Every Mission Deserves Access to Innovation
Tangram Flex is excited to continue the multi-part series about bridging the treacherous gap in engineering.
In this edition, Matt Farrell, a member of Tangram Flex’s Executive Team, shares his insights about the mission requirements for innovation as well as market movements and tools that support rapid integration with confidence. Matt is a successful strategy and operations leader with a demonstrated history of creating value as a member of executive teams which span the world’s most competitive industries.
In a recent article, Defense Innovation is Falling Short, Christopher Zember and Peter Khooshabeh, Ph.D. note, “Officials also appear to be moving innovation from the edge of formal acquisition processes into the center.” Initiatives to drive innovation into the core of the Department of Defense have increased significantly, many of which focus on engaging the commercial tech market.
While commercial tech may be leading in terms of innovation, it does not always necessarily address the safety and security needs that come with mission-level requirements. The security needs of commercial technology are drastically different from the security needs of mission-critical technology. From a commercial point of view, a malfunction in software is usually a mere inconvenience. There are other cases where the malfunctions create a financial cost to repair and risks of data loss exist. A malfunction in mission-critical software, however, could mean severe and devastating consequences.
Our Statement Stands
A few months ago, we discussed the need for defense innovation in the Department of Defense to keep up with the ever-changing technology in the commercial market. In the article, our CEO, Ricky Peters, stated, “What we will see in the post-pandemic world is innovation more focused on the reuse, reconfiguration, and redeployment of existing capabilities in different ways. Today’s missions demand new capabilities faster than the industry’s current tools and processes can accommodate. Interoperability is the path forward.”
When this article was released, the pandemic had already made a heavy impact on how we use technology in our daily lives — whether for work, socializing with friends and family, picking up our groceries, or other everyday tasks that many of us took for granted pre-pandemic. The Department of Defense is making countless adjustments to stay ahead of the ever changing world. We are seeing the effects of that expanding constantly and Ricky’s words are still relevant today.
In a separate post, Tangram Flex’s VP of Product Management, Mark Stadtmueller, wrote, “People building mission-critical systems face significant hurdles. But, by identifying the treacherous gap, the requirements to traverse that treacherous gap, and naming the CSIP (Component Software Integration Platform) capability that addresses that challenge, they can deliver mission-critical systems at the speed of relevance and rapidly integrating new capability with confidence.”
Embracing A Traditional Approach In A New Way
Tangram Flex is constantly redefining the Component Software Integration Platform (CSIP) industry standard. We are always finding new ways to make software integration for mission critical systems more secure, faster, and safer. Our approach is rooted in uncovering better ways to understand and repurpose software systems. We’re experts in component-based software integration techniques, which means we are good at solving puzzles.
Tangram Flex is named for the ancient Tangram puzzle. A Tangram puzzle has seven elements that form a perfect square. The puzzle pieces can be separated and rearranged to build entirely new shapes. In one configuration, a triangle-shaped piece is the beak of a rooster, while in another that same piece is the nose of a rocket. Each Tangram puzzle piece is a component of the shape it helps build.
The Tangram puzzle represents our three major steps to solving integration and interoperability challenges for defense systems with a CSIP:
- Breaking down complex software systems into a set of components that can be visualized;
- Accessing a library of components that can be shared and reused; and
- Automatically updating software systems with new and existing components through modern software practices.
Each piece of a Tangram puzzle can be identified on its own, but the magic happens when those pieces are reconfigured alongside the other pieces, bringing to life something new. That is innovation!
Continue this series by viewing Rapid Integration with Confidence by Matt Naveau.
Tangram Flex simplifies software integration for mission-critical defense systems. Every system is unique, but the mission is clear: the people on the ground need dependable, adaptable equipment to get the job done. At Tangram Flex, we understand the challenges of security, speed, and safety. Our team combines engineering expertise with our Component Software Integration Platform (CSIP), Tangram Pro™, to arm engineers with customized toolkits for meeting mission needs.
Tangram Flex is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. Our staff has experience from DoD, Fortune 500 companies, and innovative software startups. We are dedicated to walking alongside our customers to keep pace with changes in technology. Get in touch: hello@tangramflex.com.
