that they were installed for good reasons,
and that change is not just at the service of
technology. Those processes were, after all,
“put there with good intent.” But the time for
change has come.
“The key point is that digital transformation
is not just about the technology. It’s also about
people, process, and governance. And that, in
many ways, is the hardest part.”
When asked why Microsoft is so passionate
about the defense & intelligence domain?
“These efforts save lives. That’s why I come to
work every day. I think it’s incredibly rewarding
to see our customers realising the value of
their own digital transformation, and hearing
success stories from the field. This matters.”
So digital transformation is about cultural
transformation? “This is very much a people
story. This is about people and their
interactions with the system. As Peter Drucker
says, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’. One
of the things we do at Microsoft, and one of
the things that brought me here, is that we
put people and mission at the core of
everything we do. We frame every digital
transformation around the customer need,
and their challenges and stakeholders.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around digital
transformation. People might not know what
it means for them or for their job. They might
be worried. ‘Is my role going to change? Do
I have the right skills to do this?’ For every
organization that is transforming, your number
one objective has to be bringing your people
along on that journey, and getting it right so
that it works for them. And that is certainly true
for defense and intelligence as well. Digital
transformation is a people story, and Microsoft
is a mission partner.”MICROSOFT
And that’s why she insists government
acquisition models need to adapt. “Historically
speaking, they have not been set up to
accommodate that need for speed. Most
government contracting vehicles are set up
to support legacy platform procurement –
a really lengthy bid, proposal, and development
process. That doesn’t work today. And it
certainly doesn’t work when you’re talking
about building software systems. They
demand agility. We have to modernise our
acquisition methods to match the mission
need, and that will help unlock innovation
at the speed of relevance.”
Despite legacy acquisition processes
(“antiquated”, “frustrating”), Maxwell notes
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