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Salient is defined as “moving by leaps and springs” or “jetting upward.” This is a good word to describe the business of Salient Federal Solutions because the company is dedicated to remaining flexible in an effort to quickly respond to customers’ needs. It also prides itself on being innovative and leaping ahead of the market with new solutions to challenges. “Salient,” however, also could refer to the company’s rate of growth. After opening in early 2010, it already boasts annual revenues of approximately $250 million and has more than 1,100 employees in 140 locations worldwide 

“We have gone a long way in a short period of time, which makes me really proud,” President and CEO Brad Antle says. “Our people have done a tremendous amount to bring our infrastructure together and helped us remain agile, which is critically important.”

Based in Fairfax, Va., Salient provides information technology and engineering services in intelligence, defense, homeland security, cyber security and commercial markets for a range of federal clients. Its core capabilities involve cyber security, systems engineering and integration, enterprise information technology, systems engineering and technical assistance. Mass notification, electronic security systems, intelligence, and technical and operational training are other strengths. Antle explains the company combines its highly trained experts with best practices and flexible services to protect information and people.

Salient was founded in 2009 after Serco acquired SI International, where Antle and other Salient managers were employed at the time. SI International was gone, so Antle and some of his colleagues got together in the belief that their “unique set of capabilities” would benefit customers.

“We started out being broad and deep in capital, but still small and nimble enough to quickly respond to the needs of our clients, and we are still like that,” Antle says. “When we began Salient, we knew we wanted it to be a flat organization with few layers between the senior managers and the associates who were supporting our clients.”

“Our nimble structure has been key,” COO Bill Parker adds. “As federal budgets change, we can exploit opportunities wherever the market is going and deploy the company in the right places.”

The New Protocol

One of Salient’s primary areas of focus is cyber security – against sophisticated viruses and system hackers, for example – which is “an increasing challenge for the nation,” according to Parker. “We have considerable resources to respond to asymmetric threats,” he notes. “But it’s not that we serve military clients only – our clients come from many other government agencies and other areas of the economy.” Its services in this area involve information assurance, certification and compliance, network security engineering, vulnerability management and security education and training.

Many of its cyber security offerings are geared toward IPv6 security, which is the version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that is succeeding IPv4 – the protocol currently used to direct almost all Internet traffic. Parker explains IPv6 provides opportunities for the Internet to continue to expand, but at the same time, it exposes “companies’ serious vulnerabilities to an Internet attack.” 

As of December 2009, the federal government began requiring that IPv6-compliant products be included in all new IT acquisitions using IP, and by 2014 all internal applications that communicate with public Internet servers must also move to IPv6. To assist its customers in this transition, Salient created Assure6, which is the first cyber security policy manager to detect and block malicious attacks, according to the company.

“We use our systems to defend networks against IPv6 malware cyber threats,” Parker says. “Our services are very relevant for the federal government because we can provide insight in cyber security to address clients’ evolving challenges.”

Another area of focus for Salient is “Life or Death IT.” This platform and methodology, he explains, delivers systems that require “uncompromising reliability,” such as mass notification. Threats can materialize in seconds, but in that time, Salient can broadcast an alert across a physical space, through the Internet or over the phone to warn those in range to seek safety.

“Life or Death IT protects military forces in life-or-death situations,” Parker says. “These are threats you don’t anticipate, but the government has to provide solutions. Salient is a good resource because we react quickly – we don’t have to reposition like large companies do.”

Small Differences, Every Day

Salient plans to remain nimble and responsive to client needs and market changes. Especially now that Salient is growing rapidly, its structure allows it to respond to “great opportunities and a lot of exciting work,” says Kay Curling, senior vice president of human resources.

“We have more than 1,100 employees, and our culture is very innovative,” she says. “This high-performance environment demands integrity and respect for everyone. Our culture is unique in that we aren’t tied to any legacy programs and the organization is very nimble. We want to maintain the strengths we have, so we are preparing an initiative to improve the culture even more.

“We want to encourage people to make a difference every day in small ways, which we believe will equate to large improvements in the long term.”

Salient is encouraging everyone in the organization to make a difference in someone’s life every day in a small way, whether it is a client, a colleague or someone in the community. As Antle and Parker travel to Salient’s many offices, they will be talking to employees to understand the types of differences each site is making. Curling explains this is a way for its dispersed workforce to celebrate its accomplishments, and with a number of acquisitions, this will allow Salient to develop one culture worldwide.

“We want our people to make something positive out of every day,” Antle says. “That way, they will be coming to work for a purpose, not just coming to work for a job. We really want this as part of our culture because when organizations are engaged like this, you really see a positive difference.”