Editor's Perspective

Written by Harrison Donnelly

MIT 2010 Volume: 14 Issue: 2 (March)

Understandably in light of growing concerns over cybersecurity, much of the discussion focused on current threats to military and government networks, and strategies for improving protection. But I was especially interested in a statement by Philip J. Bond, president and chief executive officer of the trade group TechAmerica, which at least implicitly reflected a major point—that reforming and modernizing the defense IT acquisition process is a vital factor in strengthening cybersecurity.

Several of Bond’s points are worth highlighting, including:

• DoD needs a trained core of acquisition specialists focused only on IT products, services and systems.

• The acquisition process is not fast or agile enough for an industry in which technology can change virtually overnight.

• IT projects should be limited in scope, in order to simplify procurement, while still scalable to future improvements.

• End-users and other stakeholders should be involved in the development process from the beginning.

• Access to COTS products and services should be enhanced by reducing government unique requirements.

Many of those ideas are not new, and I’m not so sure about some of Bond’s other proposals, such as creating panels of outside experts to oversee acquisition judgments. Nevertheless, his central point bears quotation: “The inability of our IT acquisitions process to keep pace with innovation threatens our warfighters’ technical edge. Our adversaries are not hindered by the red tape slowing DoD technology acquisitions.”
 

Harrison Donnelly, Editor This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 301.670.5700 x114

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