At one time, the Department of Defense (DoD) was the engine for the United States’ development of innovative technologies. Today, the commercial sector has displaced the Pentagon. This is particularly the case with respect to information technologies, software, cloud computing artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced computer design. This is why leading defense experts and technology leaders have been pressing DoD to rely more on commercial technologies whenever possible. But to do so, the Pentagon will have to figure out how to make its acquisition system faster and more adaptable in order to dovetail with the rapid pace of generational cycles in private sector IT. In addition, DoD will need to secure commercial platforms, operating systems, and networks. While some progress has been made through efforts such as Comply-to-Connect, more needs to be done to create a secure environment. I have written on this subject here.
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