News Room

HPTi's news room provides information on the latest news, press releases, and upcoming events.

• 11 December 2008: HPTi Wins Work from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

  HPTi was recently awarded a contract to assist the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response (NSIR)—part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission—in setting up an information management system and network. The win is worth $3M for the base contract of one year and up to $6M over two option years. Equally important, it will give HPTi exposure within the NRC.
  
  “We anticipate that, in the future, the role of the NRC will grow as our country looks to expand its sources of energy,” stated HPTi Chief Operating Officer Scott Miller. “This win is exciting for HPTi because it puts us in a position to show the NRC what we can do for their organization. Ultimately, we expect it will lead to growth opportunities within this strategic organization.”
  
  The NRC regulates the country's non-military use of nuclear materials and byproducts in order to protect the public's health and safety. One of the ways it does this is by creating documents that contain what is know as Safeguards Information (SGI)—information about security concerns related to protecting nuclear materials and nuclear power plants. Up until now, most SGIs have been paper documents, which are kept locked in special safes. This arrangement, however, makes it hard to search the documents quickly for specific information or to share the information with other organizations that might benefit from it.
  
  To address this problem, the NSIR is deploying the Safeguards Information Local Area Network/Electronic Safe (SLES). This electronic information management system will enable SGI to be safely shared with authorized users, including other federal agencies and state and local governments. This work has two distinct parts that will need to be successfully deployed: the SGI local area network, which will serve as the supporting infrastructure for the project; and the Electronic Safe (E-Safe). Residing on the SGI LAN, E-Safe is that application that will be used to electronically manage agency SGI.

• 8 December 2008: HPTi's Internal Control Systems Recognized by Ethisphere

  After winning the 2008 National Capital Business Ethics Award, HPTi's ethical practices and success have garnered much media attention. At a time when the government contractor industry is often synonymous with questionable business practices, HPTi is honored to be recognized by Ethisphere Institute as having one of the country's best internal control systems. HPTi is ranked #3 on Ethisphere's Internal Control Systems Top 10 and graced the list with other well-known corporations, such as Lockheed Martin (#8) and Verizon Wireless (#2).
  
  Ethisphere's Government Contractor Ethics Rankings highlights federal contractor all-stars. To determine the contenders in each category, Ethisphere put together a committee of the “best and brightest experts in the ethics, legal, and compliance fields” to analyze and evaluate over 1,000 federal contractors in terms of codes of ethics and business conduct, leadership and tone from executives, internal control systems, and ethics training and communications programs. HPTi scored a 93.10 and is rated “Excellent” by Ethisphere, who defines this ranking as “the Ethisphere ‘hall of fame’ that few companies achieve”.
  
  For more on Ethisphere's 2008 Government Contractor Ethics Rankings and to view the full list of the top 10 Internal Control Systems, please visit http://ethisphere.com/10-best-internal-control-systems/.

• 5 December 2008: HPTi Hosts the Second Annual Problem Solving Competition at Penn State

  On Saturday, November 1st, HPTi hosted the second Problem Solving Competition at Penn State. Held in cooperation with the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) and the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), this competition requires students to use a variety of problem solving skills to solve a fictional mystery.
  
  Participants in the competition were tasked with solving a mystery behind a series of bizarre occurrences that have been plaguing the Penn State football team. Each occurrence was accompanied by a series of puzzles and clues apparently left behind by the perpetrator. Teams were asked to crack the case and identify the culprit so the football season could be a success.
  
  The Competition was kicked off by IST Professor Gerry Santoro, who praised the students for showing initiative and explained the importance of participating in the competition as a demonstration of the skills they had learned in IST and the effect it would have on future employers.
  
  The 12 three-person teams drew upon their backgrounds in math, logic, information security, and team-based problem solving as they attempted to solve the clues. Types of clues included decrypting data, solving riddles and logic problems, and decoding image files.
  
  The previous competition's winning team jumped out to an early lead but stumbled on the decryption problems, which enabled the winning team to jump from sixth to first place by identifying the location of the suspect. Although time expired before the culprit was named, two teams managed to identify the location where the culprit resides.
  
  Seven HPTi employees were on hand to assist in running the competition, and many more were involved in creating the problem set. Two internal testing teams ensured the problems were well designed, complete, and at the appropriate level of difficulty.
  
  The next competition is scheduled for late 2009.

• 20 November 2008: HPTi Employee David Cradlin Promoted to Group Vice President

  Long-time HPTi employee David Cradlin has been promoted to Group Vice President for HPTi's newly organized Enterprise Technologies Group. In this position, David will be responsible for overall strategy, general management, and business growth of the group, including client advocacy and leadership development.
  
  "Throughout his career at HPTi, David has worked hard to bring new business to the company," commented Mr. Scott Miller, HPTi's Chief Operating Officer. "This is important, of course, but to me, it's not the most important part of David's story. To me, David's success is directly attributable to his belief in HPTi's Core Values, and how he executes that belief. David has excelled at HPTi because he has excelled at building strong teams."
  
  Mr. Cradlin joined HPTi 13 years ago as a systems engineer. During his career at HPTi, he has consistently demonstrated his leadership and management skills, moving from engineer to program manager to practice lead. In 2006, as Practice Lead for the Healthcare Systems Practice, Mr. Cradlin earned HPTi's Summit Award—the organization's highest honor.
  
  "David understands that as a leader, it is his responsibility to develop and nurture other leaders," Miller said. "When it comes to developing Management Leadership and Knowledge Leaders at HPTi, David's success has been unparalleled. For this reason, he was the clear choice for Group Vice President for Enterprise Technologies."

• 20 November 2008: HPTi Receives Family-Friendly Workplace Award

  HPTi is pleased to announce that it is a recipient of the 2008 Annual CARE (Companies As Responsive Employers) Award. Presented by Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS), the CARE Awards recognize outstanding companies that provide family-friendly workplace policies and benefits. This is the second consecutive year that HPTi has been honored with the award.
  
  "We have always said that we value our people, and it's great to gain public recognition for that philosophy," said HPTi President, Timothy P. Keenan. "We are proud to be a CARE Award recipient and are honored by the distinction. At HPTi, we put benefits and policies in place to help our people balance their work and home lives. This benefits them and the company."
  
  Since 1992, the CARE Awards have identified the best places to work in Northern Virginia. The program was established to recognize companies that are leaders in providing family-friendly benefits and helping employees maintain a healthy work and life balance.
  
  Some of HPTi's family-friendly workplace policies and benefits include flexible workplaces, Metro and parking subsidy, telecommuting, cell-phone reimbursement, laptop purchase program, and video teleconferencing.

• 5 November 2008: HPTi Honored for Ethical Excellence

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi) has won the 2008 National Capital Business Ethics Award (NCBEA). The award has gained particular attention this year as the business world grapples with the far-reaching consequences of unethical behavior among corporations.
  
  Administered by the Society of Financial Service Professionals, in partnership with George Mason University, the NCBEA recognizes companies that have demonstrated their integrity, civic and social responsibility, and business excellence in the Greater Washington region. HPTi has been a semi-finalist every year since 2004, and is excited to be recognized for maturing its ethics programs. The judges noted that, "Recipients of this award have an executive-level commitment to business ethics, specific examples of how they implement their corporate code of conduct, and clear communication that sets expectations for ethical behavior". HPTi won in the largest company category, which included Mid-Atlantic firms, from various industries, with 250 or more employees. Winners were announced at the NCBEA awards gala, held October 23, 2008.
  
  As part of its ethics program, HPTi ties its core values into essential business practices like performance reviews, promotions, interviews, and client satisfaction. Employees are encouraged to display the core values and hold their coworkers accountable.
  
  "As CEO, all I can do is put an environment into place that is conducive to ethical behavior," commented Tim Keenan at the awards ceremony. "However, I count upon each member of HPTi to bring a high personal ethical standard to the job."

• 14 October 2008: Joe Parker to Join HPTi as Group Vice President

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi), a leading provider of science and technology, performance-based architecture, and advanced solutions for the federal marketplace, has announced that Joseph E. Parker, Jr. has joined the company as Group Vice President for Advanced Systems. HPTi's Advanced Systems Group provides computational science, systems engineering, and advanced, secure software development for our nation's most complex science, intelligence, and defense programs. In this position, Parker will be responsible for overall strategy, general management, and business growth of the group, including client advocacy and leadership development.
  
  "As we have grown and prospered, HPTi continues to grow and add experienced executive talent that will lead and position HPTi in the future of our marketplace," commented Mr. Scott Miller, HPTi's Chief Operating Officer. "Joe is a big part of that plan. He has a unique blend of experience that matches HPTi's key strengths and interest areas. He is also an accomplished executive in this industry, and we are lucky to be able to add his talents to an executive management team that will continue to position HPTi as a significant player in the federal mid-sized market space."
  
  Parker comes to HPTi with over 25 years' experience in the industry. He spent over 20 years at SAIC, where he was vice president and division manager. At SAIC, he managed four operating divisions of scientists and engineers distributed throughout 11 locations across the United States. During his tenure, Parker grew the organization at a rate of between 14%–27% annually while maintaining an employee retention rate of over 94%.
  
  Most recently, Parker was vice president of operations at Systems and Proposal Engineering Company (SPEC), a firm that specializes in providing quality proposal services—including proposal management, RFP analysis, and technical consulting—to a variety of commercial companies and government contractors. There, he led the technical, day-to-day operations, developed the staff, and developed and executed the tactical and strategic business plans for the growth of the company. At SPEC, Parker contributed to the capture of almost $3B in new contract revenues and $28B in IDIQ contract vehicles for his clients.

• 13 October 2008: HPTi Named One of the D.C. Area's Top Technology Employers

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi) has been named one of the top technology employers in the Washington, D.C. metro area by the Washington Business Journal. Each fall, the Journal submits its list of the top 50 technology employers, as ranked by metro-area employees. Moving up two spots from last year, HPTi has made an annual appearance on the Journal's list since 2006. HPTi is joined on the Top 50 by firms such as Lockheed Martin, IBM, and ManTech International. HPTi attributes its sustained growth and industry success to its driven and knowledgeable employees. For more information on the Washington Business Journal and the top 50 list, go to www.washington.bizjournals.com.

• 07 October 2008: HPTi Named Finalist for Prestigious Award

  On October 7, HPTi was honored at the 6th Annual GovCon Awards as a finalist for Contractor of the Year in the $25-75 million revenue category. The award recognizes government contractors for financial excellence, operational accomplishments, and outstanding contributions to employees, the government contracting industry, and the U.S. Government. HPTi appreciates the prestigious honor of being ranked among the industry's finest and would like to thank the clients and employees whose work and dedication made this honor possible.

• 8 August 2008: HPTi Earns CMMI Level 3 Certification

  HPTi's Secure Software Solutions (S3) Practice has been assessed at Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI©) Maturity Level 3. The CMMI is an industry best-practices model for project and engineering management established by Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute in collaboration with government and industry experts. This Level 3 rating indicates that HPTi's software processes are defined and institutionalized across the organization.
  
  HPTi's S3 Practice develops custom software solutions for some of the federal government's most challenging problems. Its software solutions include the Project Tracking System for the Internal Revenue Service and the Veterans Administration; the Secure Payment System, which helps the Department of the Treasury move trillions of dollars around the world each year; and systems that help U.S. law-enforcement agencies and organizations share information.
  
  With billions of dollars and millions of lives at stake, it is imperative that these projects use proven, repeatable processes. HPTi's CMMI Level 3 certification assures clients that HPTi's software-solution projects are properly scoped, managed, and implemented, increasing the likelihood that they will achieve their intended goals on time and within budget.
  
  "Our clients regularly express their appreciation of the steps we take to improve our software process," stated HPTi Process Improvement Director Barbara Brissett. "Our reliability, timeliness, and quality are all improved by the CMMI process."
  
  "Obtaining Level 3 was a firm-wide effort," commented company president Tim Keenan. "A lot of work went into this appraisal, and I am very proud that HPTi's employees were so willing to put in the extra effort to enhance the services we provide our clients. I am especially pleased because we are now better able to assist in our clients' vital missions."

• 28 July 2008: HPTi Employee Presented with 2008 CPIC Excellence Award

  Ira Sachs, a member of HPTi's Healthcare Practice, was recently honored with the Federal Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Forum's Award of Excellence for Best Educational Contribution. The award was presented at the Forum's first annual Federal Capital Planning and Investment Control conference held at the Capitol Hilton on July 22nd and 23rd in Washington D.C. Mr. Sachs was honored for his contribution in authoring the Enterprise Architecture Chapter of the Forum's CPIC guide book.
  
  This award is the most recent success in a career full of highlights. Mr. Sachs has over 20 years experience in enterprise architecture, information systems development, capital planning, strategic planning, business and software process analysis and reengineering, financial systems, and program management. He joined HPTi in 1999, and leads HPTi's Enterprise Architecture (EA) competency, assisting clients in planning and integrating enterprise-wide IT. Mr. Sachs is a recognized expert in EA, and speaks about EA at conferences nationally and internationally.
  
  Mr. Sachs was a key contributor to the development of IEEE-Std-1471-2000, Recommended Practices for Architectural Description of Software-Intensive Systems. He currently provides senior technical leadership for Enterprise Architecture and related work across multiple tasks for FDA.
  
  The Federal Capital Planning & Investment Control (CPIC) Forum is a 501c3 Educational Non-Profit organization charted to facilitate education, recognition, and collaboration within the CPIC community.

• 1 July 2008: HPTi Announces New Chief Operating Officer

  HPTi President Tim Keenan has announced that Scott F. Miller has been promoted to HPTi's Chief Operating Officer (COO). As COO, Miller will be responsible for the overall line management of HPTi programs and leadership development. Previously, Miller was HPTi's Group Vice President of Advanced Systems.
  
  "I have known and respected Scott for many years both here at HPTi and at his previous firm," Keenan stated in making this announcement. "He has always represented growth energy for the firm and a shared vision for the future of HPTi. I look forward to working with Scott to take HPTi into the future."
  
  Miller has been with HPTi since August 2002. Since that time, HPTi has seen its overall yearly revenue grow from $35.1M (2002) to $59.6M (2007). This growth has included important new contract wins in Miller's Advanced Systems Group, including HPTi's largest award ever—a contract with the Army High Performance Computing Resource Center, which is potentially worth $210 million over the next 10 years.
  
  Before joining HPTi, Miller was Vice President at Veritect Inc., where he managed marketing and business development activities for the information and network security firm. He has also served as Vice President of Business Development and Vice President of the Information Analysis Sector for MRJ Technology Solutions, Inc.,
  
  The company was recently recognized by the CIO Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Agile Companies in the U.S.—the only federal contractor so named—and it was also the only company in Virginia to earn, in 2007 and 2008, Plaques for Progress in Performance Excellence from the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award. In addition, the Private Company Index named HPTi a "Top-5 Growth Company" for Q4 and a "Top-10 Growth Company" for 2007. In 2007, the company made its debut on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held firms.

• 12 June 2008: HPTi's Employee of the Year Wins an American Business Award

  Chris Ashworth of High Performance Technologies, Inc (HPTi) has won Best Technical Professional of the Year in the 6th Annual American Business Awards, also known as the "Stevies." His Stevie comes just months after winning HPTi's Employee of the Year award. HPTi was also a finalist for Best Overall Company and Best Community Service Committee. In addition to Mr. Ashworth, HPTi employees were finalists for Best Human Resources Executive, Best Finance Executive, Best Corporate Communicator, and Best Customer Service Executive.
  
  Mr. Ashworth, from HPTi's Intelligence Agencies Practice, was selected on the basis of his work for a specialized reporting tool for the U.S. Intelligence Community. He received his award on June 12 at the Awards Gala at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.
  
  "The reporting tool is critical to the senior leadership of America's Intelligence Community because it allows them far greater insight into how they are spending their budget than they had before," stated Sean Coleman, Practice Lead for the Intelligence Agencies Practice. "Chris has been a mainstay in planning, developing, training, and deploying the solution."
  
  Hailed as "the business world's own Oscars" (New York Post , April 27, 2005), the American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performance in business.

• 9 June 2008: HPTi Finalist for Seven American Business Awards

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi), a technology solutions company for the U.S. government, has been named as a finalist in seven categories for the American Business Awards -- nicknamed the Stevies. The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in business. HPTi is a finalist for Best Overall Company and Best Community Service Committee. HPTi employees are also up for Best Human Resources Executive, Best Technical Professional, Best Finance Executive, Best Corporate Communicator, and Best Customer Service Executive. More than 2,600 entries from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories. Members of the Awards' Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors and their staffs will select Stevie Award winners from among Finalists in final judging during the week of May 19. Finalists were chosen by business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April t hrough early May.
  
  "As a mid-sized firm of 300 employees, HPTi's finalist status in seven categories speaks volumes about the depth of talent in our people. I am extraordinarily proud that we are receiving this type of public recognition," said HPTi president Tim Keenan.
  
  "ABA entries grew more than 30% this year, so being named a Finalist is more of an accomplishment than ever before," said Michael Gallagher, founder and president of The Stevie Awards. "It means that independent business executives have agreed that the nominee is worthy of national recognition."
  
  In 2007, HPTi was a finalist in five categories and was recognized for having the Best Executive and Best Support Staffer in the entire country. The firm will find out the results of this year's voting at the June 12 awards gala in New York City.
  
  Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Finalists in all categories are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba.

• 9 June 2008: HPTi's HR Director Receives Industry Award

  Eleni Antoniou, the Human Resources Director for High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi), has been named the winner of the 2008 Human Resource Leadership Awards of Greater Washington in the "Strategic Alignment" category. The HRLA of Greater Washington identifies leaders in the field of human resources and recognizes their innovation.
  
  Eleni has been HPTi's HR Director for over ten years. In that time she has been instrumental in aligning the firm's human resources with strategic initiatives. In 1998, HPTi's revenues were less than $10 million a year. The firm now enjoys revenues approaching $70 million a year and employs over 300 professionals. Eleni has spearheaded many of the company's employee programs that made this growth possible. Under her leadership, HPTi has been awarded the 2007 CARE Award for creating a family-friendly workplace. The company has also been a perennial name on the list of D.C.'s Best Workplaces for Commuters.
  
  "We believe in building people who build solutions for America's toughest technology challenges. Eleni's efforts are vital in realizing that vision," commented HPTi's president Tim Keenan.
  
  Being awarded the Strategic Alignment Award is only the most recent industry acknowledgement of Eleni's innovative leadership. Her attendance at the HRLA Gala will be closely followed by the American Business Awards on June 12th, where Eleni is a finalist for the country's Best HR Executive.

• 9 June 2008: HPTi Receives SPQA Award

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi), a Reston-based technology services firm, has been named a recipient of a prestigious United States Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA) for Virginia for the third consecutive year. For the second year running, HPTi was the only company in Virginia to be awarded the SPQA Plaque for Performance Excellence. To achieve this level of recognition, HPTi demonstrated sound approaches to business and educational processes in their work for the federal government. "SPQA is a wonderful opportunity to have our business practices evaluated by some of the sharpest minds in Virginia," commented Tim Keenan, HPTi's president. "With a third award in as many years, our reputation for excellence in the marketplace is reinforced by SPQA's independent analysis."
  
  The SPQA encourages and rewards companies throughout the Commonwealth for practicing high-quality knowledge sharing and process improvement. The awards program fosters quality services and products in every sector of the Virginia economy. The SPQA Board of Directors, judges, and examiners evaluate and select award recipients. Selection criteria are based on written application submissions and on-site visits which demonstrate measurable quality and productivity results. The SPQA for Virginia was started in 1983 and is one of the longest continuously running award programs for performance excellence in the country.

• 1 April 2008: HPTi's Client Satisfaction Ratings Reach All Time High

  In the firm's most recent client satisfaction survey, customers gave the company a 93% overall satisfaction rating. The number shows a full 4 point increase in just one year. HPTi improved or maintained position in all 12 of the categories tracked by the survey administrator. HPTi gained its highest ratings in the area of satisfaction with our employee teams - a 98%.

• 26 March 2008: HPTi Named a Top-Ten Growth Firm for 2007

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi) has been selected by the Private Company Index (PCI) as a PCI/Gazelle firm for 2007. The PCI/Gazelles—a subset of firms tracked within the PCI portfolio—recognizes the top ten privately-held growth firms of 2007, as measured by percent change in revenue from 2006 to 2007. Being named to this subset is the private company equivalent of being tracked on the S&P 500.
  
  "We are honored that our financial success has been recognized in this way," said HPTi President Timothy Keenan. "The federal technology industry is predominated by multi-billion dollar firms and emerging small businesses. We try very hard to create a niche for mid-sized firms, and being named as a top ten company affirms our business approach.
  
  The PCI/Gazelles project is a collaboration between PCI and Gazelles Inc. (www.gazelles.com), a global executive education and coaching firm that specializes in serving mid-sized companies with 30-2000 employees. Gazelles founder and CEO Verne Harnish explains the motivation for this recognition. "The PCI worked hard to earn its place as a reference tool within the investment community. As a broad-based diverse portfolio, the PCI has marked noteworthy revenue growth for over three years. We want to capitalize on that and, further, show the investment community what performance trends from a targeted high-growth group, known globally as 'Gazelles,' looks like."
  
  The PCI is recognized by investment professionals and financial media as a leading and authoritative source on private company revenue performance. For more information on this award, go to www.entrex.net/news/PCIGazelles030508.php. Information on PCI itself can be found at www.privatecompanyindex.com.

• 24 March 2008: HPTi Wins $4M NOAA Contract

  High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi) has been awarded $4 million to support NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory located on Princeton University's campus. The contract began March 3 and, after completing the contract start-up, HPTi's GFDL team will be composed of 21 computational scientists, software developers, systems support staff, and senior consultants.
  
  GFDL's mission is to expand the scientific understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes that govern the behavior of the atmosphere and oceans as complex fluid systems—with a special focus on the development and utilization of computer simulations. GFDL conducts leading-edge research toward deeper understanding of weather and hurricane forecasts, El Nino prediction, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global climate change. Research at GFDL concerns the predictability of weather on large and small scales as well as the interaction of the atmosphere and oceans, and how the atmosphere and oceans influence and are influenced by various trace constituents. This award continues HPTi's many years of supporting the nation's science and technology community with computational science, high performance computing, and scientific software development. "This is a very significant win and we appreciate the trust that NOAA has in our ability to assist its researchers in their important mission for our nation," said HPTi President Timothy P. Kennan.
  
  HPTi's on-site staff will be helping to improve GFDL's models and products through a number of activities, including the development of the Flexible Modeling System, which is the software infrastructure for the atmosphere, ocean, and coupled climate models. The FMS code is portable across scalar and parallel HPC architectures. HPTi will also support the high performance computing system, the data portal, and data visualization. "We are excited about becoming a part of this unique and innovative team at GFDL," said HPTi Group Vice President Scott F. Miller. "Our participation will further enhance HPTi's ability to provide solutions for the nation's most important science programs."

• 24 March 2008: HPTi Expands Science and Technology Practice

  Close on the heels of the recent GFDL win, HPTi's Defense Research and Engineering (DRE) practice has just learned that HPTi is on the winning team of the Defense Department's $344 million contract to support supercomputers at four Defense research centers. The Next Generation Technical Services (NGTS) Contract for DoD High Performance Computing Centers joins PET and IE as the third contract where HPTi supports the DOD HPC Modernization Program (HPCMP). HPTi's role on this new contract is application software development and support, data analysis and scientific visualization, new technology evaluation, and HPC systems integration. As a sub to Lockheed, HPTi will perform HPC work at the Army's Engineer Research and Development Center, the Air Force's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Work will begin in June of 2008 after a two-month transition period.