Govini: Finding America’s Edge

Over the past 30 years, the U.S. has been losing its competitive edge on the global stage. China, specifically the Chinese Communist Party, has outpaced the U.S. in leveraging data, which U.S. national security leaders have identified as a strategic asset to U.S. national interests. Furthermore, China is effectively leveraging not just public data for its national purposes, but commercial data as well. This has the impact of providing unique visibility into the global markets, company activities, trends in emerging technologies, and more. It has become clear that pacing threats and near-peer competitors, such as China and Russia, that put pressure on the U.S., see data as crucial to success in today’s global military competition.

Govini comes into play as the global leading commercial data provider, with data, indicators, and analytics that are relevant to this competition. Govini focuses on the national security sector and its unique set of problems. It is committed to helping the U.S. find an edge in the fight against China through the application of commercial data. Govini delivers tailored decision-critical indicators and analytics by virtue of Ark.ai, its flagship product. By providing valuable insights to government decision-makers, Ark.ai plays an important role in making swift and informed decisions to improve the effectiveness of government operations.

Breaking Down Data Silos

COVID-19 taught the country that a massive crisis in one sector of American life, such as public health, can violently spread across borders and impact all aspects of our society. Repercussions were dire in healthcare, infrastructure, the economy, and also national security. The national security sector, along with all of the government, has been grappling with the lessons learned from COVID-19, especially the realization that external commercial data is a necessity, data that exists outside of federal agency data silos.

Commercial Data is information manufactured by private sector entities and encompasses data produced via technologies such as machine learning algorithms. The private sector has been on the cutting edge of commercial data for decades, innovating and advancing at a pace that government entities have not been able to match. When paired with AI and ML technologies, challenges of acquisition, foreign influence, adversarial capital, nuclear modernization, procurement, science and technology, and supply chain transform from existential to solvable. That is why Govini built Ark.ai.

Ark.ai has been purpose-built to provide agencies with a way to use commercial data to break down silos and access a wealth of information that drives decision-makers to proactively anticipate and respond to risks. Govini’s flagship product does this in three ways. First, Ark.ai contains the most extensive collection of commercially sourced data that can be used to gain critical insights into global operations, economic trends, and emerging threats. Second, it facilitates the direct integration of government datasets greatly enhancing the data agencies already hold. Thirdly, its non-technical user interface and customizable features can be designed to integrate into the workflows of any government agency and organization. Decision-makers can tailor the platform to address specific challenges and priorities, allowing them to focus on the most critical issues.

“As decision-makers and problem-solvers seek to distill the very foundation of U.S. competitive strengths, our platform’s valuable data and insights empower them to do so. That is precisely what Ark.ai was built for,” says Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO of Govini.

Enabling Commercial Data to Protect American Lives

Data has emerged as a crucial strategic asset in today’s world, with government agencies and their solution providers investing heavily in data collection and analysis to gain a competitive edge. China, for example, is implementing policies that forcibly extract commercial data from any public or private organization that operates under its influence. This does not align with American values but it does put pressure on the U.S. Leveraging data as a strategic asset is critical to the global military competition. Lagging in this arena puts American lives at risk.

One poignant example of commercial data in this national security sector is the supply chain ecosystem. Supply chain is an area that has emerged as a problem area over many years but has been exacerbated by the global pandemic. What commercial data does in the supply chain space is it conveys to decision makers visibility that previously was impossible.

Having The Commercial Data Along With The Technology To Make It Actionable Creates An Unparalleled Ability To Mitigate And Potentially Avoid Supply Chain Break-Downs. Ensuring A Resilient Supply Chain Saves American Lives On And Off The Battlefield

Program managers could be working with thousands of parts that go into a major defense program, or just as likely managing protective equipment for emergency first responders. Ark.ai provides acquisition professionals with visibility into the companies that are not just supplying those goods, but all the way down to manufacturing them. Commercial data provides insight into possible labor shortages, material impacts, financial concerns of critical suppliers, and any other problems that might manifest, ultimately disrupting the ability of a mission owner to execute a critical program.

“Having the commercial data along with the technology to make it actionable creates an unparalleled ability to mitigate and potentially avoid supply chain break-downs. Ensuring a resilient supply chain saves American lives on and off the battlefield,” says Dougherty.

The U.S. federal government also has strict regulations and guidelines on the procurement of goods and services. Ensuring prohibited vendors are not involved in the process is crucial to maintaining the integrity of the supply chain. Using ML and natural language processing techniques, Ark.ai can identify patterns and anomalies in the data that may indicate the involvement of banned suppliers.

For many federal CIO offices in the U.S., Ark.ai is a valuable tool for investigating and preventing violations of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Sections 889 and 1260 of the NDAA prohibit certain telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and services from being used by specific Chinese companies. By leveraging Ark.ai, analysts can detect and flag such equipment and identify suppliers or vendors that may be providing prohibited equipment or services.

CIOs can also take proactive steps to ensure the federal government is not inadvertently supporting these activities through its procurement practices. This helps the U.S. government uphold its ethical and legal responsibilities and commitment to promoting sustainability and social responsibility.

A Longstanding Commitment to Serving the Federal Community

Govini’s mission-oriented approach and focus on understanding the unique needs of clients is a testament to its commitment to serving the national security community and making a meaningful difference in the world. Through its work with government organizations, it is empowering the U.S. to respond effectively to emerging threats and challenges.

Many federal agencies are leading the way in using commercial data to tackle a variety of problem sets. While the Department of Defense has been traditionally viewed as the leader in adopting commercial technology for national interests, Govini has observed other agencies making significant strides in this area. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is now leveraging commercial data and Ark.ai capabilities to prevent purchases from prohibited suppliers and to safeguard their supply chains, particularly in the wake of the recent pandemic.

Even offices that focus on modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons are turning to commercial data to better understand risks and proactively manage them during this historic effort.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is another federal agency that effectively uses commercial data to drive its initiatives. Specifically, the department’s work in response to the CHIPS Act and advancements made with respect to the entity list require the data to gain visibility into companies operating in bleeding-edge sectors of the U.S. and ensure the country remains at the forefront of technological innovation.

Considering how the use of commercial data is becoming increasingly significant across a wide range of U.S. federal agencies, Ark.ai is playing a pivotal role in supporting these efforts and keeping the U.S. a step ahead.