INTERVIEW-General Dynamics upbeat on growth in cyber market
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* General Dynamics ranked top cybercompany by FedSources
* Industry gives Obama aide cyber briefing on Thursday
WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - General Dynamics Corp (GD.N), which generates about $1 billion annually by keeping intruders out of U.S. computer networks and encrypting military communications, foresees big growth in the cybersecurity market from government and private spending.
Concern about protecting computer data from attacks is fueling the cybersecurity business at a time when analysts expect overall U.S. defense spending to flatten or decline.
A recent report by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch forecast that the cybersecurity market would total $14.6 billion in fiscal 2009, including classified and unclassified spending, and rise to $25.5 billion by fiscal 2013.
"We consider it a large growth area for us," Nadia Short, vice president of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, told Reuters in an interview.
Cybersecurity now comprises about 10 percent of General Dynamics' information technology sales, Short said, but analysts say it may help offset slower future sales of traditional military equipment such as tanks and ships.
She declined to give any specific forecasts, but General Dynamics Chief Executive Nicholas Chabraja projected in January overall IT revenue growth of 8 percent for the company in 2009.
Short said the company was well-positioned to expand its role in the growing market, given its experience with both classified and open domain cybersecurity programs.
Unlike Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N), Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), Boeing Co (BA.N) and Raytheon Co (RTN.N), General Dynamics has not created a separate unit to target the growing market. Instead, it prefers a more collaborative approach to tap synergies across its existing companies, Short said.
"We do have a very focused effort, but we feel that this is business as usual for us," said Short, who coordinates General Dynamics' cybersecurity efforts across the company.
COMPETITION
General Dynamics was recently listed by FedSource, a Washington-based consultant, as the leading cybersecurity contractor from 2007 through 2009. Continued...
