Elodie Collins 
The Department of Defense’s modernization effort is more urgent than ever as it shifts its focus toward the Indo-Pacific, and Sam Hussain, head of the U.S. defense sector at Capgemini, said the Commercial Solutions Opening, or CSO, process can offer the Pentagon a streamlined pathway to adopt commercial technologies at speed.
In an article posted Friday on the Capgemini website, Hussain explains the benefits of using CSOs and how his company can support the DOD’s modernization needs.
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How Are CSOs Changing Defense Technology Acquisition?
Hussain described CSOs as a “strategic lever” that defense leaders can use to access technologies already being employed across the private sector, such as digital twin systems, artificial intelligence-powered mission platforms and cyber-resilient infrastructure.
CSOs, the executive added, provide the Pentagon with capabilities that are available now, “not years from now.”
What Does Capgemini Offer?
Hussain wrote that Capgemini offers innovation that meets CSO requirements.
He cited the company’s collaboration with Amazon Web Services on defense-focused research and development across cloud architectures, edge computing and generative AI. The companies jointly work on rapid prototyping, secure data fusion and scalable mission platforms.
The executive also pointed to Capgemini’s AWS Centers of Excellence, which accelerate defense customers’ transition from pilot to production at scale while ensuring security.
Capgemini’s Cloud Center of Excellence, or COE, coordinates the company’s engagements with other major cloud providers, such as Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle. The COE, Hussain explained, ensures unified governance and consistent technical standards and promotes rapid deployment of cloud services.
According to the article, CSOs, combined with commercial expertise and cloud capabilities, remain central to accelerating modernization already underway.
