WASHINGTON -- Defense Department officials briefed the news media on the department's Software Modernization Strategy, which was signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks last week.

Danielle Metz, deputy chief information officer for information enterprise, said the strategy is about harnessing the power of cloud and developing software applications in the cloud in order to provide continuous incremental capability for the department and the warfighters.

The ability to deliver software at the speed of relevance will include explicit support for artificial intelligence and Joint All-Domain Command and Control, she said.

Spotlight: Artificial Intelligence

Also, the strategy addresses transforming business processes to ensure greater efficiencies in contracting, acquiring, testing, evaluating and delivering software in an agile and continuous manner, she said.

The department's research and engineering and acquisition and sustainment organizations, along with the DoD CIO played pivotal roles in developing this strategy over the last two years, she added.

The implementation plan for this strategy will be released in 180 days, Metz said.

"Software touches every part of our lives today, and it also touches the warfighter as the modern battlefield becomes a software-defined environment," said Jason Weiss, chief software officer.

Spotlight: Science & Tech

"Our competitive advantage as a department, both today and tomorrow, is really reliant on the strategic insight and proactive innovation and effective technology integration. And all of that is enabled through software defined capabilities. Software modernization recognizes that our warfighters require high quality and highly secure software running against trusted data sources," he said.

"In this era of competition and the race for digital dominance, we simply cannot settle for incremental change anymore. The department must come together to deliver software better and operate as a 21st century force," he said.

Beyond the technology, the strategy reinforces the need to attract and retain workforce talent, he said.