12-10-2023 Top Workplaces - Flipbook - Page 22
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Octo:
Harnessing
technology to
empower employees
BY DONNA M. OWENS
Back in 2006, Mehul Sanghani founded a
company centered on his belief that “digital
transformation could be delivered at scale to
modernize the federal government’s approach”
to pressing challenges — from public health care
to national security.
Thus, Octo was born. IBM acquired the
Reston, Virginia-based operation for a reported
$1.2 billion in December 2022, establishing
what’s been called one of the largest digital
transformation partners to the federal government.
Still led by Sanghani, its CEO, the company
has some 1,500 employees, including about 273
in the Baltimore metro area. The company touts
its teamwork, which enables its federal partner agencies to leapfrog the technology curve,
through best practices embracing next-generation technology and innovation.
And in keeping with that innovative mindset, Octo’s professionals work from “a visionary,
technologically advanced space that is aesthetically and culturally appealing,” Chief Technology Officer Sujey Edward said.
“It’s edgy, it’s sharp, and it’s not the run-ofthe-mill lab or office. I would describe it as an
aspirational stop for employees to grow, learn
and test themselves. Not a demonstration environment but a hands-on innovation space where
our employees enjoy working with cutting-edge
22 | 2023 | TOP WORKPLACES
AI, VR, robotics and incredibly high compute
power,” he said.
Octo also boasts what’s known as oLabs, a
research and development innovation hub and
a collaborative prototyping and experimentation space. It enables the company to develop,
improve and provide an array of services, from
artificial intelligence to data management and
analytics, as well as cybersecurity.
“It’s a place where we encourage our employees to prototype and experiment every day,”
Edward said. “It’s where we say employees get
to innovate in the gray, barreling through the
usual constraints that hold progress back. It’s
how employees rapidly and safely conceive,
create and test prototypes that work for customers.”
That’s not all that makes Octo unique.
“Seva,” a term in the Sanskrit language that
embodies the spirit of giving without expecting anything in return, serves as one of Octo’s
core values. Because Seva means going above
and beyond for the community, the company
has developed programs that keep employees
engaged and rewards them for a job well done.
Among them is the oLabs Hackathon, an
annual event that encourages employees to solve
business and customer problems by devising
“hacks” that fit real-world cases. Winners are
judged by a panel of experts, and teams can win
cash and prizes — up to $10,000 for the top team.
Then there’s Octo’s internship program,
designed to foster the next generation of thinkers and innovators, some of whom end up as
company employees. This summer, the largest
intern cohort in Octo’s history worked in oLabs
to develop EchoNet, an AI solution that draws
on an acoustic detection capability; algorithms
process sound to trigger a robotic unit to take an
appropriate and actionable response in a given
situation. This type of technology can be used in
myriad ways, from finding victims buried during
earthquakes, locating underwater sub-implosion locations, and detecting and mitigating
threats in combat situations.
That’s not all that makes Octo a standout. Vanessa Davis, Octo’s senior manager for
employee engagement and corporate social