How To Understand DoD’s New Data Strategy

Posted on 10.15.2020
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Written by Micah Waldstein
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The Department of Defense (DoD) released its first Enterprisewide Data Strategy September 30, 2020. The release, which helps to understand the DoD’s data strategy and defines the overall strategy for the Pentagon’s data management strategy, is a key component of the DoD’s ongoing modernization strategy.

From the inception of the company, Oxalis’s team has put security and data utilization at the forefront of the company’s value. Considering the work Oxalis does in the maritime and government sectors, this release quickly caught our attention as an affirmation of our data strategy competitive advantage.

If you don’t have a strong data strategy, if you have struggled to gain data infrastructure backing, or just need more support for why data is important, this is a cornerstone reference point for future data management efforts. This document is the most comprehensive, authoritative document of this type, making the case for data as a core strategic asset and providing a clear mission for leveraging it.


In the first lines of the release, the DoD states that “…it is the responsibility of all DoD leaders to treat data as a weapon system and manage, secure, and use data for operational effect,”

Throughout the 16-page release, strong messaging demonstrated the level of attention the DoD put toward their data strategy. Seven goals are outlined, creating a clear and demonstrable path for agencies:

1.) Make Data Visible – Consumers can locate the needed data.
2.) Make Data Accessible
– Consumers can retrieve the data.
3.) Make Data Understandable
– Consumers can recognize the content, context, and
applicability.
4.) Make Data Linked
– Consumers can exploit data elements through innate
relationships.
5.) Make Data Trustworthy
– Consumers can be confident in all aspects of data for
decision-making.
6.) Make Data Interoperable
– Consumers have a common representation/
comprehension of data.
7.) Make Data Secure
– Consumers know that data is protected from unauthorized
use/manipulation.

As a whole, the document will not only have reverberations across the Defense Industrial and Technological Base (DIB), but across any contractors or subcontractors working with the DoD. It serves as a blueprint for firms struggling to articulate their own data strategy, leading to a more cohesive collective thought around data. Understanding the DoD’s data strategy will help your data strategy move in an improved direction.

The bottom line: if you’re not utilizing your data to improve your internal processes and external communications, then you’re losing ground to those who are quicker to adapt.

It is information your company is paying for already in employee hours and processes: if it stays unused, it is money left on the table.

At Oxalis, we build systems to help companies not only capture data better but maximize their data from the data they’re collecting. With each system in place, companies utilize information to streamline their efficiencies and make the most of valuable hours in the day.

Here are some Oxalis services that help businesses and enterprises manage, more importantly, utilize and leverage their data:

Oxalis Estimation–An estimation software tool that improves estimation processes in manufacturing, construction, shipyards, and other industries who require high value operations. The software does not only offer streamlined and simple communication between departments or contractors/sub-contractors, but also leverages aggregate data from past estimates to win more contracts, with higher margins and less paper shuffling.

Oxalis Ship Repair System—Our leading ship repair system management software that improves communication between repair contractors and communicates seamlessly with the Navy Maintenance Database (NMD). With each repaired ship, the system securely gathers that data to offer insight on time, budget, efficiency, etc. for any incoming or future projects. The more you use it, the more streamlined your processes become.

Jira Software, Jira Core, Atlassian Confluence, Jira Service Desk, other Atlassian products: We specialize and promote Atlassian products because of the amount of internal and external data you can leverage within the platform for your Agile data strategy. From workflow management to external communication, each step is built to help your company or enterprise run more efficiently, effectively, and effortlessly.

When you’re ready to leverage data to your advantage, ensuring your processes are not only working for you in the moment but working for you in the future, contact us. Oxalis will show how these systems could help your firm, or how we can help translate this direction into a strategic roadmap to becoming a firm with data as a strategic advantage.

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Do you want understand DoD’s Data Strategy? Contact us.

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