TimePlex, Williams unite

TimePlex Federal Systems and Williams Communications Solutions announced May 21 the creation of Nextira Federal, a company dedicated solely to providing mission-critical voice and data communications networks for the federal government.

Nextira combines the voice expertise of Williams with the data-networking experience of TimePlex Federal and joins more than 30 years of experience working with civilian and defense agencies, said Stephen Snyder, president of Nextira.

"This is a voice and data marriage," Snyder said. That does not mean Nextira is a full-service integrator, he added, but it will partner with companies to meet the needs of government clients. Snyder said both companies have solid government customer bases, but "the overlap was nil" — TimePlex's experience centered on the defense and intelligence arenas while Williams focused on civilian agencies. Their federal customers include the departments of Defense, Energy, Transportation, Justice, Treasury and State and NASA.

Using a vendor-neutral approach, Nextira designs and operates voice and data networking solutions to meet the technical and operational requirements of each customer, said Les Wallace, director of business development. Network teams located throughout the United States can meet two-hour response times in most major cities, he said.

The new company's top priorities will be maintaining service levels for existing customers, introducing capabilities "from one side of the house to the other side of the house" and then seeking new customers, Snyder said.

"This is a combination of organizations with heritage — one in voice and one in data," he said. As with any merger, some pain is involved, but those problems are being worked out and will not require job cuts. In fact, Snyder said, the company is in "growth mode."

Nextira also has established relationships with partners that include Nortel Networks Ltd. and Cisco Systems Inc.