Technically Speaking

For Sandy Austell, continuous improvement isn't just a business philosophy; it's a way of life.Throughout a career spanning luxury automotive, business ownership, community leadership and now public sector technology, Sandy has been guided by a simple belief: there is always an opportunity to learn, improve and create a better outcome. It's a mindset rooted in Kaizen, the Japanese principle of continuous improvement, and one that continues to shape both her personal and professional life. 

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) recently hosted the 2026 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) in New Orleans, bringing together more than 2,200 attendees to discuss the future of military health IT.  The clear message throughout the event was that technology, data, and digital capabilities are increasingly viewed as a combat support capability directly tied to warfighter readiness. 

For Haley Tonizzo, relationships are built long before any transactions occur.As a Program Administrator on the DLT Solutions PMO and Operations team, Haley serves as one of the first points of contact for new resellers and channel partners. While onboarding often feels like a never-ending series of forms, documents and administrative steps, Haley views the process as something more substantial: the foundation of a strong partnership.And that's why she focuses not only on what needs to happen now, but also what comes next.

Send the right data to the right person at the right time, in a secure, discoverable, interoperable and actionable environment. Whether or not you attended DoDIIS this year, that was arguably the defining takeaway from the event's senior leaders and conference sessions.

This year, the DOW has made official its priority to advance its AI dominance across all branch services by “becoming an AI-First warfighting force.” AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer AI-vision are being integrated into military operations to improve decision-making, enhance efficiency, and increase autonomous capabilities. Most revealing, however, are the DoW’s budget requests for AI investment, setting the trend for implementation.

The Pentagon CIO Kirsten Davies issued a new directive in late July 2026, establishing a department-wide approach to IT category management (ITCM) at the direction of a new DOW Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) Working Group and ITCM Cross Functional Board (CFB). According to the directive, the ITCM CFB, chaired by the Pentagon’s deputy CIO for the information enterprise, will act as the senior executive decision body, and the ESI Working Group will be the lead agent for implementing the department’s strategy.