TULSA, OK – Cherokee Federal, the federal contracting division of Cherokee Nation Businesses, has acquired Criterion Systems, a cybersecurity and IT services company.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered outside Washington, D.C. in Vienna, VA, Criterion serves as a strategic partner and contractor for many of the nation’s most mission-critical environments across the federal government.
“The strategic decision to acquire Criterion was made with the evolving needs and long-term success of the customer in mind,” said Steven Bilby, President of Cherokee Federal. “In addition to helping federal agencies address emerging cybersecurity requirements crucial to the protection of our nation, Criterion delivers efficient and secure methodologies and architectures for modernizing government IT that are unparalleled in the industry.”
Criterion employs more than 450 across its focus areas including cybersecurity, cloud/data center management, IT infrastructure operations and systems engineering.
“We take great pride in what we have built and the growth Criterion has achieved by supporting the federal government through an outcomes-focused approach that embraces modern solutions that ultimately improve and optimize service delivery,” said Promod Sharma, Criterion CEO. “The opportunity to join forces with the talented team at Cherokee Federal and fuel continued growth and sophistication is truly exciting.”
In 2021, Criterion secured placement on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the seventh time. The Washington Business Journal ranked Criterion on its list of largest private companies in 2019, 2020 and 2021. It has also been named a top workplace by the Washington Post and achieved status as a Military Friendly® employer. For three years running, Criterion has received the 2022 HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Earlier this year, Cherokee Federal was ranked No. 54 on the top 200 list of federal contractors published by Bloomberg Government in the 11th annual BGOV200.