DISA's new approach to cloud capabilities: A tailored hybrid strategy

By Marco A. Villasana Jr. / DISA Office of Strategic Communication and Public Affairs

The Defense Information Systems Agency is redefining how it provides cloud services by using a more tailored hybrid cloud strategy to better meet the diverse needs of mission partners, enhancing performance, supportability and security.

During the Defense One DOD Cloud Workshop, Aug. 6, Jeff Marshall , DISA Hosting and Compute acting director, stressed that DISA's new approach is centered on solving the mission partners' problems rather than simply selling them products.

"We do now what's called the ‘why before what,’ which is where we do problem solutions first," he said. "It's about helping the mission partner; it's not about selling something."

This approach reflects a shift toward a more customer-centric mindset within DISA, thus positioning the agency as a proactive partner focused on understanding an organization’s unique challenges and working collaboratively to develop a customized solution.

Marshall emphasized the success of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract vehicle, which allows mission partners to obtain cloud services more quickly. However, he noted that as cloud adoption has matured, DISA recognizes that public cloud solutions like JWCC might not be the best fit for all workloads.

"Now that it's been out there for a while, it's time for us to start looking at ‘is public cloud the right vehicle for every workload?’" he said.

To address this, DISA uses its Hybrid Cloud Broker Office. This office is dedicated to assessing the specific challenges and needs of mission partners, enabling the agency to offer more tailored solutions.

"We're looking at what the customers and what the mission partners' challenges are," Marshall explained. "Maybe they're already in AWS or Microsoft or Oracle or Google, and they're realizing that for performance reasons, for data ingress/egress reasons, and for security and compliance reasons, maybe not all the workload actually fits there anymore."

One of the key components of DISA's hybrid approach is STRATUS, a private cloud offering that complements the public cloud options provided by JWCC. STRATUS is particularly beneficial for mission partners who require unique levels of performance, support or security that public clouds might not fully provide.

Marshall explained that some workloads, such as large databases that require significant infrastructure support, might be more cost-effective and efficient when hosted on STRATUS.

In addition to performance, STRATUS offers what Marshall called "white glove service" — a high level of support that can be more personalized and responsive than what's typically available from major cloud service providers. This level of service is crucial for mission partners with specific compliance and security needs that public cloud providers might not fully meet.

Marshall also discussed the ongoing improvements to STRATUS, including a prototype refresh of its infrastructure. This refresh aims to enhance STRATUS's capabilities, making it comparable to JWCC in terms of scalability, elasticity and metering.

"Within the next year or two, we’re going to be able to offer the same set of parameters that we can offer you with JWCC," he said.

Another significant development is the DOD Olympus platform, which is designed to help mission partners who may struggle with setting up and managing their cloud environments. DOD Olympus will offer core cloud services and management support, easing the burden on mission partners and ensuring their environments are secure and compliant.

With its hybrid cloud strategy, DISA is not just providing cloud services — it's empowering mission partners to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently.

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