Nyla Technology Solutions specializes in software systems development for the United States of America government, specifically the Department of Defense (DoD). The company's services involve full-stack software engineering, data science and engineering, cloud-based systems administration, and cybersecurity tool development. Nyla Technology has an exceptional reputation for innovative approaches, strategic thinking, and customer engagement, with a comprehensive knowledge of mission architectures. The company's software engineering practice focuses on product-driven, agile development in a cloud-based, big data environment – from prototypes to operations and maintenance. Nyla Technology is a leader in the DevSecOps pipeline, with a particular focus on operational performance and user satisfaction.

An Innovative Technology Leader

Shana Cosgrove is the Founder, Owner, and CEO of Nyla Technology Solutions, a HUBZone-certified and Woman-Owned Small Business located in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Shana is a principal engineer, enterprise architect, and product strategist having over 20 years of experience in the computer science and systems engineering fields with a creative, proactive, and focused approach towards software system lifecycle projects. She develops software-intensive systems with a strong understanding of various technologies and techniques.

Shana mentions that currently Nyla has over 35 full-time employees and holds three successful prime contracts with the government. Nyla's philanthropy program focuses on giving back to the local community. The company's employees receive eight hours a year for volunteering and various opportunities for giving back to the community throughout the year. In November 2018, Nyla raised over US$6000 for charity, K9 for warriors, by organizing the company's First Annual Charity Chili Cookoff.

Shana holds a B.Sc in Computer Science from the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. She has received an M.Sc in Systems Engineering of Computer-Based Systems from George Mason University.

Prior to starting Nyla, Shana is experienced in writing software for the Navy's SH-60 helicopter's central control unit; overseeing the operational roll-out of DoD PKI for DISA; implementing the architecture of DCGS-AF for both the Navy and Army, and as an SOA architect in the process. She served as the technical lead for both IMINT and SIGINT satellite ground software systems, the lead operational analyst for the largest collection system to date. Further, she was a product strategist overseeing the development of 12 mission management tools with a specific focus on instrumentation and monitoring of cloud-based systems.

Building a Strong Business Strategy through Experiences

According to Shana, working as an employee at various small businesses gave her sufficient knowledge about what worked well for the business strategy and culture, and what needed to improve. She says that she built a reputation as a technical leader by working hard as an engineer for over 15 years before understanding how to grow a business. Her experience as an engineer led her to understand the right talent for leading the specific market and technical segments. She states that the unwelcoming and unsupportive work environment most of her engineering career helped her grow the fortitude for sticking it out and gaining the self-belief to develop a successful business.

Thriving through Challenges

Shana says that funding and financing was an issue to get the business started. She faced the challenge of delay in payment from the clients while ensuring timely payments to the engineers working for her. Shana funded herself and received almost no income initially as getting a loan wasn't easy, and many banks did not understand government contracting.

Another major challenge she faced was in figuring out how to get the business started. Shana interviewed many business and start-up owners to take the next steps. Over a  period of time, she built a network of friends and mentors for advice.

Imbibing Innovative Solutions through Creative Work Culture 

Shana states that the company focuses on two things: the root cause of current problems and what insights data gives. She views that digging deep into the root cause leads to the solution. She believes that companies must keep track of the operational performance indicators, which tell what the users (or systems) are doing versus what they say they're doing.

"You must have a company culture that allows for creativity and freedom to talk about problems without fear of retribution. A company where people feel comfortable spitballing ideas and working together", adds Shana.

Delivering Better Outcomes with Strong Strategy

Shana observes that the barrier in innovation has been removed with cloud-based (AWS, Azure), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) architectures, and AI services, such as language translation, face recognition, and chat bots. She states that the minimum requirement to create innovative models today allows greater meritocracy of good ideas and minimum viable products. Shana points out that the challenge will be in bringing, gaining and retaining a foothold of the solution in the marketplace. She notes that the leaders today must be strong on strategy and flexible in implementation.

"They have to understand how to swift through unending piles of information and good ideas, and make decisions clearly and quickly." The leader must continue to focus on having the right talent and setting up the structures for them not just to succeed but thrive.

Shana asserts that the transformational leader must be a visionary, patient, great storyteller who inspires others and must have an extremely high degree of persistence.

Esteemed Awards and Recognition

Shana received Small Business Administration's 2019 Maryland Woman Owned Small Business of the Year for leadership and community contribution. In March 2019, she was included in the BBJ Tech 10 professionals in the technology list for making noteworthy contributions to Baltimore's tech community. In April 2019, Nyla received the award for Inc 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies for 2019-2020. In 2019, the company was listed amongst Baltimore Sun Best Places to Work and HUBZone Small Business of the Year Urban America.

Towards the Future

Shana shares that the company is focused on the future of computing, i.e., cloud architectures, machine learning/artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. She expects Nyla to grow significantly to meet the market demands for these types of services.

Striving Hard to Achieve the Goals

Shana advises emerging leaders to go after what one really wants, despite the challenges they face throughout the path. She says, " It may take longer than you'd like (don't give up!), but you will get there and it is worth it. "