Kinetic Data

Speed is of the essence! How do we accelerate while O&M is eating our budgets? How do we attract top talent when our daily digital experiences suck? Is there a way to bring new life to legacy systems, connect them, and deliver an awesome #UX, #DX, and #CX? Check it out: https://lnkd.in/dGpQR-Uj If you find the Kinetic Data approach intriguing, please contact us. Thank you. cc United States Department of Defense, US Army, US Navy, United States Marine Corps, United States Air Force, United States Space Force, U.S. Coast Guard, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency #DoD #devsecops #usmilitary #eitaas #servicedesk #advana #automation #devops #agile #digitaltransformation #dataops #mlops #workflow #datamesh #AI #selfservice #cdao #dodcdao

In software development, having the right tools can make all the difference. That’s true whether you’re developing software as your final product (like we do at Kinetic Data) or you’re developing special-purpose applications to perform specific functions within your business enterprise or government agency. That’s also how we started a recent blog post about our experience in choosing some of the development tools we use in building and enhancing our Digital Experience Platform (DXP). Specifically, we covered: Runtime version managers: There have been tools around for quite a few years that manage multiple versions of a programming language. We found one that supports a plethora of programming languages, build tools, and other programs. Integrated Development Environments (IDEs): These are the powerhouse of a developer’s toolkit, combining multiple tools into a single application. We like two that enhance our productivity and make it easier to manage complex projects. Code Editors: Sometimes a lightweight code editor is all you need. We use three that provide essential features like syntax highlighting, code completion, and code formatting. We’ve built all the qualities that attract us to these tools—speed, ease of use, power, flexibility—into our DXP. Whether you’re building out a cross-functional service catalog or a system to automate a complex workflow like employee onboarding, we want to enable you to develop it rapidly and iteratively, with built-in security and scalability. Check out our blog post linked in the comments below to learn more. #devsecops #ITSM #softwareengineering #devtools

“The US Army is working to apply agile principles not only to software development but also to its software acquisition process,” per a recent brief from ExecutiveGov. We support that mission. Per the article, “Douglas B. (Bush), assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, highlighted the need for a contract vehicle that could help the service branch speed up the award process.” “’The first goal is speed. Having a vehicle established will allow us to go faster on task orders than doing a de-novo contract in every case, which I think is better for industry.’” Our Digital Experience Platform (DXP) supports the Army’s need for agility, and most importantly, for speed—in three important ways: * Speed to value: Supported by our expert internal team, experienced partners, and proven methodology, client solutions are often implemented in weeks—not years. * Speed to integration: Pre-built connectors for hundreds of the most popular business apps and productivity solutions enable us to integrate to nearly any in-place system or data source quickly. * Speed to solutions: With our combination low-code and pro-code environment, process owners can rapidly build, iterate, and expand custom workflow solutions within IT-created guardrails to assure security and consistency in the user experience. And our DXP has a proven track record. For more than a decade, we’ve been implementing solutions for the Army JLTV, EITaaS, CHS, and National Guard as well as the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and others. #Army #DoD #modernization #digitaltransformation #DevSecOps

The U.S. Department of State is transforming how it acquires software. We have a couple of ideas that may be helpful.     “The State Department is embarking on a transformation in how it performs acquisition. It’s moving to a category management approach, organizing procurement…(and) launching a lifecycle management approach to help streamline and standardize procurement workflows,” writes Daisy Thornton on Federal News Network. “’Agencies are trying to buy smarter these days and use best in class vehicles that are established out there. We’re certainly doing that,’ said Mike Derrios, deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and senior procurement executive at the State Department. ‘We’re trying to get ahead of some of the constraints that are just inherently in the procurement function across the enterprise.’” That certainly sounds promising. But another quote from Derrios really caught our eye: “I would like for us to have an end to end system…that allowed our customers to be able to work workflow documents into a shared workspace where our [contracting officers (COs)] and our customers could actually work on documents together…a secure system where industry could submit their proposals in to us. I say that with emphasis on ‘secure’ system. I would love that.” Two thoughts. First, as part of transforming the department’s software acquisition process, Derrios and his team may want to look at alternative pricing models. Consumption-based pricing better aligns costs to value received and can save budget dollars versus per-user license models. Second, our Digital Experience Platform (DXP) may be the ideal platform for building out that shared workspace. It makes it easy to build and automate workflows, connects to in-place systems, and has military-grade security built in. It’s also tested and proven over more than a decade of implementations for the Department of State, the Federal Reserve, the Defense Information Systems Agency, and branches of the U.S. armed services. #modernization #digitaltransformation #DevSecOps #military #fedciv

In this short video, our CEO John Sundberg shares a "brutal truth" that's actually super helpful for solution architects and IT leaders. Developing small, incremental solutions may sound less exciting than a "big bang" enterprise software implementation, but it enables quickly showing real results and developing a track record of success. That approach ultimately pays off in positive results for the organization, its employees, and the really smart IT person pursuing that path. 😉 #devops #agile #digitaltransformation #CX #employeeexperience

Organizational culture—whether a lack of collaboration or aversion to change—can impede digital transformation efforts. Here’s an effective approach to managing those obstacles. Digital transformation offers enterprises a large number of compelling benefits. So what’s holding back greater progress? Organizational culture can be one roadblock. First, any change in business processes means that things will get done...well, differently. That can be a very good thing. But if not managed properly, it can mean confusion, “dropped balls,” and employee (or even customer) frustration. Second, cross-departmental collaboration can be challenging in large enterprises, which is why it’s not uncommon to see different groups or teams within the business using or developing different solutions to solve the same problems. This eBook delves into those and other obstacles to digital transformation progress, and details four ways to mitigate the risks and take the fear out of digital transformation in your enterprise. Use the link in the comments to grab your copy today. #digitaltransformation #modernization #automation #BPA #BPO

For the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. armed services to maintain a technological edge against adaptive adversaries as the pace of change accelerates, the department needs to transform the acquisition approach and embrace four key reforms, write Alan Shaffer and John Whitley in National Defense Magazine. We support that mission. In their article "Accelerating Defense Innovation Requires Changes to Acquisition Approach" (see link in comments), the two military acquisition experts make the case that to keep pace with our nation's near-peer adversaries, the Pentagon and armed services need to embrace: - digital transformation; - true open systems; - agile software; and - as-a-service acquisition of capability. They provide several specific examples of each in this fascinating article. With regard to agile software development specifically, they note that "As Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Dr. Bill LaPlante has emphasized, with some capabilities the department needs to be able to field several software revisions a day." At Kinetic Data, our Digital Experience Platform (DXP) approach supports all of those priorities. Crucially, it works with and extends the value of the back-end software systems the DoD and military already have in place for functions like IT service catalogs, procurement, logistics, and forms automation. That means it accelerates modernization and digital transformation efforts without requiring major investments in new systems. It enables rapid, agile, iterative development of new capabilities, whether implemented as a cloud-based service, on-prem, or even in secure air-gapped environments. Our DXP is battle-tested and proven. We’ve spent more than a decade implementing solutions for the US Army and Army National Guard as well as the US Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, Missile Defense Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and others. #Army #DoD #modernization #digitaltransformation #DevSecOps

Federal civilian agencies, the United States Department of Defense (DoD), and the military need incident response systems that address their unique challenges and constraints. Currently installed systems have a number of limitations. There is a better way. Government agencies in general, and the DoD in particular, face unusual constraints compared to the private sector in terms of operational requirements, regulatory compliance, and international cooperation and coordination, among others. Federal civilian agencies and the military need systems that address their specific incident response environments. Current systems have limitations ranging from complexity to compliance, speed, and information sharing issues. This white paper examines the incident response lifecycle, the unique IR challenges faced by federal agencies and the DoD, limitations of installed systems, and a better approach to meeting these needs. Download it today (see link in comments). #military #modernization #incidentresponse #ITSM #helpdesk

The US Army Contracting Command is leading the effort to adopt modern software capabilities. Here’s an innovative approach to support that mission and the Army’s need for speed. Jason Miller, writing in Federal News Network, reports that an “initiative of the Army’s recent #software #modernization memo is to adopt a sustainment model focused on continuous improvement and development...Jamie MacGillis, an advisor for the Digital Capabilities Contracting Center of Excellence (DC3oE), said she will work specifically with PEO-C3T’s contracting teams to help establish a strategy for acquisition that supports agile software development. “’My office is working on a multi-pronged attack to facilitate the development of the acquisition workforce. Part of what we’re doing in the DC3oE advisory group is putting together resources, artifacts in a repository for our contracting professionals that they’ll be able to look back on and generate ideas for modern software development and agile software development. ‘Additionally, we’re interfacing regularly with industry to hear what their thoughts are on the approaches we want to take, what we have taken and what we could take in the future. That dialog is open, both within our acquisition workforce and out to industry as well.’ “The repository would include playbooks, sample contracting documents from across the Army, the United States Department of Defense and other agencies… “Army Secretary Christine Wormuth signed the software modernization memo in March detailing five changes to reform what she called the institutional processes of the Army. ‘Our workforce in contracting is going to have to learn modular, contracting, how to be agile, how to be flexible and how to be fast,’ said MacGillis.” At Kinetic Data, we enthusiastically support this mission and believe our Digital Experience Platform (DXP) offers an ideal approach. By separating the front-end user experience from back-end IT infrastructure complexity, this approach delivers on the Army’s priorities: Agility: Developers and process experts can achieve “quick wins” by building out and deploying simple solutions, then iterate and expand on those over time, increasing functionality incrementally. Flexibility: Our combination of a low-code and pro-code environment enables non-technical process owners to develop their own automated workflows, within “guard rails” that assure UI consistency and data security. Speed: New applications can be developed quickly by cloning and modifying existing apps, eliminating the need to “reinvent the wheel.” Pre-built and tested connectors simplify and accelerate integration with back-end systems. Our DXP has been proven in the trenches. For more than a decade, we’ve been implementing solutions for the Army JLTV, EITaaS, CHS, and Army National Guard as well as the Missile Defense Agency, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and others. #Army #DoD #digitaltransformation #DevSecOps

Here's today's nugget of wisdom for CIOs in less than a minute, from Kinetic CEO John Sundberg. Chasing perfection leads to delays that put projects in jeopardy. Instead, create fast "small wins," get feedback from users, then iterate to excellence. #CIO #devsecops #agile