DoD Accelerates Software Acquisition: Automation Takes Center Stage

Last Friday, Secretary Pete Hegseth made a move in the right direction to secure a more efficient and effective path for getting weapons and capabilities to the warfighter sooner. He issued a memo to senior leaders directing the DoD to embrace a rapid software acquisition pathway (SWP) and use the commercial solutions opening and Other Transaction authority to speed up the procurement of digital tools for warfighters.

“Software is at the core of every weapon and supporting system we field to remain the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. While commercial industry has rapidly adjusted to a software-defined product reality, DoD has struggled to reframe our acquisition process from a hardware-centric to a software-centric approach,” he wrote. “When it comes to software acquisition, we are overdue in pivoting to a performance-based outcome and, as such, it is the Warfighter who pays the price.”

This comes amidst other directives and proposed plans that create both stability and instability within the DoD. On one hand, cuts to both the workforce and budgets loom large as we see both in other agencies. On the other hand, Hegseth’s recent memo supports efficient acquisition and the cutting of red tape that could benefit suppliers of every size. This, in addition to the new tariffs recently enacted, could impact automation in positive ways.

Defense modernization scores low on innovation report card.

In a related story, the Ronald Reagan Institute recently published its National Security Innovation Base Report Card. Scored just a couple of months into the Trump administration, it reflects more of a current state than a judgment of what this administration has accomplished. But one glaring low grade was a D in Defense Modernization.

That report went on to give recommendations, among them:

• Congress and the DoD should reform acquisition bottlenecks and reduce administrative and regulatory burdens to accelerate fielding new technologies to the warfighter (which Hegseth addressed in his memo)
• Congress should require all applicable DoD new-start research, development, test, and evaluation and procurement programs to contain unmanned optionally manned or autonomous capabilities
• The DoD should create unmanned weapons systems-as-a-service contract vehicles

Say you’re going to require automation without saying you’re going to require automation.

Shrinking budgets, shrinking staff, and a need to get capabilities into the hands of the warfighter faster—everything points to automation. With hiring freezes and SME shortages, automation isn’t just beneficial, it’s essential.

In the DoD, SteelCloud’s ConfigOS is used to speed authority to operate (ATO) for software and hardware headed to our front lines. It reduces STIG compliance effort by 90% and reduces costs by 70%.  So, while our military speeds up the acquisition process, SteelCloud’s STIG automation software helps the DoD to speed up the ATO process that puts the newly acquired capabilities in the hands of our warfighters.

Simply stated, proper automation increases support to the warfighter while reducing cost and effort.

While AI uses technology to simulate human intelligence, automation uses technology to perform repetitive tasks. The two might work together, but they are different. Both require attention and advancement at this time for both national efficiency and national security. And, with Hegseth’s recent memo, acquiring automation will be faster and easier than before.

To learn more about how SteelCloud’s ConfigOS counteracts the impact of budget and staffing cuts while performing the repetitive tasks of scanning and remediating systems to align with STIG security best practices, book a demo today. Changes are coming rapidly, and timelines are usually short to meet them, so now is the time to think ahead.