PSC Urges Defense Department to Broaden and Accelerate Cloud Adoption

March 26, 2018

Arlington, V.A. (March 26, 2018) — In response to reviews by the Department of Defense (DoD) Cloud Executive Steering Group (CESG), the Professional Services Council (PSC) sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan urging DoD to broaden and accelerate cloud adoption within DoD. 

“Cloud computing provides a powerful platform to deliver new tools to the warfighter and improve national defense,” PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel Alan Chvotkin stated in the letter. “Yet, significant policy and regulatory barriers still stand in the way of adopting cloud-based technologies. These barriers impede DoD’s ability to move at the ‘speed of relevancy’ to the warfighter.” 

PSC’s letter notes that while DoD sought and received public comment on policies and regulations that are barriers to the success of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud initiative, the subsequent JEDI draft solicitation and industry day presentations do not address these obstacles. 

“PSC supports DoD’s commitment to full and open competition for the JEDI Cloud solicitation,” Chvotkin said. “Ultimately, the real measure of success of this program—and of DoD’s broader cloud adoption efforts—is meeting warfighters’ current and future needs.”  

PSC’s six specific recommendations include leveraging new funding flexibility provided by the Modernizing Government Technology Act and updating cybersecurity regulations to facilitate the military’s transition to cloud-based technologies.