Navy launches effort to eliminate redundant IT systems

The Navy has launched an effort to modernize its information technology systems titled "Operation Cattle Drive," which aims to eliminate redundant technological systems.

In a Dec. 2 memo, acting Navy Under Secretary Greg Slavonic wrote that the service's current technological systems network is "unacceptable and must change." 

"I am directing the DON Chief Information Officer to partner with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Financial Management and Comptroller) and the Director, Office of the Chief Management Officer, to take a proactive stance and aggressively identify, assess, and ultimately eliminate redundant systems and applications throughout the organization by initiating Operation CATTLE DRIVE," he wrote.

The operation will ensure that the Navy moves away from unneeded, unproductive and insecure IT systems, Slavonic wrote. These redundant IT systems hamper the Navy's ability to respond quickly to crises and gain a competitive edge over adversaries, he wrote.

"The abundance and variation of these IT capabilities creates unnecessary complexity that hinders our ability to achieve an advantage by perpetuating isolated data silos, resulting in an increased cyberattack surface, and enabling unnecessary operational risks and potential material weaknesses," Slavonic wrote.

The Navy also spends billions "in re-creating and sustaining duplicative IT infrastructure and support services to sustain these systems and applications, reducing resourcing options to drive digital modernization," he wrote.