The intersection of cloud computing, AI, and security is opening new doors for the federal government, and Steve Derr, Oracle’s vice president for JWCC Program Management, believes that advancements in these areas will be crucial for the sector’s future. In a recent interview, Derr shared insights into Oracle’s AI strategy, its focus on multi-cloud environments, and the company’s efforts to support government clients in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.
When discussing Oracle’s approach to AI in the public sector, Derr explained that Oracle has built a “three-pronged strategy” aimed at bringing artificial intelligence capabilities to government agencies. First, he highlighted the role of high-performance and cost-effective infrastructure supported by Oracle’s GPU capabilities, stating that the infrastructure increases both the scalability of clusters and lowers costs, making it easier for agencies to work with large language models.
“You can effectively bring your own AI capability to Oracle Cloud,” he said, underlining that this setup doesn’t limit clients to a specific model, giving them flexibility in their approach.
Derr noted that Oracle’s partnerships with companies like Cohere further enhance its AI offering, expanding the options available for government agencies. He commented that these collaborations add to Oracle’s portfolio, providing a broader range of solutions for applications such as text, speech, vision, and language processing. He stated: “We’re not only focused on building our own solutions but also on creating a diverse ecosystem of AI applications that can operate natively on Oracle Cloud.”
In terms of Oracle’s long-term strategy, Derr pointed to the recently introduced Oracle Database 23 AI, which incorporates vector capabilities to work with large language models. He explained that these capabilities help direct AI models to trusted government-specific data sets, improving accuracy and minimizing the risk of “hallucinations” in AI responses.
“Accuracy is crucial, especially in a government setting where the wrong data could have serious implications,” he observed, adding that Oracle’s AI-enabled database represents a significant step in meeting these stringent requirements.
On the security front, Derr discussed Oracle’s recent advancements in zero trust, a critical area for federal clients. He stressed Oracle’s latest secure cloud architecture, which is designed to meet the Department of Defense’s secure landing zone requirements. This architecture supports Mission owners and cloud brokers, allowing them to deploy secure workloads with greater efficiency.
“We’ve built a zero-trust enabled landing zone that aligns with the DOD and intelligence community’s principles, aiming to secure data against insider threats and enhance control over access privileges,” Derr explained.
Derr sees multi-cloud environments as essential to increasing resilience and flexibility for government agencies in the future. He shared that Oracle has already forged partnerships with Microsoft Azure, Google, and, more recently, Amazon Web Services to enable multi-cloud functionality.
“Our multi-cloud partnerships allow us to support the DOD and intelligence community more effectively, offering them the flexibility they need for mission-critical applications,” he said, which underscores the importance of collaboration between government and cloud providers to establish robust security and governance frameworks.
Derr wrapped up by discussing Oracle’s focus on expanding cloud capabilities to the edge, where it can support military operations more directly. He cited the company’s Roving Edge devices as a tool that brings cloud functionalities closer to warfighters, saying: “It’s about moving those cloud capabilities from traditional environments out to the tactical edge where they can provide immediate value.”
Derr’s vision for the future of cloud and AI in the public sector reveals Oracle’s commitment to innovation and adaptability, especially as the federal landscape continues to evolve in the face of complex security and operational challenges.
