Council In the News Index

Defense Tech Network to Launch (Boston Business Journal)

Boston Business Journal - by Kyle Alspach
Monday, November 8, 2010

An online network aimed at bringing new defense contracts to New England tech companies will launch early next year, according to the Boston-based Defense Technology Initiative (DTI).

The network, first reported on by the Boston Business Journal in September, was officially announced Monday by DTI president Chris Anderson. Dubbed the Innovation Access Network, the network seeks to link up companies and universities with potential customers in the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.

“New England possesses many of the nation’s leading defense contractors, universities, research labs and small businesses, but there has never been a coordinated effort to bring all of these assets together,” Anderson said in the announcement. “We view IAN as the connective tissue for the region’s defense and homeland security cluster that will allow us to create new partnerships, business opportunities and jobs.”

The online network has been created over the past nine months through a collaboration between the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, universities and companies such as Providence-based Textron and BAE Systems, which has operations in Lexington, Mass.

The DTI has also chosen Boston-based ConnectEdu Inc. to work on developing the network. The company offers a suite of web-based tools to help high school and college students meet their goals, and has worked with the Massachusetts High Technology Council on an online network connecting employers with prospective employees.