The DoD is shifting the way it acquires cloud to a multi-cloud and a warfighter-centric strategy

What are the events that recently transpired?

Last week the Department of Defense (DoD) made the decision to cancel the JEDI Cloud contract which was originally instantiated in 2017 and has since struggled to navigate toward award and consumption of public cloud services. JEDI was initially set forth as a single vendor award and since the market has shifted generally toward hybrid and multi-cloud acquisition and operating models. You can read more on the release from the DoD official announcement here.

The DoD has been clear in recent briefings and testimonies that Cloud remains a critical foundational component of its global technology infrastructure, and a focus on delivering rapid access to data, capability innovation, and support for the warfighter will continue to require cloud computing capabilities. These foundational cloud capabilities are also a key pillar of the broader DoD Digital Modernization strategy.

So where do we go from here, and what is replacing JEDI?

The new DoD Cloud effort will be called the Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability (JWCC). The project will be a multi-cloud, multi-vendor contract and initially seek to engage both Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, two public Cloud Service Providers (CSP) that already serve the DoD and US Federal Government with a strong cloud posture for government accredited environments and services, such as AWS GovCloud and Microsoft Azure Government. Also according to FedScoop, the solicitation will also address all three security levels, with availability from both CONUS to the tactical edge at scale. These are key capability requirements from the Department’s intent to extend out to the warfighter and deliver data and solutions in disparate environments (e.g. offline or disconnected operations), as well as connect enterprise assets and data with tactical where the use cases are warranted. ?

In reviewing the evolution of the DoD Cloud journey from an enterprise cloud to a warfighting cloud, this most recent decision is a very clear signal to reinforce such a trajectory and create the avenue of approach that will support a multi-cloud strategy and a much needed increased focus on warfighting capabilities., The mindset has very much shifted towards getting cloud in place as a foundation for warfighting capabilities is an absolute imperative to enable exponential growth, build AI at Scale, address cyber challenges, and other DoD digital modernization priorities. DoD Digital modernization, with cloud as a foundational building block, is no longer an enterprise initiative but now a strategic warfighting imperative

From a commercial best practices standpoint, this is in line with where the industry is headed and what CIOs are requesting of their CSP vendors to better achieve their technology goals. Hybrid and multi-cloud has been established as the strategic path forward for the vast majority of the Fortune 500 and government agencies, and CSP’s have responded accordingly by strategically positioning their offerings and services in a way that supports multi-cloud operating models.

What about the existing DoD Cloud environments?

Coverage from NextGov on these recent moves make very clear that the Agency-specific and fit for purpose clouds are here to stay, including AirForce CloudOne, milCloud 2.0, and the Army Enterprise Cloud Management Agency.

However, there still remain a number of use cases that requires a truly end-to-end, enterprise cloud capability, namely all domain operations via Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). Additionally, there was recently an announcement on the Artificial Intelligence and Data Acceleration initiative.

There are a number of imperatives and ongoing initiatives that are key to all domain operations. First, expanding the aperture from conventional warfare domains (e.g. sea, air, land) that are currently served to new domains such as Space. Since the establishment of Space Force, offerings such as?Azure Space?and?AWS Ground Station, which will also integrate on the back end to core cloud services for conventional, enterprise IT infrastructure. Second, all domain operations warrant certain horizontal, enterprise-wide shared services and homogenous platforms for commoditized services and “at scale” deployments such as AI. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC)?Joint Common Foundation (JCF)?aims to do just this in a cloud-native fashion. Ultimately, these components supportive of all domain operations should incrementally build towards enterprise enablement of major integration efforts such as?Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

Can these enterprise functions operate horizontally across numerous disparate, heterogeneous cloud environments embedded in Service entities and innovation hubs, with appropriate service and data mesh and other constructs for interoperability? Or alternatively, does a true enterprise cloud footprint need to be established as the “anchor” environment by which these systems and capabilities are built upon? The answer may actually end up residing somewhere in between with a hybrid model that requires elements of both.

We will see how the immediate next steps unfold for the DoD Cloud adoption journey, but the future is bright as (1) agencies continue to move the ball forward on bespoke, fit for purpose cloud environments and resources; (2) the enterprise makes the right adjustments for its unique requirements within the context of where the industry is headed with multi-cloud, and (3) the emphasis on the warfighter continues to lead the decisions made with digital and technology capabilities.