AWS hosts inaugural Defense Industry Partner Forum

In August 2024, Amazon Web Services (AWS) convened more than 65 Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies at Amazon’s HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia for the inaugural AWS Defense Industry Forum. The DIB consists of more than 100,000 companies and subcontractors, which support the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and AWS joins forces with DIB partners to provide global infrastructure and cutting-edge technology to outpace our adversaries. The two-day event fostered a collaborative discussion between DIB leaders who shared the challenges facing the defense sector and AWS executives who offered mission-focused solutions.

During the event, DIB partners explained how AWS services have enabled them to significantly reduce cost and time to deploy authorized solutions that run on DoD networks. Here at AWS, we are proud to support their next-level use cases to enable customer mission success, based on our longtime expertise in implementing reliable, secure solutions with DoD contractors.

The Forum affirmed AWS’s commitment to our robust network of DIB partners and to helping the DoD achieve their mission through several strategic areas: digital engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), security and compliance, and tactical edge solutions.

Overview of strategic areas

Digital engineering: AWS’s digital engineering support accelerates the DIB’s program execution and aligns with DoD Directive 5000.97. The AWS Cloud is the key enabler for digital engineering, and with AWS’s digital engineering services, partners can streamline design, testing, and deployment to reduce costs and shorten timelines.

AI/ML: AI/ML technologies are revolutionizing defense operations through new capabilities for data analysis, decision-making, and autonomous systems. These technologies help the DoD achieve their mission goals and align with the 2023 Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Strategy.

Security and compliance: Security and compliance are paramount for the DIB and our mission owners. AWS’s secure cloud environment meets rigorous standards to protect sensitive national security information and critical systems against threats.

Tactical edge solutions: AWS’s edge computing capabilities enable real-time data processing and analysis at the tactical edge. We help customers and Partners enhance situational awareness and decision-making on the battlefield, or anywhere.

As director of federal partner sales at AWS, I believe that customer obsession begins at our doorstep. By inviting defense leaders to share their unique perspectives at the inaugural Defense Industry Forum, AWS continues to help ensure that the DIB remains responsive to emerging threats and protects the military’s greatest asset: its warfighters.