The global threat landscape is constantly evolving and remaining competitive and modernizing our digital environment for great power competition is imperative for the Department of Defense. We must act now to secure our future.This Digital Modernization Strategy is the cornerstone for advancing our digital environment to afford the Joint Force a competitive advantage in the modern battlespace.Our approach is simple. We will increase technological capabilities across the Department and strengthen overall adoption of enterprise systems to expand the competitive space in the digital arena. We will achieve this through four strategic initiatives: innovation for advantage, optimization, resilient cybersecurity, and cultivation of talent.The Digital Modernization Strategy provides a roadmap to support implementation of the National Defense Strategy lines of effort through the lens of cloud, artificial intelligence, command, control and communications and cybersecurity.This approach will enable increased lethality for the Joint warfighter, empower new partnerships that will drive mission success, and implement new reforms enacted to improve capabilities across the information enterprise.The strategy also highlights two important elements that will create an enduring and outcome driven strategy. First, it articulates an enterprise view of the future where more common foundational technology is delivered across the DoD Components. Secondly, the strategy calls for a Management System that drives outcomes through a metric driven approach, tied to new DoD CIO authorities granted by Congress for both technology budgets and standards.As we modernize our digital environment across the Department, we must recognize now more than ever the importance of collaboration with our industry and academic partners. I expect the senior leaders of our Department, the Services, and the Joint Warfighting community to take the intent and guidance in this strategy and drive implementation to achieve results in support of our mission to Defend the Nation.

Since 1995, the DoD¿s business systems modernization program has been designated as high risk, and it continues to do so today. To assist in addressing DoD's business system modernization challenges, the Nat. Defense Authorization Act for FY 2005 contains provisions that require the DoD to take certain actions and to annually report to its congressional committees on these actions. This is an annual review of DoD's actions to comply with key aspects in the Act and related fed. guidance. To do so, the auditor reviewed, for ex., the latest version of DoD's business enterprise architecture and transition plan, investment mgmt. policies and procedures, and information in the dep¿t. business system data repositories. Includes recommendations. Illus.