To strengthen its position in the race to supply satellite-based Internet communications products and services to U.S. government customers, iDirect Government Technologies of Herndon, Va., a subsidiary of VT iDirect Inc., has turned itself into a proxy corporation that is completely separate from corporate partner Singapore Technologies.
In late October, iDirect Government Technologies completed the process of setting up a three-member board of directors, all of whom are U.S. citizens with top-secret clearance. “We do a lot of work with military and civilian government agencies,” said John Ratigan, iDirect Government Technologies president. “This helps to give those customers more peace of mind.”
Under the new organizational structure, iDirect Government Technologies has little contact with its corporate parent, other than to report profits.
The new firewall between iDirect Government Technologies and its corporate parent also enabled the firm to receive clearance to operate a top-secret facility, Ratigan said Nov. 1 during an interview at MILCON 2010, a military communications conference in San Jose, Calif.
IDirect’s government business has grown quickly, reporting an increase from about $5 million in annual revenues in 2003 to approximately $180 million in 2010. That growth is likely to continue, Ratigan said, as the company rolls out a variety of new hardware, software and services designed to improve the efficiency and reduce the size of fixed and portable satellite antennas and terminals.
