UK government backs Shell’s plan to leave some North Sea installations in place, despite German concerns

Unearthed | February 18, 2019

The British government has endorsed plans by oil giant Shell to leave some decommissioned North Sea oil infrastructure in place, despite the German government expressing serious concerns about shortcomings in the oil giant’s proposals, according to leaked documents seen by Unearthed. Hundreds of ageing North Sea oil and gas rigs will be decommissioned in the coming years and removing structures from the sea completely will be expensive. The UK public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, has said that British taxpayers will face a bill of at least £24bn for tax relief awarded to oil companies decommissioning North Sea oil infrastructure.

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Hexagon US Federal Selects Deltek Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate to Deliver Compliant, Secure Accounting Solution

PR Newswire | September 28, 2023

Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, announced today that Hexagon US Federal, an independent subsidiary of Hexagon Corporation exclusively focused on bringing the broad range of Hexagon technologies to the US Federal government and its partners, has selected Deltek Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate (GCCM) as its cloud-based accounting solution, after an extensive review of other options on the market. With multiple offices and hundreds of employees across the US, it was critical that Hexagon US Federal had a best-in-class ERP to support its next phase of growth and digital transformation. Hexagon US Federal had already been trusting Deltek Costpoint for decades to provide a secure, compliant, all-in-one accounting solution. When it was time for Hexagon US Federal to move to the cloud to automate business processes, integrate business application systems and alleviate on-premise costs, the company reviewed multiple solutions on the market. Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate was the company's clear choice for a robust, cloud-based solution to facilitate an overall digital transformation. Costpoint offered a lower total cost of ownership, with the ability to improve scalability and security, while streamlining back-office processes with built-in functionality without requiring multiple third-party integrations for reporting. Deltek Costpoint is the government contracting industry's leading solution that delivers more innovation and greater intelligence at every stage of the project lifecycle. It centralizes the management of projects, people and finances, and scales seamlessly as needs grow, enabling small to enterprise size businesses to win new contracts, manage project profitability and improve customer satisfaction. Additionally, the integrated cloud offering enables the secure storage of contract data and is consistently enhanced through cybersecurity compliance controls equivalent to NIST SP 800-171 and NIST SP 800-53. Costpoint GovCon Cloud Moderate provides additional protections by supporting compliance with federal contract regulations including DFARS 252.204-7012 (protection of CUI and CDI data), ITAR data protection, and the anticipated CMMC requirements. "When I look at the possibilities with Costpoint, there is nothing else on the market that compares to it for government contractors. There just isn't," said Becky Harris, Chief Financial Officer at Hexagon US Federal. "Compliance was a significant factor in our decision. As a federal contractor, Hexagon is required to protect sensitive data and be prepared for audits of our data security practices. Deltek's GCCM cloud has implemented very stringent cybersecurity controls that will help us achieve our compliance requirements, including CMMC, while facilitating a cloud-based, cradle-to-grave lifecycle of core back-office business processes with all the data integrations." "We're proud to have built a product that, time and time again, is proven to be the gold standard for government contractors," said Todd Walker, Vice President of Product Management at Deltek. "We're thrilled that Hexagon US Federal has decided to continue leveraging Deltek Costpoint – after reviewing it against our competitors – to provide the company with the best of both innovation and compliance as they make the shift to the cloud." About Hexagon US Federal Hexagon US Federal is a independent subsidiary of Hexagon Corporation, home of over 24,000 employees in 50 countries, focused on bringing Hexagon technologies to the US Federal government and its partners. They provide innovative technologies and professional services to a broad range of US Government customers across the Federal Civilian, Defense, and Intelligence Communities. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia with offices in Huntsville, Alabama, St. Louis, Missouri, and Lexington Park, Maryland, Hexagon US Federal has over 480 employees dedicated to the success of national security priorities and ensuring the effectiveness for Civilian agencies. About Deltek Better software means better projects. Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses. More than 30,000 organizations and millions of users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek for superior levels of project intelligence, management and collaboration. Our industry-focused expertise powers project success by helping firms achieve performance that maximizes productivity and revenue. Learn more at www.deltek.com.

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Government Business

DroneShield receives a record $9.9 million DoD Contract

PR Newswire | July 05, 2023

DroneShield Ltd has been awarded a follow-on 2-year R&D contract with a total value of $9.9 million by a Five Eyes Department of Defence (DoD). Approximately $4.5 million is due in the September and December 2023 quarters. Five Eyes refers to the defence/intelligence alliance between the US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ. The award follows DroneShield materially completing the $3.8 million contract announced 4 June 2021 with the DoD, with a final milestone payment expected this month. Oleg Vornik, DroneShield's CEO, commented, "Follow-on contracts are the ultimate customer measure of our performance. As an Australian sovereign industrial capability business, DroneShield is proud and pleased to continue undertaking multi-year contracts of increasing size with this customer." "This is the largest long-term contract received by DroneShield to date, significantly larger than the earlier, $3.8 million contract. The 2-year term locks in cash receipts over a period of time. Further larger contracts are anticipated following completion of this phase." "In the current uncertain geopolitical environment, there is a significant focus by the Five Eyes Governments to procure from defence industrial capability champions within their network of countries. Having deep engineering and research capability, TRL9 products and a track record of working with Defence, places DroneShield in a favourable position for ongoing work." Operational Update Following a strong $7 million cash receipts 1Q23 quarter, DroneShield is on track for an all-time record 2Q23 quarter and continuing on a trajectory for another record year for cash receipts in 2023. Further detail will be provided in the next 4C quarterly, due to be released later in July. Significant progress on manufacturing, operations and inventory scale-up to support additional anticipated orders for remainder of 2023. DroneShield is currently finalizing the location for a larger industrial site to move its Sydney operations to enable the growth. With the $11 million contract announced in December now fully delivered and paid for, DroneShield is progressing the inventory build of the second $11 million order announced in January, expected to be delivered later this year. Current order book (committed and binding customer purchase orders) of approximately $29 million, an all-time record. Over $200 million qualified opportunities pipeline (in addition to the order book), across approximately 80 projects. Ongoing record demand for counterdrone / C-UAS equipment, underscored by the events in Ukraine and increasing defence and security budgets globally. In addition to military and intelligence communities, significant engagement with critical infrastructure plants, airports and other civilian customers. About DroneShield Limited DroneShield provides Artificial Intelligence powered platforms for protection against advanced threats such as drones and autonomous systems. We offer customers custom counterdrone (or counter-UAS) solutions and off-the-shelf products, designed to deliver highly effective capabilities for multiple missions and use cases. Our customers include military, government, law enforcement, critical infrastructure, and airports globally.

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Cybersecurity

Aquia Inc. Selected to Support the U.S. Air Force and DoD's Platform One CNAP Team on its Mission to Modernize Federal Government's Cybersecurity

PR Newswire | September 01, 2023

Aquia Inc., a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) specializing in cloud and cybersecurity professional services, today announced it has been awarded a subcontract from Omni Federal to support its 3-year contract with the United States Department of Defense's (DoD's) Platform One Cloud Native Access Point (CNAP). CNAP is a cloud-based enterprise security framework with a zero trust architecture core that enables collaboration across the DoD landscape. The solution allows for simplified access to Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud (IL 2/4/5) environments through a device-based zero trust approach to access. The platform removes the need for additional Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Non-Classified Internet Protocol Router Network (NIPRNet) routing, and Defense Information Systems Agency Cloud Access Point (DISA CAP). It also enables the United States Air Force (USAF) to continue to advance its zero trust maturity, aligning with the cybersecurity executive order (EO) 14028 and federal and DoD zero trust strategies. "We feel privileged to support Platform One's CNAP team as they spearhead the transformation of cybersecurity practices within the U.S. government," said Savannah Burke, associate security engineer, Aquia. "During my time at AWS, I provided guidance and technical insight on cloud best practices to enterprise customers, and I look forward to bringing that expertise to the United States Air Force." This effort is one of several of Aquia's projects supporting Platform One services. Aquia also supports Platform One's Party Bus and Big Bang teams. About Aquia Inc. Aquia Inc. is a developer-centric company passionate about the intersection of security and velocity. We maintain a strong bias towards transformational work that disrupts the status quo — delivering elegant, modern solutions to cutting-edge cybersecurity problems. Founded by military veterans in 2021, we are a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Our team has decades of experience driving transformational change across the public sector, enterprise businesses, and top-tier technology companies.

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