The Department of Defense (DoD) is poised to recompete its Advana data system and plans to update the platform’s current contract to allow for a wider range of potential vendors, a senior Pentagon technology official said.
During an online seminar hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies on July 15, DoD Chief Data and AI Officer (CDAO), Radha Plumb, explained that “Advana is a victim of its own success.” The system, she said, “scaled tremendously over the last few years,” and because of that the department needs to make some internal upgrades “to get to sufficient scale.”
Advana is the DoD’s all-encompassing platform for data, analytics, and AI, providing decision-makers, analysts, and developers with access to enterprise tools and resources in a secure, scalable, and reliable environment.
Since 2021, the General Services Administration’s Federal Systems Integration and Management Center has been the primary source of lifecycle IT support for the Advana platform. Moving forward, the CDAO plans to collaborate with additional DoD-assisted acquisition providers to enhance procurement processes for both large-scale enterprise needs and innovative prototyping.
The previous single-vendor approach for Advana, Plumb explained, became less effective as the platform evolved from a specialized accounting tool for the Pentagon comptroller to a comprehensive system managing financial, program management, and logistical data for about 100,000 users.
Part of the plan moving forward is to recompete the platform “in the construct of our [Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories (DAGIR)] initiative,” Plumb explained, which will include competition for data infrastructure, enterprise applications, and a pathways prototype for analytic applications.
According to the CDAO, this approach will focus on increasing competition and fostering vendor diversity, while the CDAO works closely with DoD customers to develop tailored support plans that align with mission-specific requirements.
“The benefit here is that we can really create a clear data infrastructure investment on this critical backend in a more modular way than we had before,” Plumb said.
The CDAO plans to host a Advana Insight Day in early September, with the intent to seek formal solicitations shortly after.
