Federal Tech Talk

Innovation at DoD

This week on Federal Tech Talk, Enrique Oti, chief technology officer for Second Front Systems, joins host John Gilroy to talk about innovation in the federal g...

November 19, 2020 7:37 pm

1 min read

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This week on Federal Tech Talk, host John Gilroy speaks with Enrique Oti, chief technology officer for Second Front Systems.

When it comes to trending ideas in federal information technology, you cannot beat talking about the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) in Silicon Valley and Kessel Run in Boston. Both represent attempts to introduce commercially successful solutions into complex DoD software requirements.

Oti was the co-founder of the DIU as well as Kessel Run. The DIU was stood up in 2015. It is based in Silicon Valley and has offices in Boston, Austin, and the Pentagon. The concept is to let creative problem solvers understand military requirements. Kessel Run is a “software factory.” It is based in Boston and works closely with the Air Force to streamline and improve large IT projects.

During this interview, Enrique talks about innovation in the Department of Defense. He expands on some of the challenges in launching these unique innovation organizations. He talks about the number of innovation units in the federal government with a focus on national security.

One interesting area of innovation Oti expands on is where it can be applied to acquisition. Because technology is changing so rapidly, it is difficult for acquisition professionals to get up to speed with the new technologies.

Oti is optimistic that the United States will be able to harness creativity and leverage the capability of artificial intelligence to speed delivery of critical technology to the warfighter.

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