Former Pentagon Official Says Contractors Must Adopt Interoperability to Survive in Defense Space

The former chief data officer of the Department of Defense said contractors must adopt interoperable data standards if they want to avoid obsolescence.

Speaking at Defense One’s Tech Summit event, 2021 Wash100 awardee David Spirk shared that companies need to implement new technologies, form partnerships and pursue interoperability if they want to continue thriving in the defense sector. Spirk, a past Potomac Officers Club speaker, added that companies are likely to enter into more partnerships moving forward, carrying momentum that started gaining traction in 2022.

Companies increased their partnership following the Department of Defense’s data decrees issued in 2021, Defense One reported.

The U.S. military is pushing for interoperability, promoting the concept over recent months.

In mid-May, the Defense Intelligence Agency started building an unclassified software factory designed to allow Five Eyes nations to develop their own software and share data with allies. The software factory is part of the DIA’s modernization efforts.

In November, the Pentagon and the UK Ministry of Defence partnered to develop interoperable C2 capabilities supporting the Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept and the UK’s Multi-Domain Integration Change Program.