Gov. Nathan Deal announced the launch of the Georgia Defense Exchange (GDX), an interactive business development platform designed to assist Georgia businesses in finding new opportunities in Department of Defense (DOD) contracting.
“From the Bell Bomber Plant during WWII to the NSA and U.S. Army Cyber Command in Augusta today, Georgia enterprises enjoy a storied history of fulfilling contracts for national defense,” Deal said. “Last year alone, defense contracts executed in Georgia were valued at $6.4 billion. These contracts provide significant opportunities for Georgia businesses and drive new development in local communities across the state. The GDX platform will allow us to equip companies with the tools they need to be competitive in acquiring DOD contracts while ensuring that this long-standing tradition continues in Georgia.”
GDX offers Georgia’s defense contracting community a one-stop data research and collaboration platform. The platform was designed to support and engage businesses across a wide variety of industry sectors with its rich data visualizations, interactive dashboards, real-time DOD data and business-to-business communication tools. GDX will open new opportunities for both traditionally defense-related businesses and service-oriented companies with no experience in defense contracting.
Lockheed Martin, Meggitt, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman account for some of the largest defense contracts in Georgia. Additionally, more than $3 billion of Georgia’s defense contracts are related to services for facility maintenance, science and engineering, equipment and construction.
To develop GDX, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) collaborated with The Simple VUE, an Atlanta-based full-service information technology and data analytics consulting firm, and the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC), a federally funded program that helps Georgia businesses identify, compete for, and win government contracts in order to sustain and grow their businesses.
GDEcD and GTPAC began collaborating on the project in September of 2016. A unit of the Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), Georgia Tech’s chief economic development arm, GTPAC provided its research data and advised on the creation of an economic development model for the aerospace and defense industries, said Chuck Schadl, EI2‘s group manager of government contracting services, which includes GTPAC and the Contracting Academy at Georgia Tech.
GTPAC staff also arranged for several Georgia defense contractors to provide focus group feedback on the GDX tool, make suggestions, and comment on its utility.
“We pride ourselves on maintaining the best business environment in the nation, and providing top-notch resources for our citizens,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “GDX levels the playing field, giving small businesses in Georgia the chance to know about and respond to the many defense contracting opportunities that are available. I am confident that all Georgia companies will benefit tremendously from GDX, and that our state will increase its competitive advantage in this sector.”