AITC Exits 8(a) SBA Program

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Program Has Helped Propel Company into Next Phase of Growth

Building upon successful years of rapid growth, Advanced IT has officially “graduated” from the United States Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) program at the end of May 2022.

The 8(a) program is geared to help entrepreneurs launch, grow, and graduate their companies into a successful small business firm. The program provides the tools and knowledge needed to compete for contracts in the open market.

Since its inception in 2006, Advanced IT has evolved from its humble beginnings. The company was founded by former military veteran, Gabriel Ruiz, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. He and his wife Sandra Ruiz have spearheaded Advanced IT to grow from a small family-owned business to a well-respected, major international enterprise. The 8(a) graduation is a celebration of Gabriel Ruiz and Sandra Ruiz’ hard work and commitment to establish, maintain, and grow Advanced IT as an exemplary small business.

In the past 24 months, Advanced IT has been awarded approximately $2B in DoD contracts. The company has expanded its success by moving into international markets including South Korea, Belgium, Germany, Uruguay, and Fiji. Advanced IT also supports the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) 2030 Transformation program in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Being part of the SBA’s 8(a) program has assisted Advanced IT with growing and succeeding as a small business. As we transitioned through the years of working outside of the federal government, it prepared our company for the next sphere of success and helped to solidify our core strengths to attract large-scale contracts that have a global reach and impact,” says Gabe Ruiz, Advanced IT President.

Company Milestones:

In 2012 Advanced IT was accepted into the 8(a) Program. Since then, these were some of the successful 8(a) efforts achieved during the 10-year program period:

1. Advanced IT received its first 8(a) contract to support the U.S. Army and VA Medical Simulation Logistics efforts operating a 33,000-sf facility to support more than 100 VA Medical Clinics

2. The U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command (ISEC) awarded Advanced IT an 8(a) Top Secret contract to provide Audio Visual Engineering support in South Korea.

3. The U.S. Navy awarded Advanced IT a Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) contract for worldwide logistics and technology support.

4. Advanced IT received a Defense Health Agency (DHA) contract to provide Medical Simulation engineering and support to the NATO Allied Centre for Medical Education (ACME), Belgium.

5. FT Buchanan, P.R. awarded Advanced IT an Engineering Support contract to support the Department of Public Work (DPW).

6. FT Jackson, S.C. awarded Advanced IT a contract to provide Information Technology Engineering and Cyber Security support.

7. PEO STRI awarded Advanced IT a Medical Simulation contract for IT, Cyber Security and engineering support at Joint Base San Antonio’s Medical School’ Transport Medical Training Lab.

8. U.S. Forest Services awarded Advanced IT three contracts over three years to provide close to $8M in IT equipment.

9. The U.S. Department of State awarded Advanced IT a contract for the procurement and delivery of IT equipment to Honduras.

10. Advanced IT received a contract from the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (ICoE) at FT Huachuca, AZ, to provide Military Intelligence personnel for critical mission support.

“These are just a few of the countless efforts Advanced IT received during the program. We leveraged the opportunities afforded under the SBA’s 8(a) program by pursuing and receiving countless contracts. These contracts provided critical lessons learned, past performance, and the financial platform for the implementation of systems, processes, and personnel to allow Advanced IT to effectively compete and succeed outside of the 8(a) program. Advanced IT is forever grateful to the countless advisors, mentors, customers, partners, and employees who made this journey a success. Words of advice, if we could do it, others can too!” says Ruiz.

The successful program graduation also signifies Advanced IT’s effective implementation of processes and systems, the development of critical skills, capabilities and past performance, as well as the hiring of committed and focused employees to take the company to the next level in a competitive environment.