The Department of Defense is implementing a multi-vendor approach to its 2018 Enterprise Cloud Strategy focused on simplifying agency operations, the Defense Information Systems Agency said Wednesday. Kevin Tate, a management analyst at the Office of the DoD Chief Information Officer, said at an AFCEA symposium in Baltimore, Md. that the department seeks to transition away from hardware-dependent infrastructures that lack flexibility and pose problems for equipment maintenance.Â
“The intent is to outsource the DoD enterprise commercial cloud service solutions – software as a service – when it comes to certain capabilities,†said Karl Kurz, program manager for DISA’s unified capabilities portfolio. Kurz noted that an enterprise cloud environment will help consolidate cybersecurity operations while cutting system maintenance costs.Â
DoD CIO Dana Deasy, a 2019 Wash100 award winner, added that the government intends to accelerate the delivery of capabilities to warfighters by cutting time for testing, certification and achieving an authority to operate on DoD networks. DISA supports the Pentagon’s cloud strategy through efforts like the Enterprise Collaboration and Productivity Services initiative, which will cover three capability sets and offer a range of services to all defense entities.Â