Army CIO Prepares To Exit in Coming Weeks
Raj Iyer, the Army’s chief information officer, in a LinkedIn post announcing his pending departure “over the next several weeks” discussed the Army’s “irreversible momentum” toward digital transformation.
“Folks, this is my longest and most difficult LinkedIn post to write. I hope you will take the time to read this in its entirety to see how we led change across the Army through digital transformation,” Iyer wrote. “My time to depart from the Army has come with the expiration of my contract, and I will start transitioning out over the next several weeks. This truly has been an honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what the Army has been able to accomplish in just two short years through digital transformation. We have achieved irreversible momentum at a scale and pace that will endure.”
Iyer included a link to an article entitled Changing Army Culture through Digital Transformation - CIO's Perspectives at the end of Season 1. In the article, Iyer recalled a sense of urgency for the Army to undergo a digital transformation after falling behind the commercial sector and the rest of the Defense Department.
“It became apparent to us quickly that it indeed came down to data, and yet everything we did in the Army was not datacentric. It was either network-centric, IT-centric, or weapon-system platform-centric with little thought given to unlocking the power of data for decision-making,” he wrote. “And yet, what our commanders were telling us was that they needed range, speed, and convergence—the best kinetic and non-kinetic effects enabled by real-time data for decision-making.”
He also indicated that he has accomplished his goals in working himself out of the job in two years. “The Army is on a strategic sustainable path to transform for the Army of 2030. If I felt that the blood, sweat and tears that we have poured into this could be at risk I would stay on, but as I noted, the current change in our Army is irreversible. My job as the CIO is done when Army senior leaders can explain the Army Digital Transformation Strategy just as well as I. Our Army gets it at all echelons and there is no stopping us now.”
