AQIWO ' means star or light in the Chumash language'
Crystal Gateway 2
1225 South Clark Street, Suite 1301
Arlington, VA 22202

Established in 2002, by Stephen Mills, AQIWO is a Native American owned and managed information services firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. AQIWO has been committed to offer a full range of information technology and program management support. AQIWO applies best practices to support and providing the highest quality services to their customers.  A recent Dunn & Bradstreet report gave AQIWO a 95% Outstanding Customer Rating.  Mr. Mills attributes this to AQIWO’s attention to customer requirements, near 100% employee retention, and managed growth.  2006 revenues were $1,250,000 with expected revenue to top $2,500,000 Year End 2007.

AQIWO is 8(a) Certified company that supports a diverse clientele ranging from the Intelligence Community to Tribal Governments that have distinct cultural nuances.  AQIWO also supports the defense and intelligence community in several program service capacities such as Systems and Network Engineering, Database and Web Development and Administration, Acquisition and Supply Chain Management, Collections/Special Operations, Contract Administration, Cost Benefit Analysis, Nuclear Forensics Sciences, Personnel Security and File Management, Requirements Analysis and Data Collection and Special Studies.

Some of its clients include: Cherokee Information Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC).

Stephen Mills back in 2004 approached Arlington SBDC to enquire about various Government certifications that are available for Small Businesses. The counselor at that time Mr. Paul Hall took time to explain the intricacies of the advantages of various certifications and worked diligently with the client on his 8 (a) application. Later that year the client received the certification.  

According to Mr. Mills, “Paul Hall of Arlington SBDC had good insight into various Government procurement programs and their advantages.  His advice was useful to our young company. Later his hands on knowledge of 8(a) program came in handy to receive our certification.  For business guidance on procurement issues, the services of Arlington SBDC would be valuable to any small government contracting business.”

Composed and edited by Pratibha Shenoy (2007).