Key Takeaways:

• Enterprise cloud enables ability to meet Great Power Competition.
• Key programs benefiting national security like Cloud-Based Command and Control rely on Cloud One.
• Secure cloud creates speedier outcomes for warfighters.

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Great Power Competition defines the United States’ current priorities for protecting and defending national security and values against our adversaries. This effort requires the U.S. Department of Defense to reoptimize by developing people, generating readiness, projecting power and developing capabilities. Cloud One, an enterprise cloud available to the entire DOD and managed by the U.S. Air Force, is a key enabler for Great Power Competition.

Delivered in partnership with SAIC, Cloud One transforms legacy government mission system applications. By removing the burden of technical debt and moving into modern cloud solutions, Air Force teams are ensuring enhanced operational efficiency and readiness for the warfighter. Secure and easy access to data generates readiness. The ubiquitous accessibility of cloud helps project power.

Since its inception, Cloud One has been uniquely effective because of what it keeps out—and who it welcomes in. Amid headline-grabbing zero-day attacks in the private and public sectors, Cloud One security continues to keep out cyber threats. Yet it’s also inclusive, removing barriers and enabling faster, easier migration for Air Force teams regardless of their cloud experience or expertise.

What follows are three reasons to migrate to Cloud One in support of Great Power Competition.

1. Cloud One empowers mission-critical frontline systems

To date, 155 mission critical system of systems have moved to Cloud One, with many more in various phases of migration. Although Cloud One’s predecessor, Common Computing Environment, originated as an environment for hosting business applications, as part of the strategic rebrand to Cloud One the partnership between Air Force and SAIC has evolved it into a secure, agile platform for mission-critical weapon systems and operational workloads.

One notable example is the Cloud Based Command-and-Control (CBC2) system for the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), integrating data from more than over 800 DOD and Canadian radar feeds, ingesting, fusing and providing advanced human machine teaming for decision advantage. In boosting situational awareness and easing the cognitive load on operators, it plays a crucial role in the DOD’s Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2) concept. By leveraging Cloud One’s inheritable security and economy of scale shared services, CBC2 was able to innovate and push the envelope on data-centric security to facilitate real-time, secure data sharing across classification levels and establish the first ever secret cloud weapon system with coalition partner access —an essential capability for ensuring readiness in today’s geopolitical environment.

Secret and Below Releasable Environment (SABRE) is another mission-critical system strategically leveraging Cloud One. Cloud One’s stable and secure enterprise shared services and zero trust architecture are critical to meeting SABRE’s purpose: enhancing collaboration among the United States and its allies by providing a secure, cloud-based platform for sharing classified and unclassified information. SABRE is integrated into the DoD’s Mission Partner Environment (MPE), thereby ensuring seamless interoperability across combatant commands and allied networks.

2. Cloud One supports greater speed, agility and cost efficiency

Cloud One has made it possible for systems to migrate to the cloud in a fraction of the time needed historically while benefiting from operational advantages. With migration-as-a-service (MaaS), provided by SAIC, teams benefit from third-party support in the form of people, application analysis, project planning, and application development and testing. When using the MaaS model, customers realize strong results within a challenging environment, adhering to rigorous security and compliance requirements. What’s more, Cloud One apps benefit from an average of 40% inherited security controls toward their authority to operate (ATO). In other words, on Day One, app owners are nearly halfway to operations.

As one example, a program used to process and execute thousands of viable flight plans per week and maximize fuel efficiencies for mission flown worldwide was sped up by 286% by moving to Cloud One. Warfighters are generating flight plans faster than ever while benefiting from lower risk, better user support and reduced server space.

This ability to quickly modernize systems—so they address mission needs with greater speed, agility and cost efficiency—is one of the platform’s greatest advantages. It’s also critical to the Air Force’s ability to enable Great Power Competition.

3. Cloud One takes a human-centered approach

Winning at Great Power Competition demands investment in innovative technology along with engagement of the Air Force’s greatest asset: its people. Cloud One has been designed and delivered with a human-centric approach that recognizes the diverse starting points across the Air Force and the DoD. With that in mind, Cloud One has focused on creating and sustaining a community of practice model that now boasts over 2,700 members across government and 170+ vendor companies of all shapes and sizes. The ethos is one of pragmatism and understanding—which translates into supporting each customer and vendor based on where they are.

Cloud One has removed barriers to entry in terms of the knowledge and experience that team members need to bring to the table. By reducing friction, prioritizing inclusion, and a strong commitment to shared continual learning, Cloud One is fostering a people-driven culture that is critical for greater mission success.

Cloud One is already supporting major advances for the Air Force. By embracing further opportunities to integrate combat operations, accelerate change and nurture a people-driven culture, the initiative will continue to propel American interests in Great Power Competition.

Ready to realize the benefits of cloud for your mission? Contact SAIC’s cloud experts here.