Rich Sawchuk / Systems Planning and Analysis
The changing global security environment, emerging technologies and workforce trends are impacting government and GovCon industry operations. GovCon Wire is Rich SawchukWe spoke with , CEO of Systems Planning and Analysis, about the GovCon trends impacting today’s federal landscape.
Sauchaak Appointed CEO of SPA It will take place in November 2022. In this interview, we spoke about the future of the information technology modernization movement, the most pressing national security threats facing the United States, and our nation’s most pressing defense priorities. Read the full interview below.
GovCon Wire: What are the most impactful trends you are seeing in the GovCon market right now, and how do you think the GovCon organization is responding to them?
Rich Sawchuk: The most impactful trend today is the dramatic IT modernization move towards cloud-based infrastructure, robust AI/ML-based systems, and big data analytics. This trend is putting pressure on decisions about IT networks and systems, but with a question mark. The GovCon community is responding to this transition in an appropriate and measured manner because the evolving IT ecology is a “complex system.” Cloud, AI/ML, and big data are dynamically evolving in real time in response to a constant drumbeat of new tools and capabilities, new evidence of government decisions, business opportunities, and risks. Consider the following:
- The cloud has created a new set of concerns around architectural resilience and reliance on external entities to meet critical day-to-day IT needs.
- The growing interest in AI/ML raises a series of questions that must be answered, including data privacy, reliability of answers, corrupted processes, and vulnerability to crime.
- The entire GovCon community is exploring how AI/ML can safely improve speed, quality, and business efficiency.
The GovCon community is carefully respecting the uncertain evolutionary trajectory of this complex system by investing in new pacing platforms and software that deliver progress while emphasizing IT agility and responsiveness.
The other side of this trend is less visible, but more important: the human side. Just as social media and smartphones are addictive and divisive “double-edged swords,” these new IT changes have an undeniable impact on how employees learn, share information, make decisions, aggregate answers, and become self-aware. Care must be taken to ensure that the revolution leads to better, clearer, and faster processes, without creating employee polarization that undermines the good work, health, and happiness of your teams.
So these emerging innovation trends are exciting opportunities, but they need to be carefully managed to ensure they provide all the benefits possible while mitigating side effects.
GovCon Wire: What do you see as the most pressing national security threats facing us today, and how is the SPA addressing these threats?
Sauchaq: The most disruptive national security threat impacting the GovCon region is, of course, the intensifying global threat landscape and its impact on how we conduct our daily work. Strategic competition with China and Russia overlaps with digital revolution trends, forcing us to rethink all digital innovations in the added context of cyber threats and cyber espionage that we are already battling. The GovCon region must protect its government clients and contractor teams, and must be ready to operate in an environment with civilian infrastructure degraded by cyber attacks. This impacts how we support our clients, how we secure our own facilities and data, and how we train our employees to stay safe at home.
The worsening international security situation includes equal or near-peer threats from China and Russia, and regional threats from Iran and North Korea. This includes military and non-traditional threats to the United States, allies, and partners, including economic destabilization, polarization of global trade, rising interest rates, stagnant growth, communications disruptions, population shifts, additional pressure on federal budget priorities, and economic impacts on the government council workforce. Government council organizations are being called upon to provide more innovative answers to tougher national security problems in shorter time frames, and the situation may get more difficult before it gets better.
While priorities vary across GovCon attendees right now, some of the areas seeing a surge in demand for SPAs include:
- Rethinking National Security Investments: The United States’ existing national security hardware array was built with cost control as a primary concern, with schedules and capabilities being secondary concerns. Now, with the nation clearly facing multiple threats across different theaters, priorities have shifted to emphasize urgency, readiness, and capability, and SPA is working to reassess it.
- Revitalizing infrastructure: The ability to rapidly respond to these new performance demands is further complicated by past decisions to cut investment in critical industries and infrastructure. The SPA contributes much of the national effort to revitalize our infrastructure, vendor and supplier base, shipbuilding capacity, resilience and supply chains.
- Developing tomorrow’s workforce: Many aspects of the US workforce have also been neglected for decades. SPA is helping government and industry target a range of efforts around education, training and partnerships, with a particular focus on STEM education and training. Internally, SPA is investing in digital tools, AI/ML options and next generation talent (including robust internship programs).
SPA’s 50+ year history has seen it face the challenge of providing objective, responsive, and reliable information to government clients in both Cold War and post-Cold War environments. The company has continued to grow over the years, expanding the scope of its analysis from undersea to space, current to long-term technologies, cyber domain to heavy industry, waterways to critical infrastructure, and submarines to satellites. Like many players in the GovCon community, SPA faces a tremendous amount of difficult work ahead.
GovCon Wire: If we’re falling behind on key national defense priorities, how are we working to catch up?
Sauchaq: At SPA, we are committed to helping our clients predict emerging security trends and spot problems before they occur. We address the drivers of these trends and help our clients determine whether they are short-term or long-term. Finally, we help outline a set of preventative measures that can be taken to stay ahead of challenges.
If you are falling behind, it is important to identify the root cause of the delay. You will not solve the problem unless you address the root cause. A big root cause is lack of resources, and it is a topic worthy of open discussion.
- Our nation’s wealth is the product of many factors: free enterprise, creative risk-taking entrepreneurs, the rule of law, the freedoms protected by a constitutional democratic republic, and a shared culture of trust. This system has enabled America to have a per capita GDP six times that of China, according to the World Bank. Protecting this system is worth the investment.
- Successful deterrence is orders of magnitude less costly than its failure. Ongoing international tragedies clearly demonstrate that once fighting begins, it spreads geographically, grows in intensity, costs, more lives are lost, and risks grow. Whatever the costs of deterrence, it is far cheaper than combat.
- Contrary to popular belief, the United States is reducing the share of national wealth spent on defense each year, even as it faces clear new threats. According to OMB data, adjusted for inflation, GDP will increase five-fold and annual federal government spending will increase 6.1-fold in 2023 compared to 1962, but defense spending will increase only 1.5-fold. Moreover, comparing the last eight years (2016-2023) with the previous eight years (2008-2015), GDP has increased 21% and federal spending has increased 35%, while defense spending has decreased 3%.
One of the most important ways to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity” is to prioritize defense spending and invest in a strong deterrent.
GovCon Wire: Let’s talk about workforce. What are some of the major workforce trends that you’re seeing in the marketplace, and how are they impacting organizations like SPA? How are you adapting to those trends?
Sauchaq: Like many companies in the GovCon space, SPA has invested in familiar elements like remote work and organic growth of our specialized workforce. We are working hard to anticipate the impact of the digital revolution on our employees’ effectiveness and happiness. But there is another very important positive change happening at SPA that doesn’t get enough attention: a significant increase in our employees’ mission-driven mindset. At a time of clear challenges facing the world, doing critical national security work gives our employees a strong commitment and a real sense of purpose in defending our nation.
Our employees feel that sense of mission, and SPA as a company reflects that mission. Our leadership team is redoubling our efforts to ensure our employees have the tools, facilities, compensation, benefits and training that help us attract and retain employees. As members of the GovCon team, the best way SPA can contribute to national security is by retaining a highly engaged and motivated workforce, equipped with the best tools and focused on continued success in our important work.
