Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense (DoD) has released the Fulcrum: DoD Information Technology (IT) Advancement Strategy, aimed at continuing transformative changes in the Department’s IT, Cyber, Command, Control, and Communications sectors. This strategy also aims to enhance the digital workforce while laying a foundation for future advancements.
On June 20th, Deputy Secretary of Defense approved and signed the Fulcrum Strategy. Emphasizing a user-centric and cross-cutting approach, it aims to ensure that the Department delivers capabilities aligned with warfighting mission objectives. The new strategy prioritizes user experience and investment in agile and scalable infrastructure to meet dynamic operational requirements and leverage modern technologies.
The Fulcrum Strategy is organized into four integrated lines of effort (LOE), designed to connect, protect, and perform for the nation’s warfighters and their support personnel:
1. **Provide Joint Warfighting IT Capabilities**: This LOE focuses on delivering user-centric IT capabilities that are functional, scalable, sustainable, and secure in today’s contested global environments. It aims to improve information available to warfighters for decision-making advantages in high-tempo, multi-domain operations.
2. **Modernize Information Networks and Compute**: This LOE emphasizes meeting mission and business needs rapidly by leveraging best-in-class technologies and a data-centric Zero Trust cybersecurity approach. It seeks to deliver a secure modernized network with faster data transfer rates, lower latency, and improved global resiliency.
3. **Optimize IT Governance**: This LOE aims to drive efficiencies in capability delivery while enabling cost avoidance and savings through streamlined policies from governance to system acquisition. It includes robust data capabilities for better decision-making.
4. **Cultivate a Premier Digital Workforce**: This LOE ensures readiness in deploying emerging technology supporting warfighters by identifying, recruiting, developing, and retaining top digital talent nationwide. It expands the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF) to include roles in data management, AI development, and software engineering.
Fulcrum outlines "what" the DoD must achieve regarding advancing IT for warfighters and "why" it matters. Each LOE is supported by strategic objectives that detail the way forward with measurable mechanisms for tracking progress.
This strategy serves as a fulcrum for empowering DoD leaders to drive transformative change and advance technology for warfighters in an evolving world.
The full strategy document is available at https://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/FulcrumAdvStrat.pdf.
