This Veterans Day, to all those who have served America in our military: thank you for your commitment and sacrifice. From our own team to our many clients and partners, we’re honored to work with you and grateful for everything you do.
/ Changing the Operating Model for the Warfighting Acquisition System
When we at Dcode hear things like:
“Speed replaces process”
“Money follows need”
“Experimentation accelerates delivery”
“Services move faster and smarter”
…well, we do hear those things every day, because that’s what we’re doing for our clients, but when others say them, we get pretty happy.
Secretary Hegseth’s announcement of the Warfighting Acquisition System sets the stage for the biggest shift in defense acquisition in decades: from managing programs to operating portfolios, with an emphasis on speed and commercial technology.
Portfolios aren’t just a bigger basket of programs. Making this reform succeed means changing mindsets and jumpstarting the workforce transition. Dcode CEO Meagan Metzger explains the three keys to doing that in our latest: Act Like a CEO: Making the Warfighting Acquisition System Operating Model Real.
/ CTRL+ALT+DEFENSE: Rebooting Defense, One Episode at a Time
What started as a small idea – a space to have honest conversations about fixing defense innovation – turned into something much bigger: CTRL+ALT+DEFENSE.
Over the past few months, Meagan Metzger and DefenseScoop Executive Editor Billy Mitchell have hosted an incredible lineup – from the Pentagon to venture capital: Gen. James Rainey, Kate Kelley, Shyam Sankar, Lt. Gen. Clint Hinote, Dr. Radha Plumb, Alex Harstrick, Josh Stiefel, Tara Murphy Dougherty, Katie Arrington, Chris Brose, Matt Cronin, and Steve Blank – each offering a bold take on the future of defense. Catch up on all of these episodes and watch for new ones wherever you get your podcasts, or at YouTube here.
/ Casting a Wider Net with Tech Scouting
The Pentagon says purchasing commercial will be the default policy. The good news is, there’s a lot of transformational technology out there. That’s the challenge, too: how to make sense of it all? Do all of these commercial sources even know there’s an opportunity with DoW? Maybe not, but taking a structured look at the market can find those matches made in heaven. See how Dcode approaches tech scouting in From Tech Scouting to Horizon Scanning for Federal Missions: Prioritizing Best-Fit Innovation and the Art of the Possible.
/ Tech Companies and Startups: Join Our Federal Accelerator
We mentioned it above: if you’re a commercial technology vendor, the Pentagon wants YOU. But while we expect exciting changes and big opportunity ahead (see above), we do think defense is going to remain a market with its own unique keys to success – and Dcode is the authority on how to decipher those for commercial firms and startups.
We’re here to help! Our next Federal Accelerator cohort starts in January: learn more here or reach out at info@dcode.co.
Alumni in the News
Each month, we’ll highlight news from around our amazing network of accelerator alumni.
Airis Joins the Oracle Defense Ecosystem
Congratulations to Airis for being part of the second cohort of the Oracle Defense Ecosystem! The innovators in AI-powered live intel extraction join a group curated to accelerate technological innovation and strengthen the capabilities of the defense community across the United States and allied nations. Check out Airis here.
V/r, Dcode
Follow Dcode on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dcodethegov/
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