With several new acquisitions under its belt, SOS International is increasingly moving into technology-focused work, according to the company's chief executive.
In an interview with Inside Defense at SOSi's Reston, VA, headquarters, Julian Setian said what the deals all have in common is they "move us up market."
The company made its name supporting tactical military operations, primarily for the Army. Setian said that work, which includes logistics, training and base operations, remains the company's primary growth driver because of the sheer size of the contracts, but that it has a "high risk profile."
"In spite of the fact that there's a lot of spending, each one of those contracts feels like it has a shelf life associated with it," he said. "We're one tweet away from pulling out of Afghanistan. . . . These are not fixed operations."
Setian said the company's acquisitions have helped SOSi expand its focus and customers. Earlier this year, SOSi picked up NorthStar Systems. In 2019, it added Vykin and in 2018, it acquired STG Group.
Setian said the company has sought to move into higher-end work that is technology focused.
"All the acquisitions we've made have a technology component," he said.
SOSi now has just under $500 million in annual sales, according to Setian. About 60% to 65% are in intelligence and technology work, while the remainder is in its military operations support work.
He told Inside Defense the company has a "a small sort of product business developing internally where we own our own code."
One of the product lines has been developed internally, Setian added, while the others have been acquired.
"The goal there is not to become a product business per se, but to start to try to get our customers to think a little bit differently about their requirements by enhancing the services that we offer with facilitating tools and technologies that either give us a differentiator that will help us rewin contracts or win new contracts at price premiums," he said.
Setian said SOSi is also seeking to hire a chief technology officer.
"It's really more about getting us to think more strategically about technology. So it's not program-specific," he said. "We have a chief information officer, but he's a little more inward looking. This is more about the customer-facing experience. It's about trying to facilitate technologies for our customers."