Agility Key to 'Software Factory of the Future' Concept.

• Author: Lazo, Jonas

Today, the U.S. government's technological stance could be described as static and inflexible, focused on defending the nation's interests and executing missions but failing to evolve and proactively anticipate the next challenge.

This posture cannot continue given how rapidly new cyber threats develop--government must start thinking about how to be proactive and resourceful to become as "threat-proof" as possible.

To its credit, the department recognizes this. In its Software Modernization Strategy released last year, it sought to achieve "faster delivery of software capabilities in support of department priorities" and enable "delivery of resilient software capabilities at the 'speed of relevance.'"

A part of the larger Digital Modernization Strategy, the Defense Department's software strategy emphasizes the need for an approach to agility that a "software factory of the future" perspective can provide.

Software factory of the future is a development, security and operations mindset focused on standardizing and revolutionizing how organizations produce the best software from beginning to end, from conception to consumption and execution to testing. The idea is to create a software foundation that can be tailored to different agencies and industries while providing a common pipeline for development and a basic connectivity of software.

Instead of waiting for new technology or threats and then responding or changing the information technology network reactively, an organization with software factory of the future is updating and evolving quickly and building the future in the present.

For the Defense Department, this approach would allow all branches to maintain the highest security standards while providing a baseline from which to update, adapt and evolve. Currently, there is no standard way to repair issues or to handle older tech in the department, making it vulnerable as it struggles to update all its technology to combat new cyber risks. Software factory of the future allows for the widespread standardization of repairs and updates.

In addition, establishing a software factory of the future baseline will ultimately save the department money and time. It will need to spend less on maintaining outdated systems, buying new tech and keeping staff trained as the threat landscape changes. The software factory of the future will take on most of these tasks as it develops and evolves.

Although software factory of the future is designed to...