Virginia's IT outage doesn't pass management sniff test | ZDNet

Virginia's IT outage doesn't pass management sniff test | ZDNet

Northrop Grumman has a HUGE contract with the state of Virginia.

Northrop Grumman is getting paid large amounts of money (Virginia paid an EXTRA $236Million AND a three year extension on the original contract for improved service) for doing the IT for the state of Virginia.

For the past several days, 26 state agencies have been affected by an IT outage caused by EMC DMX-3 hardware failure. Blame your problems on the hardware.

Official Announcement from Wes Bush

This came from a Northrop Grumman employee who thought I was interested in this:

If you have access to the Company Intranet, you can also view this message at the following location: http://home.northgrum.com/comm/comm_execs.html.

July 12, 2010

MFCP 10-17

Site in Falls Church, Virginia Selected for New Corporate Office

To My Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce our selection of a building in Falls Church, Va. as the new home for our corporate office. Northrop Grumman has entered into an agreement to purchase the building located at 2980 Fairview Park Drive following a thorough site selection process. We plan to open the new office in the summer of 2011.

The building is located approximately 10 miles from the Pentagon, just inside the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). It will accommodate employees from both our Los Angeles Corporate Office and Washington Operations facility in Arlington, Va.

I want to recognize the members of our relocation team for their efforts in identifying an excellent site, and for continuing to assist our Corporate employees who are making significant personal and professional changes as a result of this move.

I also want to thank our Corporate employees for their continued cooperation during this time of change, and I ask for everyone’s support as we move forward with the relocation. This is an important step in our drive to achieve sustainable performance improvement and deliver increased value to our shareholders, customers and employees.

sig:\

Wes Bush

Chief Executive Officer and President

MY TAKE on this DOWN-SIZING is this:

That means A LOT of folks in Century City are not being asked to go to Virginia - remember what I wrote based on the Daily Breeze article April 27, 2010?

In reading the Daily Breeze article, NOTICE the DOWN-SIZING that Northrop Grumman is undergoing:

- Current Century City headquarters has about 360 people

- New location will have about 300 people

OBVIOUSLY not all of the current 360 people are being asked to move to Virginia. ALSO, how many people will be hired from the "local talent"?

How many folks from the Washington facility are part of the 300?

The more Washington folks there are, the less Century City folks beyond the obvious 60 there will not be.

Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.

DOWN-SIZING: Northrop Grumman chooses Virginia for new headquarters - The Daily Breeze

Northrop Grumman employees got this email from Wes Bush:

April 26, 2010
MFCP 10-10

Virginia Selected for New Corporate Office

To My Colleagues:

We are pleased to have identified Virginia as the home for our new corporate office. Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia put forward compelling, competitive offers. Our final decision was driven largely by facility considerations, proximity to our customers and overall economics. Our relocation team has narrowed its search to several buildings in the Falls Church/Arlington area of northern Virginia. We expect to make the final selection in the next several weeks.

We plan to open the new corporate office by the summer of 2011, and we will keep you informed regarding our progress as we move through the design and construction phases to the official opening.

The relocation team has done a great job, not only in quickly identifying an excellent location for our new corporate office, but also for the work they are doing to assist employees in Century City and elsewhere who are making significant personal and professional changes as a result of this move.

I want to thank our Corporate Office employees for their continued effort and cooperation during a period of much change and uncertainty, and I ask for everyone’s support as we move forward in the relocation. We are creating a clear and compelling path to a better future as we position our company for higher performance and greater success.


sig:\
Wes Bush
Chief Executive Officer and President


This move affects very few of the typical Northrop Grumman employees. Few of us have actually gone to Century City for a meeting. (I've been there for meetings, and had a temporary work assignment in Century City - but that's another blog.)

Wes Bush decided that all Northrop Grumman employees to know this.

The Daily Breeze newspaper had a much more informative article at Northrop Grumman chooses Virginia for new headquarters.

In reading the Daily Breeze article, NOTICE the DOWN-SIZING that Northrop Grumman is undergoing:

- Current Century City headquarters has about 360 people

- New location will have about 300 people

OBVIOUSLY not all of the current 360 people are being asked to move to Virginia. ALSO, how many people will be hired from the "local talent"?

There will be some "retirements" as well as "re-deployments" among those not asked to move to Virginia.

Such a nice way to get rid of the "deadwood and dog-meat" (term used by a Northrop Vice-President when referring to laid-off employees).


Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.

Over Budget, Way Off Schedule

See Virginia and Northrop revise and extend VITA computer contract and look how Northrop Grumman has made it profitable to go over proposed budgets and way off schedule.

Northrop Grumman is nothing like the little aircraft company, Northrop Aircraft Company, that took PRIDE in being "under budget" and "on-time" in its contractual obligations.

The original deal was a ten-year contract for $2.36 BILLION.

Northrop Grumman has been able to re-negotiate a three-year contract extension for an additional $247.2 MILLION per year.

This is in addition to $105 MILLION over the next nine years for additional hardware and services.

Northrop Grumman is also getting another $47 MILLION for "security and disaster recovery services not included in the original contract".

Northrop Grumman has come a long way.


Disclaimer: SORRY - This is only what I know from my point of view. No lies, just what I see as the truth.