By Kris Kenefic, Tom Harker and Christian “Boris” Becker
It is the policy of the United States Government to accelerate defense procurement and revitalize the defense industrial base to restore peace through strength. To achieve this, the United States will rapidly reform our antiquated defense acquisition processes with an emphasis on speed, flexibility, and execution. We will also modernize the duties and composition of the defense acquisition workforce, as well as incentivize and reward risk-taking and innovation from these personnel
The modern battlefield demands unprecedented adaptability and speed in decision-making and information dissemination — while maintaining financial accountability i.e. auditability. The United States faces an array of national security challenges that require rapid identification, assessment, and response. To maintain strategic dominance and meet the mandate set in the April 9, 2025, Executive Order, the Department of Defense has the ability to harness data as an enabler to better deploy combat capabilities and achieve operational effectiveness. This article explores the necessity of decision-making speed; identifies key challenges, and solutions available to overcome those obstacles.
The Challenge: The Need for Decision-Making Speed
Speed to Identify National Security Challenges
Timely recognition of threats is fundamental to deterrence and response. The DoD must leverage data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to process vast amounts of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data to detect, track, and counter adversarial activities before they escalate. Integrating real-time analytics into national security operations improves situational awareness and enables decision-makers to act decisively, mitigating threats before they materialize into full-scale conflicts.
Speed to Bring Tailored Information to the Warfighter
From recruitment to combat decision-making, the data can democratized, made more accessible, and actionable for individual warfighters. Unleashing the flow of relevant, real-time data empowers warfighters with predictive analytics, improving mission success and survivability. AI-driven training modules, personalized learning platforms, and battlefield decision support systems ensure that warfighters have the right information at the right time to maximize operational effectiveness.
Speed of Accountability and Auditability
Ensuring transparent and efficient resource allocation is as critical as operational success. Authoritative data enables the DoD to track investments, assess trade-offs, and prioritize future expenditures. Creating auditability through digital ledger technology and AI-powered financial oversight can reduce inefficiencies, mitigate waste, and ensure all valuable resources are used to deliver mission effectiveness.
The Solution: Enterprise Data as a Warfighting and Accountability Enabler
To achieve the necessary speed in decision-making, the DoD must modernize its data infrastructure and instill a culture of data-driven decision-making throughout its ranks.
Modernizing Infrastructure
The foundation of effective data utilization is a robust, modern infrastructure. Opportunities exist to:
- Transition to cloud-based and hybrid-cloud architectures to improve data accessibility and security.
- Implement AI and ML-driven analytics platforms at scale.
- Strengthen linkages between branches and allied nations to enable seamless data sharing.
Growing Data-Driven Business and Operational Decision-Making Practices
A cultural shift towards data-centric operations is necessary to optimize both combat and administrative support functions. This includes:
- Integrating real-time analytics into command and control (C2) systems.
- Practicing predictive maintenance to increase readiness and reduce costs.
- Implementing great modeling and simulation for strategic planning and training.
Embedding Data-Driven Decision-Making into the Warfighting Culture
To institutionalize data-driven decision-making, data best practices should be championed at all levels. Training programs should emphasize data literacy, and leaders should rely on analytics in operational planning and resource allocation. By making data a core element of military culture, the DoD can ensure that decisions are based on empirical evidence rather than intuition
“I intend to bring a huge focus to the Department of the Navy’s procurement and acquisition strategy. I will ensure we will receive the appropriate risk-adjusted rate of return on our investments. In many ways, warfare is like a business. Our military must operate at optimal efficiency, maximizing its resources to ensure that every American tax dollar spent delivers results that strengthen our defense.”
Navy Secretary John Phelan, speaking at Sea, Air and Space 2025
Obstacles to Overcome
Despite the clear benefits, several challenges hinder the rapid adoption of data-driven approaches:
Outdated and Cumbersome Acquisition Processes
Legacy acquisition frameworks impede the swift adoption of necessary IT and software improvements. A more agile procurement process, inspired by commercial best practices, is essential. As highlighted in DoD leadership memos on increasing the speed of acquisition, urgent reforms are necessary to accelerate defense technology procurement and deployment.
Complex Approval Processes
Bureaucratic hurdles delay the deployment of critical technologies. Streamlining approval pathways through policy reforms and executive prioritization will accelerate adoption — a theme that comes across loud and clear in recent executive orders on acquisition reform.
Lack of Clear Requirements
Unnecessarily specific and unchecked growth in requirements lead to project delays and cost overruns. Establishing clear, mission-driven objectives that allow for rapid technology insertion for IT procurement will increase performance, lower costs, and accelerate delivery.
Vendor Lock-In and Reliability Issues
Dependence on a limited number of vendors can create security vulnerabilities and slow innovation. Open architectures and modular solutions to maintain flexibility are necessary for increased competition, as are alternative sourcing strategies to mitigate vendor dependency.
Budget Constraints and Unpredictability
Recent acquisition reform memos stress the importance of predictable funding streams to maintain continuity in modernization efforts. Inconsistent funding disrupts long-term modernization efforts. A multi-year funding approach can ensure sustained investment in critical technologies.
Change Resistance
Cultural transformation is the cornerstone of acquisition speed enhancements. The current cultural inertia within the DoD presents a significant barrier to reform. Leadership commitment, incentivization of innovation, and targeted training programs can facilitate the transition to a more data-centric force.
It is a top priority for DoD to reform its acquisition processes in order to acquire, deliver, and iterate on our weapon and business systems — including software- at speed and scale for our Warfighter. To start, DoD must maximize the use of its existing authorities, contracting strategies, and processes for software acquisition. This will enable us to immediately shift to a construct designed to keep pace with commercial technology advancements, leverage the entire commercial ecosystem for defense systems, rapidly deliver scaled digital capabilities, and evolve our systems faster than adversaries can adapt on the battlefield.
The Role of Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) in Accelerating Acquisition
One of the most effective tools for overcoming traditional acquisition bottlenecks is the use of Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs). OTAs provide the DoD with a streamlined mechanism to rapidly acquire cutting-edge technology, by bypassing many of the regulatory burdens associated with traditional defense contracts.
Flexibility and Speed in Procurement
Unlike the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) process, which can take years to finalize a contract, OTAs allow for:
- Rapid Prototyping and Deployment: Enabling the DoD to test and evaluate emerging technologies in real-world environments before committing to full-scale production.
- Reduced Bureaucracy: Minimizing administrative overhead to accelerate decision-making and contract awards.
- Collaboration with Non-Traditional Vendors: Encouraging small businesses, startups, and tech firms to engage with the DoD without the traditional barriers of defense contracting.
Expanding the Use of OTAs for IT Modernization
OTAs are ideal vehicles for:
- AI and Cloud Computing Solutions: Ensuring the rapid integration of data-driven tools for warfighters.
- Cybersecurity Improvements: Quickly deploying advanced cyber defense mechanisms to counter evolving threats.
- Advanced Analytics and Data Management: Supporting real-time intelligence analysis and decision support systems.
Final Thoughts
In today’s effort to make our warfighters more capable and effective speed to decision through thoughtful use of data is the defining factor in winning and losing. Using all available authorities to collectively drive IT modernization, acquisition reform, and cultural transformation will ensure leadership is successful in creating technological and cultural change. The very near future of national security depends on the ability to act with informed agility—ensuring America remains ahead of its adversaries in both strategy and execution.
Kris Kenefic is the founder and President and CEO of Pantheon Data.
Thomas Harker is a former Acting Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Budget and is a senior advisor to Pantheon Data.
Chris “Boris” Becker, Rear Admiral, USN (ret), is a proven executive-level leader of high-performing organizations, delivering space and digital transformation and is a Senior Advisor to Pantheon Data.
