The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) has recently made headlines, offering a revolutionary cloud computing platform to bolster the military’s operational capabilities. With the Pentagon’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) directing all DoD components to utilize the JWCC Enterprise Cloud Vehicle for their cloud purchasing needs, defense organizations face a unique opportunity to enhance their cloud infrastructure.

According to a guidance memo from the DOD CIO dated July 31, 2023, and publicly released on August 2, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Components, the Defense Agencies and Field Activities (DAFAs), Military Departments, and Combatant Commands will utilize the JWCC contract vehicle to procure all available offerings for future enterprise cloud computing capabilities and services. It also mentions that all cloud capabilities and services currently under contract in OSD Components and DAFAs will be transitioned to the JWCC vehicle once their current period of performance expires. Additionally, OSD Components and DAFAs may opt for on-premises cloud offerings (e.g., Stratus) where applicable.

The guidance also offers a glimpse into the DoD CIO’s strategy to consolidate cloud activities across the Department. It designates the ‘DoD Information Enterprise Portfolio Management, Modernization, and Capabilities Council’ (formerly known as DMI EXCOM) as the governing entity accountable for overseeing this process.

The JWCC Contract: A Game-Changer for Defense

In December, the DOD awarded the long-awaited JWCC contract, a US $9 billion enterprise cloud effort that has taken the place of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) program. The contract has been secured by Google, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft, who will compete for task orders.

The JWCC represents a quantum leap for the DoD, offering a unified cloud computing platform that promotes seamless collaboration and information sharing among all military branches. The centralized architecture ensures secure data storage and access for authorized personnel, regardless of their location or mission. This capability enhances operational agility, responsiveness, and decision-making, making it a crucial asset in modern warfare.

With the goal of simplifying cloud procurement, JWCC centralizes the process and provides a standardized platform for all DoD components. It covers all classification levels and brings several benefits, including improved interoperability, enhanced cybersecurity, and cost efficiencies. The ultimate objective is to make cloud services acquisition more efficient and effective across defense operations.

With this action, the DoD takes a crucial step towards modernizing and enabling mission critical functions, including Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC-2).

How to get started with JWCC

Key Benefits

1. Simplified Procurement: With JWCC Enterprise Cloud Vehicle, the often cumbersome process of cloud procurement is streamlined into a unified approach. Defense organizations can now access a wide range of pre-approved cloud services and solutions, expediting deployment and reducing administrative overhead.
2. Enhanced Security: Security is paramount for the DoD, and JWCC prioritizes stringent security measures to safeguard sensitive data and applications. The platform adheres to robust cybersecurity standards, ensuring a resilient defense against potential threats.
   
   
3. Increased Interoperability: With JWCC, different components of the DoD can seamlessly collaborate and share information in real-time, fostering enhanced mission coordination and data-driven decision-making capabilities.
   
   
4. Cost Optimization: The centralized cloud procurement model of JWCC offers significant cost savings by leveraging economies of scale. Defense organizations can make cost-effective cloud investments while maintaining flexibility in resource allocation.

Why Caveonix for JWCC

Caveonix delivers a unified platform for secure and compliant delivery of mission-critical applications on any public cloud environment available under JWCC vehicle. It is an innovative platform that accelerates secure migration of Systems from on-prem to the public cloud(s) and quickly operationalizes them based on ATO acceleration and maintains the ATO with risk-based Ongoing Authorization (OA) or Continuous ATO (cATO) implementation. The platform enables rapid development and deployment of applications with secure Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) model in a DevSecOps approach.

The AI-driven Neural-Insight^TM engine provides rapid assessments and operational insights for proactive actions. The unified dashboard provides continuous situational Awareness across the hybrid multicloud deployments without having to log into individual cloud consoles. This allows DOD organizations to choose the target cloud environment(s) that is right for this mission readiness without worrying about the Cybersecurity and Compliance needs of each cloud platform.

• Expedite Secure and Compliant Migration to Cloud: Shifting operations to the cloud is a significant endeavor for organizations. However, this move comes with complex responsibilities in terms of managing security and ensuring compliance. Our platform plays a vital role by analyzing and comparing scenarios both before and after the migration from on-premises to the cloud. This analysis provides assurance to application owners that the security and compliance standards remain intact throughout the migration. Automation is a key feature of the platform, ensuring a smooth and effortless transition.
• On-time Mission Delivery from Any Cloud, Anywhere: Caveonix operates a multi-tenant, scalable platform that collaborates with major cloud service providers like AWS, GCP, Azure, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud. By adhering to open standards and APIs, integrating cross-cloud analytics and AI, and implementing standard identity management, Caveonix simplifies multicloud deployment and enhances the mobility of applications and data across various environments. The platform supports diverse workloads, encompassing legacy systems hosted on VMware as well as cloud-native applications.

• Accelerate ATO to Accelerate Mission Delivery: All JWCC stakeholders require an Authority to Operate (ATO), which is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Caveonix expedites this process, resulting in ATO timeline reductions of 60-70% in the first year and 90% in subsequent years. Additionally, we automate continuous monitoring, streamlining ongoing authorization and implementing a Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) architecture. This saves time and effectively eliminates the need for repetitive manual documentation.

• Deliver on the Mission with AI driven Insights for Ease of Operations: Caveonix’s AI-driven Neural-Insight^TM Engine continuously analyzes hybrid cloud environments. It detects vulnerabilities, security issues, non-compliance, code-related problems, and workload risks. This transformative neural net technology forms the foundation for a seamless AI-powered security, compliance, and governance platform that operates discreetly. The DefenseBots™ feature rapidly auto-remediates risks in under 30 seconds, preventing security incidents from becoming compliance violations. Furthermore, the platform seamlessly scales to manage large workloads, ensuring secure data management across different security and compliance levels within cloud environments.

• Unified View for Complete Situational Awareness and Avoid Blind Spots: The platform offers a flexible, unified view of risk, compliance, and security posture. It incorporates threat analytics to pinpoint priorities for maximum impact using minimal resources. This visibility remains constant across private, multiple public cloud environments, and even at the edge. The dashboard can be tailored to various user roles, allowing team members to customize widgets to align with their specific needs. This level of customization ensures that each user can focus on the most relevant data and insights for their specific responsibilities, optimizing efficiency and productivity.

• Enforce Secure communications with AI-driven Zero Trust set up: Leveraging operational and runtime data insights, the platform automates Zero Trust principles, assessing data flows in hybrid clouds. Real-time policy enforcement ensures prompt corrective actions for non-compliance, significantly reducing breach risks and guaranteeing ongoing compliance. By strengthening tenant isolation and minimizing attack vectors, the platform solidifies a foundation for Zero Trust practices. Collaboration with external requirements and streamlined internal controls further reinforce accountability, efficiency, and compliance. Its user-friendly approach simplifies understanding of hybrid cloud status, even for those with limited expertise.

The Caveonix platform has been developed by team that has worked with the U.S. Cybercommand and has decades of Cybersecurity, Risk management and Cloud Governance experience. The platform can proactively defend the Cloud deployments as well as simplifies operations across on-prem and multicloud deployments.

Learn more on how Caveonix’s innovative solution unlocks the full potential of cloud options available within JWCC to deliver on the mission with confidence and ease of operations.