Vienna tech company acquires Colorado software engineering company

SAGE Black is third acquisition for Criterion this year

Published October 7, 2021 by Katherine Schulte

Vienna-based cybersecurity and IT company Criterion Systems Inc. acquired Colorado-based government contractor SAGE Black Consulting and Contracting LLC, the company announced Sept. 28.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

SAGE Black provides software engineering services to the geospatial intelligence, space and cyber industries, with an artificial intelligence/machine learning ability. SAGE Black operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Criterion, with Criterion Chief Financial Officer Steve Mast serving as president of the subsidiary.

“This acquisition, combined with our purchases of Realm Consulting and Protas Solutions earlier this year, provides Criterion with a deep bench of expertise that will benefit both our intelligence community customers and the company as a whole,” Mast said in a statement.

The SAGE Black team has joined Criterion’s Intelligence Solutions business unit, which focuses on providing systems integration and cyber operations-focused services. SAGE Black founder Paul Patton has become a Criterion vice president, responsible for cultural integration and workforce development. SAGE Black vice president Sean Dougherty has become a Criterion vice president, responsible for geospatial intelligence-related software services.

“SAGE Black’s customers will benefit from Criterion’s significant corporate infrastructure, especially in developing new and stronger mission-focused capabilities, strong talent acquisition expertise and its ability to support innovative solutioning,” Dougherty said in a statement.

Founded in 2005, Criterion provides cybersecurity, IT infrastructure operations, cloud/data center management and systems engineering across the federal government.

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