Four top takeaways from the PEO’s AFCEA Belvoir keynote

PEO EIS program executive officer Ross Guckert gave his first annual keynote presentation to industry stakeholders at AFCEA Belvoir’s virtual fall luncheon September 29. Addressing over 250 online attendees, Guckert provided a comprehensive update on the PEO’s activities, tips on how industry and government can best work together for success, and upcoming procurement opportunities.

Following are some of the top takeaways from the presentation:

1. The PEO EIS workforce and industry partners should have a sense of urgency in their work. Over the past decade, Guckert noted, the United States has lost to China in war games nearly every time, due to China’s significant technology investments. “I think about this real threat a lot. Even though we don’t have a CFT [cross-functional team] program at EIS, we play a vital role in delivering the best business systems, the best protected network, and in being efficient in how we do that,” he said.

2. PEO EIS aims to adopt industry best practices in innovation. This is necessary, said Guckert, for delivering solutions as quickly and expertly as possible to Soldiers. To facilitate this, he’s begun consulting with functional and government stakeholders to ensure they’re amenable to industry discussions. “Let’s have that conversation: What are the best practices that you’re doing in industry? How can we do better in government?” said Guckert. 

3. PEO EIS’s future is in the cloud. “We are migrating to the cloud as an Army,” said Guckert, noting that PEO EIS accelerated the migration of GFEBS last July and soon will follow with AESIP Hub, LMP and GCSS-Army. “The advantages are immense, and I’m starting to buy into those as well,” he said.

4. PEO EIS will likely play a future role in the kill chain. Although EIS didn’t participate in the Army’s recent Project Convergence—focused largely on tactical networks—the PEO anticipates becoming involved in the future due to its defensive cyber capabilities, the need to leverage satellites, and the end-to-end network capabilities. Guckert said he had discussions with Lt. Gen. John Morrison, the new Army deputy chief of staff for G-6, on understanding the role of the enterprise network in end-to-end capabilities.