SMX was created in 2019 by combining several acquisitions into a new platform company through the support of private equity firm OceanSound Partners. Some may think that SMX is merely a rebrand of legacy Smartronix, but instead it is the private equity funded and larger Smartronix better equipped to compete with larger GOVCON businesses. Figure 1 shows a visual of acquisitions that led to the SMX we know today.
What we now know to be SMX came together as a series of M&A actions. Smartronix was the true core and remains such to this day with Datastrong, Trident and C2S being smaller “bolt-on” acquisitions.
- Trident Technologies – In March 2019, OceanSound acquired Trident Technologies, a provider of advanced IT, engineering, and programmatic solutions to the federal government based in Huntsville, AL.
- Smartronix and Trident Technologies merge – In January 2020, OceanSound announced the recapitalizations of Smartronix and Trident Technologies. This strategic investment enabled Trident and Smartronix to operate as a single business.
- Datastrong – In January 2021, Smartronix acquired Datastrong, a technology solution provider focused on data architecture, design and business analytics for government and commercial clients. Datastrong enhanced Smartronix’s cloud capabilities and expanded solutions in enterprise analytics, data science, and data engineering and management. Datastrong also brought new federal clients within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Department of State (DOS), and commercial clients in the pharmaceutical, financial services and education sectors.
- C2S Consulting Group – In May 2021, Smartronix acquired C2S Consulting Group (C2SCG), a full spectrum cloud solution provider specializing in the transformation of government customers in data intensive environments through innovation, automation, and adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. C2SCG was integrated in Smartronix’s Cloud Solutions business unit and expanded Smartronix’s client base into the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Originally named Smartronix, the company was rebranded as SMX in December 2021. Today, SMX is comprised of more than 1,500 employees specializing in technical solutions providing platform and capability enhancement involving cloud, engineering, analytics, IT, and more supporting customers in the Defense, Intelligence and Federal Health sectors.
SMX’s Primary Federal Customers
SMX is deeply ingrained in work serving the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) providing services in cloud, engineering and IT solutions. SMX also provides C5ISR services globally across each service branch and multiple Combatant Commands (COCOMs). A sample of relevant contracts include:
- U.S. Department of the Air Force, Enterprise Environmental Safety & Occupational Health Management Information System (EESOH-MIS) Migration – In July 2018, legacy Smartronix was awarded a six-year, $26 million ceiling value contract to migrate the Air Force’s EESOH-MIS program from a Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) managed hosting service to an AWS GovCloud IL4 environment. Under the contract, Smartronix completed the migration of Global Combat Support System Air Force applications to an AWS GovCloud environment and automated DoD-hardened platforms and app configurations to promote standardization, supporting a continuous ATO process and concepts of reciprocity and inheritance.
- U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC), C5ISR-Pacific Operations (C3PO) Support – In April 2020, legacy Smartronix was awarded a five-year, $674 million ceiling value task order to provide Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) and intelligence processing, exploitation and dissemination (PED) services to SOCPAC. Under the contract, legacy Smartronix manages SOCPAC’s C5ISR programs within the USINDOPACOM area of responsibility, delivering agile solutions for airborne, ground, maritime, and/or space-based C5ISR-platforms.
- U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), Webster Outlying Field (WOLF), Tactical and Remote, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence Edge Systems (TARCES 3) – In February 2022, legacy Smartronix was awarded a five-year, $134 million ceiling value contract to provide sustainment for TARCES 3. Under the contract, legacy Smartronix provides engineering services supporting TARCES systems enabling information exchange of voice, video, and data for the Navy. This includes research, design, engineering, development, analysis, prototyping, fabrication, integration, installation, test and evaluation, training and logistics support of telecommunications and related C-E systems, subsystems and components. Legacy Smartronix has had multiple iterations of this contract.
Automation, Analytics and Cloud Offerings
Similar to many of SMX’s competitors is the creation and investment in intellectual property or branded approaches to service delivery. Some of their more recent developments are featured below.
- SMX Elevate – SMX Elevate is SMX’s solution delivery model combining SMX’s proprietary intelligent automation platform with multi-competency technical teams to help clients accelerate business and mission goals. SMX Elevate is aimed at aiding organizations to adapt in response to change, limiting spending normally tied to drawing up new requirements.
- Business Analytics Playbook – SMX’s Business Analytics Playbook provides an analytical framework based on industry best practices and SMX’s own experience to identify and activate technologies to aid customers in driving better decision making. This framework helps drive the implementation of enterprise business analytics systems; executive dashboards, scorecards, and strategy management tools; mobile analytics; data warehouse write-back; and statistical models and analysis.
- Cloud Assured Managed Services (CAMS) – CAMS is SMX’s managed services offering for customer cloud environments and enables SMX to build and maintain cloud network infrastructure. SMX offers three options: Core, Premium, and Security to meet the unique managed services solution its customers may need.
The FedSavvy Strategies Takeaway
- SMX’s private equity-backing has enabled acquisitive growth for legacy Smartronix through its expansion in data solutions, analytics and cloud services, as well as new customer footprints in DOJ, DOS, DHS and in the Intelligence Community.
- SMX’s foundation remains mostly legacy Smartronix with other acquisitions as “bolt-ons” to diversify technical skill set and customer access.
- SMX is becoming a formidable mid-tier competitor particularly in the defense market in the areas of cloud, C5ISR, and engineering and IT solutions as demonstrated through their current portfolio.
- SMX’s intellectual property adds capabilities in automation, analytics and cloud managed services focused on agility, enterprise visibility and cloud network infrastructure.
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