The U.S. Navy’s Chief Data Officer (CDO) said the service branch is embarking on a data infrastructure transformation to tackle a two-pronged challenge: first, how to deal with the sheer amount of data collected, and second, understanding if the Navy has the correct kinds of data to help leaders make decisions.
Navy CDO Thomas Sasala explained at a March 22 GovExec event that the service branch is establishing a new Naval Data Architecture to address these challenges, with a goal of using digitally-driven insights to inform operational effectiveness. The architecture follows guidelines laid out in the Department of Defense (DoD) data strategy.
“Creating this data architecture was our way of taking a holistic viewpoint at the data and the data infrastructure we are building,” Sasala said. “The vision is to create an environment where our IT and non-IT services come together to efficiently manage and utilize the data we have and continue to collect.”
One of the components to this architecture is a platform for data analytics called Jupiter Today.
Jupiter Today functions as the enterprise data hub, advancing information domain integration across the universe of originating data sources.
According to Sasala, the platform makes Navy data widely discoverable, accessible, understandable, and usable across the Naval enterprise. And it arms military and civilian decision-makers with decision support analytics and context-rich visualizations while simultaneously providing the Naval data workforce with advanced data tools.
“Simply stated, Jupiter, helps the department translate common enterprise data into actionable insights, decisions, and outcomes,” Sasala said.
Since the launch of the Jupiter platform, the Navy has expanded the platform’s data and analytics library. The team also continues to incorporate new capabilities, products, and services to ensure users have the most powerful tools at their fingertips to make critical, informed decisions.
“Exploiting our data drives the critical insights and decision-making that inform the full range of our missions and functions from integrated joint operations to the care and feeding of the Naval enterprise,” Sasala said.
