5 Takeaways from AWS re:Invent

Department of the Navy Acting CTO Justin Fanelli highlighted two new designated enterprise services in Navy’s COSMOS zero-trust computing platform and the Naval Enterprise Service Desk (NESD).

“We just had two new designated enterprise services that are getting signed this week, so that’s hopefully some more news to come out on that. But point is, we don’t want 40 of the same thing that are all competing with each other. … [You can] just inherit shared services, integrate with them and then focus on the part that makes your warfighters most satisfied,” he said at the conference.

He also unpacked the recently launched Innovation Adoption Kit, a comprehensive resource designed to help program executive offices streamline procurement and foster collaboration with a growing network of vendors.

Government agencies are increasingly turning to generative AI to tackle mission-critical challenges in areas such as health care and cyber. However, federal leaders stressed securing these systems as they work to lower barriers for emerging technologies.

“We are in the process of bringing new data centers online for our work. But when it comes to cloud and AI, we’re very similar to everyone else in the world,” said National Security Agency CIO Scott Fear. “We’re exploring emerging technologies as tools to better accomplish our mission. That includes large language models and the cloud environment.”

Fear highlighted the critical need for resilience — both cyber and physical. Whether facing a cyberattack or a natural disaster like a hurricane, agencies must build resilience into systems to protect the billions of dollars allocated for creating robust environments.

“Your mission systems need to be operational when required. Resiliency is a core consideration in every discussion,” Fear said. “Our adoption of and relationship with cloud technologies play a significant role in achieving that resilience.”

The Defense Department is prioritizing data literacy, governance, operationalization, and secure sharing to improve decision-making and efficiency.

Army CIO Leonel Garciga highlighted the service’s focus on leveraging existing data, integrating it across functional areas and fostering a data-literate workforce alongside a robust governance strategy.

Defense Logistics Agency CIO Adarryl Roberts stressed the strategic importance of data, emphasizing its role in enhancing deterrence and conflict prevention by making data more operational and advancing data literacy within its workforce.

Meanwhile, Michael Medgyessy, CIO and CDO of the Air Force Intelligence Community, underscored the need to identify infrastructure design patterns to enable faster progress and avoid reliance on custom-built solutions.

Emerging technology is revolutionizing health care, with tools like artificial intelligence enabling organizations such as the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to enhance screening, diagnosis, and treatment processes.

NCI CIO Jeff Shilling shared insights into the critical role of data standardization in supporting AI initiatives. He also addressed ethical considerations, including bias, data privacy and risk management, emphasizing the need for AI to be both effective and responsible.

Shilling underscored the importance of regulating AI in the medical field, suggesting that the future may involve practices like data certification to ensure accountability.

Amazon Web Services’ Bryana Tucci and Commvault’s Don Maruca discussed the essential role industry partnerships play in helping government agencies address procurement challenges related to cloud and zero trust solutions.

They also emphasized how technology can support agencies in advancing their zero trust initiatives and integrating security across the supply chain in multi-cloud environments.

“As the enterprise matures, zero trust is becoming more important than it’s ever been,” Maruca said. “Before it was just focused on keeping people out around the perimeters, but now with workloads and data being everywhere, it’s important to not trust anyone and to constantly authorize and authenticate and make sure you are who you say you are, and you can access the necessary information.”