DoD IT leaders crave enterprise cloud adoption, but majority face migration delays: Study

The vast majority of IT leaders at the Defense Department (DoD) see an urgent need for the adoption of enterprise cloud services, but an even larger share say their path to enterprise cloud is blocked by continuing migration delays, according to MeriTalk’s study.

The research examines the robust demand for DoD enterprise cloud services. The study also reveals the obstacles preventing Pentagon IT leaders from migrating to services that are vital to warfighters’ needs.

The DoD’s current lineup of cloud service offerings includes Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) and milCloud 2.0. The third program offering, the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, has been stalled in contracting squabbles and legal delays for nearly three years, with no end in sight.

The study – based on an April 2021 survey of more than 100 DoD IT decision-makers familiar with their departments’ plans for enterprise cloud – finds deep disparities between the desire of IT leaders to use enterprise cloud services and their ability to achieve that goal.

Key findings of “The Time is Now: Accelerating DoD Enterprise Cloud” study include:

• 80% see an “urgent need” for enterprise cloud services;
• 84% say accelerating migration to enterprise cloud services is “vital” to the needs of warfighters;
• 96% currently face delays in enterprise cloud adoption; and
• 68% see delays in adopting enterprise cloud as blocking their ability to meet mission goals.

And the downsides to those delays in migration to enterprise cloud services extend well beyond just the extra waiting time, the study finds.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed – 76% – said the delays have forced them to seek cloud workarounds, and most say the delays are getting in the way of meeting the DoD’s Cloud Strategy objectives. Those objectives include progress on scalable solutions, greater data use, and taking a more proactive stance on cybersecurity challenges.

Despite the challenges, 84% of respondents said they feel optimistic about the future of DoD enterprise clouds, and 86% said the availability of DoD enterprise clouds will accelerate their department’s cloud adoption.