Defense asks industry to be proactive to its needs

Defense officials--who gathered under the Dataquest banner of the CIO series discussed the IT needs of the armed forces--felt that the IT industry should try to understand its unique needs and develop solutions tailored to those needs.

Towards this end, the defense forces are also in the process of drawing a roadmap for the next 10 years. Officials have urged the industry to have frequent interactions with them to understand their needs rather than marketing their existing solutions.

Senior representatives from the armed forces also pointed out that instead of being disillusioned with the procedural delays inherent in the system, it was better to familiarize with the procedures and get accustomed to them. Also since the defense budget is announced every year, the industry can take clues from the projects defined in the budget and work on them rather than trying to sell new projects to the forces.

A key issue discussed was the need to have a balance between in-house development of solutions in core areas and outsourcing non-core functions so that the industry also gets a platform to interact. 

Cyber News Service