Keith Johnson

The US #Navy just issued an article detailing the success of their #ZeroTrust implementation for Flank Speed. The top line is that the #security environment they’ve developed achieved 100% (91 of 91) of the Zero Trust Target level activities and nearly 100% (60 of 61) of the Advanced ZT level activities outlined in the Department of Defense’s Zero Trust strategy. As a result, the US Navy is well ahead of the Department’s 2027 goal for implementing Zero Trust at a Target activity level within their systems.   Our team is honored to support the Navy's deployment and configuration of Microsoft security solutions for Flank Speed and help DoN achieve this historic milestone. This is a testament to the defenders within DoN who are working tirelessly to deploy a comprehensive and integrated solution to protect their systems and personnel. If you want to learn how to implement a similar solution in your department or agency, see our implementation guide here: https://lnkd.in/gSxmS8uN #ZeroTrust #DoD #Microsoft #CyberSecurity Nadia Matthews, Steve Faehl, Gregory Knepper

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The DoD Inaugural Human-Machine Interfaces CTA now has an approved Roadmap and Vision & Strategy document. They can be found here (CAC enabled). https://lnkd.in/eZU2kZan For those without a CAC, request via the DoD CTO Website, Critical Technologies page (at the bottom). https://lnkd.in/eey4y2BP There are too many Stakeholders across our Department, Industry, Partner Nations and Academia to thank for their support in 2024 to help refine, scope, prioritize and deliver this as a collaborative Strategy. We had over 300 Stakeholder engagements, 5 deliberate HMI CTA Workshops and numerous Key Leader Engagements to get this right. We will continue to refine with our Ecosystem as we drive to accelerate these technologies and set the conditions across the Department for a persistent and endemic focus on these Critical Technologies in our primary Mission Focus Areas. 2024 was great, but now the real work begins. Get Ready.

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Hwa Yu is CEO of Delta One LLC, a U.S. consulting firm on industrial cooperation and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). Brian Hobbs is a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech. "Discussions about an RDP-A between the U.S. and South Korea have been on and off since the late 1980s. Unsurprisingly, in Korea, the main reasons for not signing the RDP-A remain unchanged for almost four decades, even though its defense industry has become globally competitive and mature — exceeding 15 billion dollars in average annual defense industry exports and aiming to be among top four defense exporters globally by 2027. The greatest concern for Korean defense industries revolves around full and open mutual access to each other’s defense market. RDP-A opponents in Korea fear that the technologically advanced U.S. defense industry could dominate the market, weakening the local industrial base, if U.S. companies gain unrestricted access. Additionally, they argue that Korean companies would face stiff competition from 28 other RDP-A countries and that the DoD market open to foreign companies is actually not that big due to numerous restrictions designed to protect domestic companies, such as small businesses, despite the Buy American waivers. However, understanding how the RDP-A benefits both countries mitigates these concerns. First, the RDP-A is on one hand a framework for communicating about industrial cooperation and market access. Second, the RDP-A is meant to remove discriminatory barriers to procurement, to the extent mutually beneficial and consistent with national laws, regulations, policies, and international obligations. Third, any country can terminate the RDP-A. If the Korean government should find the RDP relationship to be detrimental, it can withdraw. Fourth, although historical data does not provide any consistent patterns of exports or imports, trends suggest that RDP-As tend to strengthen industrial cooperation overall, benefiting both sides of the partnership. Finally, all RDP-As have expiration dates, but none of the 28 countries with RDP-As have walked away from their RDP relationships. All have renewed their agreements, some which have remained in effect for several decades. The longevity of the agreements strongly suggests that membership in the U.S.-centered RDP-A network does not produce negative results among partner country defense industries. "

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DoD DIGITAL ENGINEERING I love it when DoD leadership steps out in front of the media and so clearly articulates the INTENT and VALUE of Digital Engineering approaches. Col Matt Strohmeyer nailed it. CUSTOM COMMON OPERATING PICTURE (COP) VIEWS FOR EVERY MISSION/LEADER "Instead of a single, standardized, god’s-eye-view, Col. Matthew Strohmeyer said Monday, the goal of GIDE is a constantly evolving ecoystem of different applications, analytics, and interfaces, customized to different users at every level, from four-star theater commanders to mid-grade staffer officers to junior leaders on the battlefield, that will all draw — in different ways — on the same vast pool of data, shared across the different armed services worldwide." POWER OF CLOUD COMPUTE CUSTOM COP SERVICES “the goal is not necessarily to create that one COP that can see essentially everything we have … one Common Operating Picture to rule them all,” the colonel continued. “We need to have a heterogeneous mix of mission applications to get after all the things that we are doing.” Digital Engineering Ecosystems should be typified by numerous vendors being present in an environment that is both collaborative and competitive. Each brings their People, Process, Technology mojo so the government can have access to the right tool for the right purpose. One size does not fit all and there is more than enough work for all of us to do. We're better together. OPEN-SPEC APIs TO LINK DATA & COP CAPABILITIES "Instead of a single super-standard for all data, Strohmeyer suggested, a more practical solution might be mandating Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that automatically translate between otherwise incompatible systems. In fact, before an organization is allowed to “play” in the GIDE experiments, he said, they must provide “open and common access to data,” whether through an API or another automatic translation tool." See my post 2 days ago on this topic: https://lnkd.in/gahF6KQj AGILE APPROACHES "Adaptability requires rapid feedback from a wide range of users, so Strohmeyer’s team has accelerated their already blistering pace, adding smaller weekly workshops to their ambitious quarterly experiments" "In fact, part of the GIDE philosophy — inspired more by Silicon Valley startups than Washington bureaucracy — is an eagerness to “fail fast.” Sometimes known as “agile” development or DevSecOps, the basic strategy is to put nascent tech in the hands of real users, let them test it until something breaks, fix it quickly, and then let the users test the updated iteration until that breaks too." https://lnkd.in/g2HTRWuu

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As I noted in my last article, a major motivation for DoD organizations to migrate to contemporary Digital Engineering approaches is to enable every step and org in the DoD acquisition process to keep pace with the rapid pace of technological change. This is perhaps most visible in the pivot of space acquisition organizations like the Space Development Agency (SDA) away from 15-25 year satellite lifetimes to 5-7 year lifetimes with commensurate compressions in the development and manufacturing timelines. https://lnkd.in/gdk8HPhv

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We have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best technology companies in the industry to match capabilities to critical government needs. In discussion with government, one of the common questions that you will hear is, "What TRL is the technology." Technology Readiness Level, or TRL, determines whether a technology in mature enough to include in a larger system. In 1999, the GAO published an influential report called, Best Practices: Better Management of Technology Can Improve Weapon System Outcomes. This report concluded that using immature technology increased program risk and recommended wider use of TRLs. The revised and reissued report is a great reminder of best practices for evaluating the readiness of technology for use in acquisition programs and projects. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering also published a Technology Readiness Assessment Guidebook in June 2023. C5BDI Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering NavalXDoD SBIR/STTR Program Office Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA)Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Marine Corps Systems Command

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The Pentagon's new ATO guidance is set to speed up IT modernization by making the approval process clear and quick, a big plus for tech companies working with the DOD. Shoot us an email at support@diversifiedoutlookgroup.com to see how we can help your company adjust smoothly to these changes. Check out our insights: https://buff.ly/47BKJgo. #DevOps #AI #expertsatyourservice #businessstrategy #Strategicexcellence #Corporateadvisory

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Check out this article and let me know if game changing AI is in your roadmap

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Small businesses can make a big impact on DoD. The DoD's Small Business Innovation Research (#SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (#STTR) programs provide federal research funds to encourage domestic innovation in critical technology areas, including cyber and AI.

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SolarWinds GVP of Engineering Krishna Sai explores how AI, ML, and observability can help SOCOM and other DoD agencies achieve a multi-domain infrastructure that is interoperable, dependable, transparent, secure, and high performing. Read more in C4ISRNET here:

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Like most policy, the desired outcomes are seldom those to which we arrive, calling my shot: Step 1. Demand source code from contractor that I don’t know what to do with Step 2. Share it through one of many nightmarish repos with other government entities who also have no idea what to do with it Step 3. Hand code off to “software factory” staffed with prime contracted 0.5x developer drones Step 4. Prime suddenly drops a “proprietary” product that looks a lot like a bootlegged knock off but was “developed under IRAD” Step 5. Buy what was free, with an added VAR tax https://lnkd.in/eqv-62Dx

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USAF reexamining #NGAD procurement effort to include underlying operational concept (crewed, uncrewed, optionally crewed, etc.).

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Why Hawaii is the Perfect Home for the OnRamp Hub Hawaii’s strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region is unparalleled. As the United States continues its commitment to maintaining a free and independent Indo-Pacific, Hawaii sits at the tip of the spear—a vital crossroads for defense, diplomacy, and innovation. Beyond its geographic significance, Hawaii boasts the largest concentration of senior military officials outside of Washington, D.C., unique with 4-Star representation and operational command structures located within “uber-driving distance” of each other. This accessibility fosters seamless collaboration between government, military, and private sector leaders to address the region’s diverse challenges and opportunities. The Indo-Pacific is not just a focus area for today but a decisive region for the foreseeable future. With shifting geopolitical dynamics and growing economic interconnectivity, the importance of maintaining a robust U.S. presence and fostering partnerships has never been greater. By placing the OnRamp Hub in Hawaii, we’re aligning critical innovation capabilities with the region that needs them most—offering tailored solutions, rapid implementation, and unmatched access to military and civilian leaders. Hawaii is not just strategically placed—it’s strategically essential. Get ready to witness some of the transformative initiatives we have in store! The OnRamp Hub is poised to deliver groundbreaking solutions that will drive progress, strengthen partnerships, and secure the future of the Indo-Pacific. Stay tuned—this is just the beginning. #IndoPacific #Innovation #Defense #OnRampHub #Leadership #StrategicPositioning Defense Innovation OnRamp Hubs Defense Innovation OnRamp Hub: Hawaii

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What Does it Mean to Move at the Speed of Now?   Forbes Magazine recently had an article where they highlighted a pod cast by Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, describing the concept of "Hyper Moore’s Law." He suggested that AI computing performance could follow a curve even steeper than Moore's Law, which traditionally represents a doubling of transistor count every two years....When you double or triple every year in just a few years it adds up. It compounds really, aggressively.”    This type of AI acceleration drives how you deploy technology you cannot take a wait and see approach. However technology infusion into large complex systems is limited but what has been described as the “ three-timeframe problem” of addressing legacy, current, and future systems.  Technology is moving faster than new systems can be deployed so the technology needs to match up with a wide range of time-frames for the systems. Accelerated AI not only drives what can be deployed but also how quickly it can be deployed, as time-consuming development processes are automated. Moving at the speed of now means combining a knowledge of these complex systems with the ability to infuse AI capabilities in weeks not years, because the technology is moving that quickly.  Last week announced partnership between Booz Allen and Palantir is an excellent example of how you move at the speed of now by taking a well established client focused company that understands the complexity of large scale government systems and partnering that with a company designed to adapt rapidly changing AI technology.      https://lnkd.in/e96vhYK3

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Shyam Sankar and Bryon Kroger don't want any DoD software factories. They make a compelling case for the hidden costs of any platform, be it software or hardware. It's better to spread the costs among many customers. Otherwise the government is stuck with yet another exquisite, expensive albatross. "The future of government tech lies not in building every component from scratch, but in strategically adopting and adapting proven technologies. This approach saves time and resources but also positions agencies to harness the full potential of modern software development practices, ultimately leading to better services for citizens and more efficient government operations." I've seen a lot of impressive projects at organizations such as Kessel Run and the Marine Corps Software Factory. But I don't know enough to think through the incredibly complex variables. What am I missing? Enrique Oti, Charlie Bahk, Collin Chew, Robert 🦄 Slaughter, Daniel Morden, Philip Barry, In Bok Lee, M.S. https://lnkd.in/gQdZqRhv

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As promised, I can now share the interview with SAIC 's Jay Meil and Joshua Conine . Thanks to Air & Space Forces Association for the great interview. Listen in if you are curious about data, ai and ml for national defense. https://lnkd.in/eeQ28sJd

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I loved having Jake Singleton, USSF on the podcast! Clearly digital modernization requires changing how people, culture, processes, and technology work together to create improved products and outcomes. But in government, procurement processes are foundational to changing those outcomes. Modular/agile contracting can help, and is revolutionary, but on this podcast you get to see the possibility of international partnerships. I hope you listen in!

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