SBA Press Release

KBSI Named SBA Small Business Subcontractor of the Year National Award Recipient

College Station, TX 3/24/24- KBSI is pleased to announce its selection as the Winner of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 Region VI and the National Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award. This prestigious recognition highlights KBSI’s outstanding performance, dedication, and contributions to National Defense.

Ball Aerospace, now BAE Space & Mission Systems, nominated KBSI while working together on an Air Force research project to develop and apply the ASSURANT™ cybersecurity tools and technologies for weapon systems platform IT to meet the warfighter needs.  The Small Business Administration’s acknowledgment underscores KBSI’s commitment to excellence in subcontracting and its significant impact within the industry. This award reaffirms KBSI’s position as a leader in delivering exceptional services and solutions while fostering growth and innovation in the small business community.

“We are honored to receive the Small Business Subcontractor of the Year National Award from the Small Business Administration,” said Dr. Richard Mayer, President and CEO at KBSI. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and expertise of our team. We remain committed to delivering excellence in subcontracting and contributing to the success and growth of small businesses nationwide.”

Knowledge Based Systems, Inc. (KBSI) is a privately-owned small business providing innovative products and services to commercial and government entities since 1988.  KBSI has utilized many SBA programs over the years such as the SBIR/STTR program, a PPP Loan and Employee Retention Credits.  KBSI has also worked with its local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) on many occasions and greatly appreciated their expert advice.

KBSI has consistently demonstrated excellence in its subcontracting efforts, exceeding expectations and delivering value-added solutions to its clients. Dr. Richard Mayer, President and CEO, commented: Working hand-in-hand with the incredible technical teams at Ball has allowed us to jointly develop even higher levels of products and services. In fact, our partners at Ball, Kathleen Frazier, Heather Peters and Poonam Richardet, are almost as excited about this award as we are. It proves that large businesses and their small business subcontractors can achieve great things together.  This award serves as a validation of KBSI’s unwavering commitment to quality, integrity, and innovation.”

As noted by the Advanced Technology & Information Solutions (ATIS-BALL) Team lead: “Above all, KBSI always goes the extra mile!  They collaborate with us and make intentional efforts to get the right people to the table for conversations.”

“Our stakeholders value the KBSI team and their innovative cyber technologies:

  1. AFRL is highly satisfied with KBSI’s performance and sees high value in the KBSI ASSURANT solution
  2. The Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems (CROWS) has sponsored the KBSI ASSURANT project and sees the Assurant technology as a valuable tool to reduce the ATO approval time to get systems deployed faster.
  3. 30 DoD platforms have achieved an ATO by using ASSURANT technology.
  4. KBSI has been on-time and under budget with all performance activities under Ball Aerospace, while at the same time, receiving high praise from customers for going beyond expectations.
  5. KBSI was provided with Exceptional ratings in every category on its CPAR for this effort.

To recap, KBSI, have on-time deliveries and are highly responsive whenever we have additional questions or needs.  The product’s acceptance into program offices is one of the indicators of their top-notch technology!  Our business unit’s-Advanced Technology & Information Solutions (ATIS-BALL) team, values our strong, productive and loyal partnership with KBSI.

As the recipient of this esteemed award, KBSI looks forward to continuing its mission of driving positive change, fostering collaboration, and empowering small businesses to thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

For more information about KBSI’s ASSURANT technologies and its award-winning cyber survivability services, visit www.ASSURANTCYBER.com or contact Byon Williams at bwilliams@kbsi.com.

About KBSI:

Knowledge Based Systems, Inc. (KBSI) is a dynamic engineering and system analysis, consulting and systems/software development firm.  Our history reflects our capability and determination to complete projects on schedule, within budget, and with high quality results.  Since its founding in 1988, KBSI has established a reputation for excellence in turning research results into innovative commercial technologies. KBSI has been awarded a multitude of major research and development contracts.  KBSI has provided services to satisfy government and private enterprise needs in a wide range of areas including: AI and machine learning, NLP and NLU, cyber security & survivability, engineering design and manufacturing, large-scale systems analysis, simulation modeling, forecasting, data mining and analytic tool development, industrial and systems engineering, health, asset tracking & visualization, renewable energy, semantic search, ontologies, quantum probability modeling of human cognition, control systems, production management, planning and scheduling, and optimization.  KBSI has established a reputation for excellence in turning research results into innovative commercial technologies.

The KBSI corporate and business offices, research and development center, and marketing and sales operations are located in College Station, Texas. Other KBSI locations include: 1) an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma office that supports consulting, training, and software tools primarily to support the Tinker Air Force Base Air Logistics Center; and 2) an office in Dayton, OH supporting projects at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and defense contractors in the Miami Valley.  For more information, visit www.KBSI.com.

KBSI President’s Message to Staff

Folks,

Yesterday I had the honor to accept, on the behalf of KBSI, the Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Award.  We were nominated for this award by Ball Aerospace (now BAE Space & Mission Systems) for the work we did for them in support of the development and application of ASSURANT for the United States Air Force Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems (CROWS).  Over 30 Air Force weapons platforms have been able to meet and exceed their cyber security certifications in less than half the time it would have taken to complete by hand or with other tools.  These important weapons systems are now able to deploy sooner and with better security.

We should be very proud of this award and want to complement the ASSURANT team for their excellent performance on this effort.

But this was also a win for all of KBSI. SBA evaluated companies from top to bottom and we were selected based on all aspects of our business. Every person in every role contributes to the success of our organization and I feel privileged to share in this award with all of you for all your hard work and dedication to KBSI.

Best Regards,

Dr. Richard Mayer