In a mission-driven environment, the challenge is to ensure operators have access to critical applications and services at the point of need. This is why the cloud is vital to the DoD’s strategies. Beyond data storage, applications, and connectivity, the cloud supports advances in new capabilities that can deliver a powerful advantage.

With the right classified cloud, mission leaders can leverage emerging, essential technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)—for augmenting decision-making processes—and quantum computing—which will provide complex computation capabilities—while enhancing cybersecurity across cloud platforms.

Secure, classified clouds are essential to accessing the latest innovations and scaling operations in this digital era. Understanding how to identify the right, trusted partner can speed transformation and accelerate new mission capabilities.

Engage the essentials to drive the mission forward

Cloud-based AI and quantum technologies are force multipliers for decision making in a secure environment. You can see gains when you:

● Employ AI to discover new information that might normally go unnoticed by even the most experienced operator

● Enable quantum to process and analyze data when time is the defining factor for mission success

● Ensure that Zero Trust security controls are at the heart of your environment

In practice, here’s how these essentials can fit into your strategies, and what to look for from a partner:

● AI: Integrating AI alongside mission applications on the cloud can vastly improve decision making and analytical functions. AI can spot trends and patterns in intelligence signals more rapidly than humans, which then are used by people to make decisions based on those results. AI can also aid in creating intelligence briefings, freeing specialists and operators to focus on other mission objectives. Look for a partner who is making the largest investment in AI capabilities for their classified cloud offering.

● Quantum: Currently, this computing advance is a cloud-accessed technology for the science community. However, hyperspeed computing will eventually find use by national security agencies. When that time comes, quantum will be crucial to mission success for discovering new materials, increasing armament, and shielding equipment.

The cloud will be the only environment to access quantum hardware and software platforms as well as quantum development and simulation tools. It’s essential for defense and IC leaders to consider how quantum’s accelerated computing capability can apply to mission goals. It’s just as important to find a cloud provider that can support intensive experimentation through direct access to quantum platforms and tools.

● Cybersecurity: Zero Trust is paramount to any DoD or IC information technology platform. Your cloud environment must offer easily-managed, yet comprehensive security controls, with automation that enables teams to focus on urgent issues. A trusted partner will ensure you have the right tools to keep your application and data safe from intrusion, whether your solution design leverages on-premise, hybrid, single cloud, or multicloud environments.

These essentials are also shaping the future of mission applications, driving the need for environments that meet the requirements of DoD and Intelligence Community’s Secret and Top Secret classified environment. These advanced classified cloud platforms, in turn, support more innovation in technology development.

Share information to the edge

For operators in the field, access to crucial information–especially in remote and disconnected environments–is vital for mission success. Edge computing in the classified cloud environment enables our operators to access high performance computing and AI capabilities wherever they go.

Edge computing also improves performance and resilience by processing and analyzing data locally. AI models can run directly on edge devices—including IoT devices, wearables, autonomous systems, satellites, sensors, and more. This enables operators to leverage capabilities such as vision, speech, translation, and search to enhance situational awareness and decision making.

Even in remote or austere areas, mission operators can process and use vital intelligence when disconnected, then link to the cloud when connectivity becomes available. Devices such as drones and satellites can function independently and intermittently, even if conditions or interference block communications back to the cloud and other devices.

Mission capabilities at commercial speed

With the “speed of commercial”, emerging technologies are often developed on the public cloud to take advantage of OpEx versus CapEx. Emerging solutions will also be developed with Zero Trust security protocols to keep sensitive data protected and guard against access by unauthorized users. Production ready applications are then migrated to the classified cloud, making the cloud an accelerator for mission priorities.

These essentials—AI, quantum, and cybersecurity—are still rapidly evolving. With their potential to benefit every mission, it’s crucial to work with a classified cloud partner able to help you take advantage of every breakthrough.