The Department of Defense (DoD) manages three million personnel, protects national interests worldwide, and oversees some of the most sophisticated missions on the planet. Key to DoD’s critical mission is integrating service delivery and customer experience (CX) into its IT modernization efforts, an approach known as total experience (TX).
Donna Settle, Vice President for the Federal Defense Market at Maximus, helps defense agencies like the Air Force and Space Force implement secure, user-centered modernization strategies. In a recent Clickthrough Podcast episode, she and Chris Doty, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Senior Practice Manager for the Department of the Air Force, discussed how cloud services, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and CX principles are shaping the future of defense readiness.
Read on to learn the key insights from their discussion.
Addressing the missing link in IT modernization
For years, IT modernization has focused on upgrading infrastructure and improving system capabilities. However, modernization must also improve accessibility, efficiency, and ease of use. CX addresses this missing link, making sure modernized systems function as the reliable workhorses that service members need.
As Chris Doty explains, modernization efforts must address two key areas:
- Improving direct customer experience by reducing administrative burdens and streamlining technology access.
- Improving service member impact by freeing up time and resources for mission-critical tasks.
The Air Force’s development operations (DevOps) transformation highlights these efforts. Teams previously struggled with hardware and software acquisition with slow adoption of new tools. Now, cloud-based solutions remove these obstacles, making it easier for personnel to access the technology they need when they need it.
To build on this momentum, the Air Force has adopted continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, increasing speed and deployment security while allowing teams to shift from IT maintenance to fulfilling strategic initiatives.
Improving workflows with cloud and artificial intelligence
There are countless more examples of cloud adoption and AI technology advancing defense operations, but their long-term success depends on how well they integrate into daily operations. The Air Force has successfully introduced user-centered design into new technology, but if solutions are hard to use or don’t align with needs, their full potential goes unrealized.
“Cloud adoption and AI implementation alone don’t necessarily solve day-to-day experience problems,” explains Settle. “It’s about empowering those customers and stakeholders to perform their mission more effectively.”
Prioritizing CX ensures that cloud-based programs and AI capabilities are intuitive, accessible, and aligned with operational demands. When CX is integrated with these emerging technologies, they have the potential to play an important role in:
- Supporting real-time decision-making during multi-domain operations
- Powering autonomous systems that reduce risks to personnel
- Enabling predictive maintenance systems to prevent downtime
- Facilitating cross-platform data integration to aid in strategic decision-making
Balancing innovation with security
While cloud and AI adoption offer exciting benefits, they also introduce new security challenges. Service members need frictionless access to mission data and systems without compromising security.
To address this, the DoD is implementing a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) approach to power continuous authentication and validation for all users and devices accessing sensitive systems. “Security is job zero,” emphasizes Doty. “Once we get the security piece resolved and make sure that’s in place, then we can move forward with innovation.”
This security-first approach is embedded in the Maximus Total Experience Management (TXM) solution, which integrates secure technologies with user-centered design. By mapping workflows and identifying automation opportunities, Maximus helps agencies like the Space Force and Air Force deploy efficient, mission-aligned technology that meets security and CX requirements.
With Maximus TXM, agencies can:
- Connect with users across multiple channels
- Map workflows to identify automation opportunities
- Integrate AI-powered technology for improved outcomes
- Create consistent experiences across all touchpoints
- Develop training programs for upskilling personnel
“At Maximus, our goal is to look at customer experience and how we use cloud and AI to make sure we are meeting the mission of Airmen and support their day-to-day operational experience to make it more effective and efficient, and that’s what it’s all about,” explains Settle.
What’s next for defense modernization?
The impact of the TX approach is only beginning to take shape in defense operations. As cloud and AI technology advance, expect to see:
- Autonomous systems that support precision reconnaissance, combat missions, and reduced risk to human operators
- Real-time data integration across multiple service branches for improved coordination and decision-making
- AI-powered training and reskilling programs that boost skill development and establish a mission-ready workforce
Through efforts to embed CX into IT modernization, the DoD is creating more efficient operations, empowering its workforce, and strengthening national defense capabilities.
Want to hear more from defense experts on the front lines of AI and cloud transformation? In this episode of the Clickthrough Podcast, Donna Settle and Chris Doty share insights on how CX-driven IT modernization is improving mission readiness. [Listen now to the podcast]