Case USA48: Why a Defense Agency Replaced Enterprise Architecture with Vendor Stack Upgrades
- Sunil Dutt Jha
- Aug 12
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 4
Overview:
This case is part of a 100-diagnostic series exposing how defense agencies have mislabeled procurement cycles as “Enterprise Architecture progress.”
A recurring pattern is equating vendor stack refreshes with architecture reform. Systems were upgraded to the latest commercial platforms — yet the enterprise structure connecting mission planning, intelligence, logistics, and training was never modeled.
P1–P6 Insight Preview: Stack upgrades improved components (P4) and implementation throughput (P5), but lacked mission strategy alignment (P1) and integrated process architecture (P2).
System behavior (P3) remained fragmented; business ops (P6) still bridged capability gaps manually, while tech ops (P6) maintained siloed environments.
Role Disconnects:
CEO/Agency Head: “We run on the latest tech” — but systems don’t work as one.
CIO: “All platforms are modern” — yet integration is weak.
Sales Head (Programs): “This upgrade improves mission readiness” — but readiness isn’t coordinated across functions.
Chief EA: “We have new tools, not a new architecture”
Head of Mission Systems: “Every unit has modern gear — but they can’t operate in sync”