Click here to watch Gupta's Ted Talk that was discussed in this episode.

IBM showed its prioritization of public sector and federal markets through its $1.2 billion acquisition of Octo Consulting, which closed in the spring and is the largest such transaction in the history of Big Blue's consulting business.

This episode features an update on the integration and where that combination fits into IBM's larger, global vision for itself. The guests are Susan Wedge, managing partner for the U.S. public and federal market at IBM Consulting; and Mark Johnson, vice president of technology for the U.S. federal market at IBM.

One way IBM characterizes that vision is in its push to make a bigger impact for its clients, including those in U.S. government. Wedge and Johnson explain to our Ross Wilkers what that means and how they see the combined IBM-and-Octo team contributing to Big Blue's larger strategy and vision that centers around artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud computing.

IBM ranked at spot No. 28 on our 2023 Top 100.

Some truth exists in the often-repeated statement that the government market has some resilience to pressures from the global economy, but companies do still have to deal with them.

How contractors are navigating a world of inflation and higher interest rates is the launch pad of this episode featuring Ruth Ann Clark, managing director for aerospace, defense and government services at JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking; and Don Irwin, managing director and banker team leader at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

Unlike other markets, GovCon has the unique fabric of how its singular customer set buys and adopts technology and that shapes how companies position themselves to win contracts.

Clark and Irwin share with our Ross Wilkers their perspectives on how companies are deciding which tech domains to focus on, plus where the middle-tier contractor fits in today's market landscape that often looks like a barbell shape between small businesses and large multibillion-dollar corporations.

With a new majority owner and chief executive in place, Empower AI is embarking on a new approach in its push to be a leading provider of artificial intelligence tools in the federal landscape.

The path Empower AI has mapped out for itself is the focus of this episode featuring Jeff Bohling, who was named chief executive in February as the global investor KKR took majority ownership of the company.

Empower AI is starting to talk about itself more as a solutions-oriented business versus one focused on making products, a shift Bohling describes as giving the company greater focus and alignment with how agencies are looking to buy AI.

ChatGPT featured prominently in this conversation. Bohling shares with our Ross Wilkers his perspective on what that technology has done to the overall AI dialogue, and how his time as cofounder and owner of a restaurant informs him in this current role.

Deloitte's identity as a global professional services firm means it looks to be more than just a provider of advisory support for its clients and particularly with federal agencies.

Jason Salzetti, who leads Deloitte's government and public services practice, explains in this episode how that 26,000-employee team is working with its federal clients today on navigating the increasing speeds and rates of change with technology and how they operate.

A big component of that approach means Deloitte looks to be at the intersection of implementation, integration and consulting. In speaking with our Ross Wilkers, Salzetti goes over how Deloitte does that and why he sees federal clients now thinking differently about risk when it comes to innovation.

Other topics on the agenda included how the "GPS" team will work with Deloitte's space practice, and Salzetti's perspectives on human capital macrotrends his colleagues at the Deloitte Center for Government Insights studied.

Deloitte ranked at No. 15 on our 2023 Top 100.

BAE Systems' U.S. subsidiary has made working well with others across the government and commercial technology landscapes a core part of its strategy and story to tell as a federal systems integrator.

Peder Jungck, vice president and general manager for intelligence solutions at BAE Systems Inc.'s intelligence and security segment, knows both of those worlds well given he was chief executive of a cybersecurity company that became a government contractor in the early 2000s.

As Jungck explains in this episode, knowing the market will be disrupted and where said disruption is coming from means his business is off to a good start. Jungck and our Ross Wilkers also go over today's role of the federal integrator, data management trends across government and what the I&S business is up to in working with BAE's Fast Labs advanced research team.

BAE Systems Inc. ranked No. 24 on our 2023 Top 100.

Noblis' goal is to be at the intersections of research, science and technology for federal agencies as they think beyond just adopting "what's next."

For this episode, Noblis' chief executive Mile Corrigan explains how company No. 76 on our 2023 Top 100 is carrying out the seven-year blueprint for itself that the team calls "Vision 2030."

Vision 2030 at its core is all about aligning everything inside Noblis to those common goals, including its many teams of employees and how Noblis recruits the people for them. Corrigan describes to our Ross Wilkers how Noblis focuses on both how new hires get onboarded and the experiences prospective candidates have when applying to join the firm, including so-called "boomerang hires."

Corrigan also updates Wilkers on the continuing shift in Noblis' delivery model they went over on this podcast nearly two years ago, where the firm finds itself writing "more code than papers."

Edition number 30 of the Washington Technology Top 100 rankings is now live for all to use as a resource for more than just the numbers behind the federal market's largest technology and services contractors.

This latest episode of WT 360's Info Session series has our Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers do some talking about some of the numbers, including those that do not jump off the page. But the majority of their chat is about what the Top 100 tells us about what directions these government contractors are going in and that of the market.

One company of particular interest to everyone in the market is No. 9 Peraton, whose CEO Stu Shea sat down with Nick for an on-stage interview at WT's June 6 event to unveil the list. Nick summarizes his takeaways from that conversation, as does Ross from the perspective of an audience member.

The upcoming CEO transition at Science Applications International Corp. is on the agenda for this episode as well.

Advent International's acquisition of Ultra Electronics in the summer of 2022 was one in a series of investments the private equity firm has made in defense and government contractors: $28 billion to be exact within the past three-and-a-half years.

For this episode, we turn the lens on the Ultra Intelligence & Communications business unit by hearing from its president Jon Rucker on how that team contributes to the larger whole that is Ultra Electronics.

Rucker is six months into this role in leading Ultra I&C, whose core product and service lines also include cybersecurity and electronic warfare. Where the business is looking to invest is a main focus of this conversation between Rucker and our Ross Wilkers, as is how Ultra balances honoring its nearly 100-year brand amid the push into new markets.

ICF has a new organization in place that focuses on enabling technology innovation and its connection to service delivery across all of the firm's public and private sector markets.

Joining WT 360 to take us through the team's mission and its place in ICF's overall strategy are Mark Lee and Kyle Tuberson, respectively chief technology executive and CTO at ICF.

This is merely the latest in a series of moves by ICF to place itself further at the intersection of tech implementation, advisory and consulting work for government and commercial clients.

As ICF sees things: the client demand landscape has similar themes no matter which market is of discussion. As Lee and Tuberson tell it to our Ross Wilkers: those with the job title of technologist and others more in the domain knowledge type of role all have equal importance.