Driven by initiatives such as the AI Action Plan, Department of Energy Genesis Mission and the National Security Strategy, there has been exponential adoption and investment for AI in the last year. As AI expansion is expected to move from experimentation to enterprise deployments, demand for the infrastructure that powers AI is anticipated to continue rapidly accelerating. 

Over the last few years, SLED cloud strategy has played a pivotal role in public sector modernization efforts. Agencies have invested in application migration, utilized more software-as-a-service capabilities, and constructed increasingly hybrid environments across public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises infrastructure.

Over the last few years, AI has been the hot topic of conversation in SLED IT. We’ve seen AI move from theoretical to actual implementation. SLED agencies are now deploying AI across a wide range of use cases including citizen services, workforce productivity, document processing, case management, fraud detection, and analytics and decision support, among others.

In FY27, state and local governments are navigating a complex technology environment amid changes in policy, the accelerated adoption of emerging tech, and the rapid growth of digital services and citizen expectations. Cloud adoption continues to impact technology consumption; AI is introducing challenges around data, security, governance and contracting; and agencies are facing mounting pressures to modernize aging systems while becoming more efficient and generating measurable long-term ROI.

The Defense Health Agency (DHA) recently hosted the 2026 Defense Health Information Technology Symposium (DHITS) in New Orleans, bringing together more than 2,200 attendees to discuss the future of military health IT.  The clear message throughout the event was that technology, data, and digital capabilities are increasingly viewed as a combat support capability directly tied to warfighter readiness. 

Send the right data to the right person at the right time, in a secure, discoverable, interoperable and actionable environment. 

Whether or not you attended DoDIIS this year, that was arguably the defining takeaway from the event's senior leaders and conference sessions.

This year, the DOW has made official its priority to advance its AI dominance across all branch services by “becoming an AI-First warfighting force.” AI technologies such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer AI-vision are being integrated into military operations to improve decision-making, enhance efficiency, and increase autonomous capabilities. Most revealing, however, are the DoW’s budget requests for AI investment, setting the trend for implementation.

On June 2nd, President Trump signed a new AI executive order, Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security, which aims to strike a balance between AI innovation and security. The order directs federal agencies to strengthen AI-enabled cybersecurity defenses and coordinate with private industry on secure AI deployments.

Navigating the Latest CISA Guidance on Agentic AI

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), along with the NSA and international partners, recently issued guidance for the Careful Adoption of Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) Services.

On May 7, 2026, the FEMA Review Council released its final report recommending a substantial shift in how disaster preparedness, response and recovery are managed nationwide.