Criterion Continues IT Service Expansion With Protas Buy; Promod Sharma, Steve Mast Quoted

Criterion Systems has purchased Protas Solutions for an undisclosed sum to further expand its portfolio of information technology services for intelligence community clients.

Reston, Virginia-based Protas is a government contractor focused on providing software engineering, data science and management consulting support services to IC customers, Criterion said Tuesday.

“Protas is the second acquisition we have made in the past year to support the growth of our Intelligence Solutions business unit,” said Promod Sharma, president and CEO of Criterion.

Steve Mast, Co-Founder and CFO, Criterion

In March, federal IT and cybersecurity services contractor Criterion acquired Realm Consulting and announced the establishment of the new IS business unit.

Steve Mast, chief financial officer and co-founder of Criterion, will serve as president of Protas, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Vienna, Virginia-based Criterion.

“This acquisition enables us to expand our DevOps and Agile processes expertise while supporting our emerging competency in data science/analytics,” said Mast, who also serves as president of Realm.

He added that Criterion now offers expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and other strategic technologies to existing and future customers.

Protas CEO William Monas has joined Criterion as a vice president with oversight of business development initiatives within the IS business unit. Anthony Monas, president and chief technology officer at Protas, has assumed a VP role responsible for Criterion’s solutions and intellectual capital development.

Investment bank The McLean Group served as Protas’ adviser in the transaction.

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