Obtaining a real-time view

In 2018, the Army Chief of Staff recognized a growing need for better data visibility across the enterprise. Army leaders lacked a unified, real-time view of key operational elements, including personnel, equipment, installations, units, and other readiness drivers. Answering basic questions required pulling data from multiple systems, often through manual processes, that delayed decision-making and reduced confidence in the information’s accuracy and timeliness.

To address this challenge, the Program Executive Office for Enterprise sought a commercial-grade solution that could scale with the Army’s needs. The goal was to start with a foundational platform that could consolidate data and improve accessibility, paving the way for more advanced capabilities such as AI and predictive analytics as the organization matured. 

Transforming siloed data into decision advantage

To address the Army’s visibility and data integration challenge, LMI led a multi-phase transformation, beginning with an enterprise-wide assessment and culminating in a mission-ready platform that now supports more than 40,000 users.

Phase One: Mapping the Landscape
LMI partnered with Army stakeholders to assess more than 400 siloed, often redundant systems. We organized them  in alignment with the appropriate functional data domains (e.g., logistics, HR, finance) according to Army Regulation 5-01, “Management of Army Business Operations” and surfaced a key issue: functional data stewards, system owners, and requirement owners often weren’t aligned, limiting data access and speed to insight.

Phase Two: Aligning Business Processes
Through end-to-end business process data sprints, we brought together functionals and system owners to map the Army’s core processes, such as hire-to-retire, and plan-to-stock, to identify which systems and data were the highest priority. These data sprints enabled the creation of curated, authoritative data products that allowed data consumers to leverage trustworthy information to improve decision making.

Phase Three: Selecting the Right Platform
LMI guided the Army through a competitive other transaction authority (OTA) process to select a commercial data platform. We helped evaluate industry options, sanitize and prepare data for vendors to use in demonstrations, and assist in integrating vendor platforms into Army infrastructure. The result: Palantir’s Foundry platform, with LMI as the program implementation lead.

Palantir’s platform was selected for its robust and scalable architecture capable of meeting the demands of the Army enterprise. Its intuitive no-code/low-code interface made it accessible across varying user skill levels, accelerating time to value. Additionally, its ability to bridge legacy systems with modern analytics empowered decision-makers with mission-relevant insights. 

Phase Four: Operationalizing the Platform
LMI brought the platform to life throughout the implementation process by managing user access requests, building and maintaining data pipelines, and establishing high impact workflows to drive adoption and ensure long-term sustainability.