Lauren Knausenberger

CIO, Air Force

Expanding Digital University and scaling Platform One and Cloud One during 2020 are among the many accomplishments Lauren Knausenberger is excited about. 

“Digital U partners our department with top industry leaders in technology training and postures us to develop and sustain a digitally competent force,” she said. “Additionally, Platform One and Cloud One allow us to rapidly develop and release new cloud-hosted capabilities that are accessible across our entire force in a standardized and secure manner using DevSecOps.”

These advancements occurred in spite of the challenges related to scaling the teleworking capabilities of the Air Force at the start of the pandemic. In just a few weeks, the Air Force quickly scaled up the capacity of available VPN connections from 7,000 to more than 400,000 and finished deploying Office 365 and Microsoft Teams to enable virtual collaboration and sustain productivity.

Why Watch

Knausenberger is leading efforts to rapidly accelerate digital transformation from all angles. With plans to build a solid digital foundation, position Air Force data for competitive advantage, and leverage advanced technologies through an elite digital workforce, Knausenberger’s team aims to position Air and Space Forces for challenges in the decades ahead.

The foundations the team is building today will support tomorrow’s warfighting capabilities including the department’s Advanced Battle Management System, which is a key part of Joint All Domain Command and Control, she said.

“Outpacing our competitors is a team sport, and we are doing our part to ensure that our warfighters at every level can leverage machine-driven insights through the right systems, data and tools to rapidly succeed across the full range of military operations,” Knausenberger said. “And we will also continue to ruthlessly attack manual processes through automation so that we can free up our airmen and guardians for more productive mission work.”