Having one of the nation's system centers for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) in the area is a valuable selling point for companies looking to locate close to the government agency.

In a recent study on the economic impact of the military community in South Carolina, completed by the research division of the S.C. Department of Commerce, SPAWAR Atlantic generated "a total of $3.378 billion in economic activity statewide and supported 27,492 jobs. These jobs earned approximately $1.553 billion in annual employee compensation."

A study conducted by the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business measures the economic impact a bit higher, touting more than $9 billion annually, a figure that the study explains "is a combination of direct, indirect and induced impacts on local economies." The direct impact, the study notes, is the economic activity generated by the SPAWAR's in-state purchases, which generate further expenditures within the South Carolina and other state economies, leading to indirect impacts.

According to the study, "as suppliers and local vendors spend income received from SPAWAR, businesses benefit further upstream. Moreover, wages are paid to employees as a result of the direct and indirect expenditures. The wage income then exerts an increase in expenditures via the local consumption of goods and services locally. These effects are called induced impacts. The sum of the direct, indirect, and induced impacts is the total economic impact."

Regardless of the disparity in the figures – due primarily to the use of different metrics tools – the message is the same: the work at SPAWAR contributes enormously to the local economy, and high-tech companies are finding Charleston an ideal location to be part of a thriving business community.

Case in point: Two companies recently announced plans to open offices in Charleston to work with SPAWAR, bringing a combined 170+ high-paying jobs with them.

Alion Science and Technology – a global engineering, technology and operational solutions company that supports SPAWAR Atlantic in several high-priority projects – opened a 3,700-sq.ft. facility in North Charleston to improve access to resources. It will staff 20+ employees and will provide technical, configuration management, information assurance, cyber security, IT and C5ISR support services for a variety of high-priority Navy, Marine Corps and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) programs.

ManTech International Corporation also opened a new 12,000-sq.ft. integration facility in North Charleston to support SPAWAR customers and provide the infrastructure to build and maintain partnerships with local municipal governments, technology firms, and trade and professional associations. The facility will house 150 employees and will feature a software lab, team collaboration work spaces, conference rooms, demonstration areas, and a high-bay for vehicle and C4I integration efforts.

Some of the activities planned for the facility include Agile software development; electro-optical, seismic, thermal, and motion sensor data fusion and database development; tactical vehicle command and control systems analysis, 3-D modeling, and design; information technology and network design, prototype, integration, and testing; and government off-site hosting, including service desk support operations. The site also hosts intern and cooperative programs with and for local organizations.

In both cases, some employees will be relocated from other offices, but most of the employees will be hired locally.

Officials at Alion say the company's primary focus is on "finding IA and cyber professionals, C5ISR analysts and engineers, Oracle database administrators and Oracle application engineers. Security clearances will be needed."

ManTech is primarily hiring locally for "technical positions such as software developers, electrical engineers, computer scientists and IT professionals." ManTech also recently acquired Allied Technology Group, an engineering and information management solutions company with strategic contacts with the Department of Homeland Security. The acquisition will bring Allied's 13 offices across the country under ManTech's banner, including one location in North Charleston.

Both companies say proximity to the customer (SPAWAR) was the primary requirement, but they anticipate improved access to local professionals with the subject matter expertise that SPAWAR requires.

Last April SPAWAR Atlantic awarded 15 companies wide-ranging contracts worth about $900 million for high-level technologies, including interoperable command, control, communication, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance – known by the acronym C5ISR – as well as information operations, enterprise information services and space capabilities.

The cumulative, estimated ceiling value of the base year for the contracts was nearly $180 million, with options in the contracts potentially bringing the cumulative ceiling value to an estimated $900 million. The work is expected to be completed next month, but if all options are exercised, work could continue until March 2018.