Innovation, Security Are Foundations of Future Defense Networking
The future of the military is built around usable information, and the future of that information lies in innovation. Industry and government both understand these points and are moving to accommodate them, but their work still is far from complete.
Panelists exploring the Defense Department’s digital modernization gathered on the first day of TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 in Honolulu November 19-21. They cited several hurdles to be overcome—some technical, others basic. “Data is good, but it’s useless until you can analyze it to make it useful,” said Adm. Dick Macke, USN (Ret.). And making data useful will be the key to prevailing in future confrontations.
Warfighters need to learn what industry can do, and industry needs to listen to the warfighters.—Adm. Dick Macke, USN (Ret.), TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
“If we don’t carry the day in the information domain, the rest doesn’t matter. We will have lost the battle,” said Vice Adm. Ted Branch, USN (Ret.), Perspecta Inc. Adm. Branch noted that cybersecurity and resiliency capabilities must be built in from the get-go.
Cybersecurity and resiliency capabilities must be built in from the get-go.—Ted Branch, Perspecta Inc., TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 @BranchPerspecta #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
Juliana Vida, Splunk Inc., echoed the sentiments of the two retired admirals. “All of this is about leveraging data,” she declared. “You have to find a way to capture all that data and find a way for your organization to make use of it.”
All of this is about leveraging data. You have to find a way to capture all that data and find a way for your organization to make use of it.—Juliana Vida, Splunk, Inc., TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 @splunk @JulianaRVida #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
And data is burgeoning. “Data is not going down. Data is growing exponentially,” said David Cerjan, Veritas Technologies. “There is all this data and intelligence out there, but at the critical time, what are we doing with it?”
There is all this data and intelligence out there, but at the critical time, what are we doing with it?—David Cerjan, Veritas Technologies, TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 @VeritasTechLLC #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
Being able to move actionable data to the edge will require innovation, and panelists homed in on both its ways and its means. “What is the data that you actually need to have actionable intelligence on the edge?” asked Tony Moles, Tyto Athene. “How fresh must it be? That drives the entire network architecture.
What is the data that you actually need to have actionable intelligence on the edge? How fresh must it be? That drives the entire network architecture.—Tony Moles, Tyto Athene, TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
“The only way to sift through that much data is to use AI, and that best is done in the cloud,” he added.
Automation is driving innovation. It will offer toolsets to bring it all together.—William Stritzinger, Juniper Networks, TechNet Indo-Pacific 2019 @BillStritzinger #AFCEATechNet
— Bob Ackerman (@rkackerman) November 19, 2019
William Stritzinger of Juniper Networks summed it up. “Automation is driving innovation. It will offer toolsets to bring it all together."
