NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. – In a ‘data-driven decision making’ breakout room, curious attendees gathered to learn about the development of new products and capabilities that will harness the power of data to drive informed business decisions for Army Security Assistance Enterprise stakeholders and streamline Foreign Military Sales to more effectively build partner nation capacity.

The presentation was given by the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command’s G2/6 during the Army Worldwide Security Assistance Conference in Arlington, Virginia, March 5-7.

The products are in support of the ASAE reform and a significant step toward efficient data governance and transparency, said G2/6 deputy chief of staff and chief information officer Aaron Ford, who kicked off the session with an overview of what data is, why it’s important to the ASAE and the strategic advantage of data-driven insights.

He explained that prior to the reform, the ASAE data environment was disparate, crossing multiple systems and organizations. But the new and evolving capabilities will create a unified environment where timely, accurate data is accessible by all users simultaneously.

“The enterprise is data driven. Whether that’s through case execution, development—you name it in the lifecycle—there is a byproduct of data in some way, form or fashion,” said Ford. “We try to help folks understand that what you do generates data, and that data is used or recycled or repurposed in a way to help either senior leaders or stakeholders make informed decisions.”

Sara Miller, the G2/6 data and solutions division chief, then went into specifics on how data applies to FMS and the ASAE. Using a pyramid to symbolize the levels of data, she described the systems of record for case development and execution as the foundation. The business logic layer builds on that foundation and the ASAE dashboard portfolio tops the pyramid. The dashboards are key tools for end users across the ASAE, translating complex data into practical graphs and visualizations.

“You have the systems of record where the raw data is coming from, but it’s data overload,” said Miller. “For a senior leader, you’re not able to do anything with it. We take that data, and we make it digestible and easy to view and see what’s really going on within the process.”

The dashboards offer a high-level overview of processes and performance, but users can drill down to individual requisitions as well, giving them easy access to the information they need in their day-to-day work.

To showcase these daily efficiencies, senior analyst Courtney Burke gave attendees a more in-depth look at some of the new reports and capabilities, like soon-to-launch interactive user guides that will replace outdated, static PDFs.

The audience was engaged and brought some of their own suggestions for future improvements to the table as well. It was welcomed feedback, as it helps the G2/6 understand the needs of the enterprise and was a reminder of the importance of events like AWSAC.

Hosted by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, AWSAC brings together ASAE, Department of Defense, Department of State and defense industry members for transparent discussion and collaboration.

“ASAE is a business at the end of the day with a lot of stakeholders that implement and inform that business, but data is the driver,” said Ford. “I appreciate that DASA DEC felt strongly enough in what we’re doing for the enterprise that they gave us the opportunity to speak to a very wide and diverse group of attendees. I think it says a lot about USASAC and what the G2/6 is doing for the enterprise.”