State cyber survey finds Maryland firms eyeing growth plans

At the Wednesday kickoff of CyberMaryland, state Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Dominick Murray unveiled Maryland’s annual Cyber Industry Survey.
The survey is based on questionnaires sent to IT firms engaged in cyber activities and includes questions on demographics, business conditions, workforce issues, entry-level jobs, customer location and industry and innovation.
Read the full survey
According to this year’s report, most cyber firms in Maryland are small businesses with more than three-quarters employing 24 or fewer. Almost half employ fewer than 10. Nearly all reported being based in Maryland and 84 percent reported being in existence for more than five years.
Two-thirds of Maryland’s cyber firms are based on services, with most of the rest working in both services and products. Only one-fifth of Maryland cyber firms export their services or products abroad and just over half do most of their business within Maryland.
As one might expect for Maryland, more than 60 percent of responding firms said theirs was a federal contractor. The state is home to federal organs like the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn and the National Security Agency at Fort Meade.
Most responding companies say they plan to expand, with nearly a third expecting to grow headcount by 10 or more and others planning more modest expansions. More than half plan to expand their services within Maryland.
However, here’s the bad news: Only 28.9 percent of firms reported having openings for recent graduates.
CyberMaryland continues through Thursday at the Baltimore Convention Center.