For more than three decades, time and again Areté Associates has seen that non-conventional approaches are required to solve many of the hardest problems facing the U.S. national security community. Tackling hard problems in non-conventional ways is precisely the arena in which Areté’s approach to innovation thrives. Often our innovations occur because Areté scientists see ways to exploit a deeper understanding of the physics governing particularly vexing problems. At other times, Areté scientists see ways in which novel solutions that have gained maturity and acceptance in one community can make rapid and significant contributions when applied to new problems, problems where the value of our technology previously had not been recognized. In yet other instances, the ingenuity of our engineers leads to technology that offers key advantages over the current state of the art.
Areté has been described aptly as “a company that creates its own niches!” We are a company that makes no claim to being all things to all customers. Rather, we strive to be the best in the world at what we do; we solve very challenging problems involving sensors and sensing, exploiting unique signal processing algorithms, unique hardware, or both.
How has Areté achieved this enviable position in our community? It starts by striving to hire the brightest, most talented scientists and engineers, creating a highly ethical, quality-oriented work environment in which such employees can thrive, and continually exposing them to the challenges of solving difficult, nationally significant, real-world problems. These ingredients combine to produce the Areté Culture and an attrition rate well below industry norms.
Next, we cultivate relationships with customers and programs that benefit from and appreciate Areté’s strengths: quality, innovation, and responsiveness to solving the customer’s problem and meeting the customer’s needs. This approach not only produces highly productive and satisfying contributions to the program at hand, but we find that it results in technology that can be redeployed to solve other problems as well. We apply this approach to maintaining key roles in ongoing programs, evolving new roles in emerging programs and pursuing new seed-corn efforts through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.
Furthermore, the company strategically invests its own resources in a vigorous Independent Research & Development (IR&D) program that complements our contract R&D program in several critical ways. Our IR&D funding permits us to create important new inventions and reduce them to practice to maximize our intellectual property (IP) rights. Our IR&D funds also allow us to demonstrate our technology in ways that are relevant to our customers, maintain our competitive edge, develop new core competencies, enter new markets, and develop our staff.
Combined, our contract program and our IR&D program create a rich technology base that provides the foundation for our future efforts. Much of the intellectual property created in this process can be protected through U.S. and foreign patents. Currently, Areté has 35 U.S. patents. Some of these patents are at the heart of current major thrusts within the company, while others have been licensed or sold to other companies interested in building commercial businesses founded on our innovations. A substantial portfolio of Areté-owned, closely held, but unpatented technology complements the formally protected inventions.