{"id":31810,"date":"2021-03-02T16:54:47","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T16:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/03\/02\/8-ideas-for-successful-technology-convergence\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:14:01","slug":"8-ideas-for-successful-technology-convergence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/commentary\/2021\/03\/02\/8-ideas-for-successful-technology-convergence\/","title":{"rendered":"8 ideas for successful technology convergence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Convergence. That one word is key to understanding critical technology trends for the U.S. military in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The information-driven, multidomain battlefield of the future is already here. Victory depends as much, if not more, on speed, agility and integrity in decision-making as it does on strength of force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the reality today for many conflicts: a classic observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop advantage reimagined for 21stcentury technology. In 2021, three maturing technologies \u2014 artificial intelligence, big data and ubiquitous cloud computing \u2014 will finally come together to create a disruptive wave that revolutionizes the art of combat for a generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These technologies, innovative themselves, become truly transformational when combined: dissolving communication stovepipes; giving U.S. military forces real-time command and control of multidomain operations; and providing a vital decision advantage to commanders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artificial intelligence programs, based in a cloud deployed at the operational edge, could automatically correlate sensor data from multiple sources, such as UAV video feeds, signals intelligence, and satellite surveillance \u2014 cutting through information overload to provide a continually updated, enhanced and orchestrated situational awareness of the theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And they could offer that all-source view, not only on screens back at headquarters, but on mobile devices in the hands of front-line warfighters and at every echelon in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Away from the front, the impact of this convergence over the next few years may be even more profound. Imagine critical time that can be freed up for important priorities rather than mundane administrative tasks using robotic process automation (RPA). Integrated with ubiquitous cloud computing and big data, RPA for example, can perform the rote task of assembling relevant information for analysts to enable people to focus on mission critical activities and make judgments about what the information means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technologically, critical pieces of this vision are all here, and their convergence has been demonstrated in exercises like the recent ABMS on-ramp<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But convergence, and the new multidomain battlespace it creates, is a threat as well as an opportunity. Since WWII, the U.S. has led the way by adopting advanced mission technologies \u2014 and by dominating the information war, enabling faster, more accurate field decisions. That edge, that advantage and the unchallengeable military advantage that goes with it, is slipping away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Air Combat Command chief Gen. James M. \u201cMobile\u201d Holmes warned<\/a> the Air Force Association\u2019s 2020 Air Warfare Symposium that sophisticated adversaries seek to undermine the U.S. advantage on land, air, sea and space \u201cnot by challenging us in those domains, but by challenging us in this information domain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are eight principles for managing convergence and disruptive change to maintain the U.S. technological edge and ensure its military advantage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n