SBMCC Supports Secure and Interoperable Federal Collaboration Technology Amendment in the NDAA

For too long, incumbent technology vendors in the marketplace have ensured that their legacy systems remain in use through engineered inefficiency. That is why the Small Business Multi-Cloud Coalition (SBMCC) strongly supports Senator Wyden’s and Senator Lummis’s amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Secure and Interoperable Government Collaboration Technology Amendment, to improve the U.S. Department of Defense’s procurement efficiency, national security, and interoperability of systems across defense agencies. This amendment represents a comprehensive effort to address systemic engineered inefficiency by giving advanced technologies and their providers a pathway to deliver secure, efficient collaboration tools. Expanding the government’s use of these interoperable systems will be critical to advance national security, economic security, and cyber security.

Current technology solutions being used by the US Government limit the ability of defense agencies to adopt innovative solutions from a wider pool of providers. Instead, they create an artificial reliance on traditional legacy systems from dominant vendors in the marketplace, many of whom are focused more on their market share and their bottom line rather than delivering the latest and greatest technological capabilities to our civilian and uniformed public servants. This is especially apparent with communication technologies that use proprietary data standards for collaboration tools, resulting in a reduction of the government’s ability to use the best and right systems across agencies. Rather, they induce inefficient and insecure communications across public sector systems used to support the delivery of public sector and national defense services. Standards-based technology and security practices foster increased data protection by protecting sensitive communication data and establishing robust security frameworks for defense agencies. SBMCC supports the use of these practices for collaboration systems, such as end-to-end encryption and the ability to manage multiple data formats, to increase the use of secure national security communications and reduce the government’s reliance on legacy systems.

Incentivizing systems that have the seamless security and the ability to communicate across defense agencies will increase the Department of Defense’s ability to effectively conduct and coordinate the administrative and operational requirements of national security matters. Interoperability and resiliency of defense collaboration technology is critical to securing our national security systems from hostile actors, driving more efficient operations, and increasing competition within federal procurement processes. The application of interoperable system standards that support a vendor-agnostic approach and multi-vendor supported communication and collaboration environments within the Department of Defense is a positive development, inviting small businesses and other providers to introduce innovation into the defense marketplace without compromising security or functionality. SBMCC encourages Congress to support Senator Wyden’s and Senator Lummis’s common sense amendment to the NDAA, and to serve as an exemplary proof point that justifies broader application and adoption across the U.S. government.