Original Broadcast Date: 10/18/2026
Sponsored by Accenture Federal Services
As military leaders look for ways to accelerate modernization, Autumn Sand, Managing Director and Defense Portfolio Lead at Accenture Federal Services, says commercial innovation can help the armed forces deliver capabilities at the speed their missions demand.
During an interview on Fed Gov Today, Sand explains how the commercial sector's experience with competition, emerging technologies and rapid decision-making can support military readiness.
For Sand, the connection between commercial innovation and military operations begins with a shared need to move quickly.
"The commercial industry is used to working at scale and speed," Sand says.
She explains that commercial companies operate in competitive environments where reaching the market first can make a significant difference.
That experience creates opportunities to bring new approaches and technologies into military operations.
Sand says Accenture sees an opportunity to apply commercial capabilities and expertise across the Pentagon to help provide warfighters with advantages in every domain.
But she emphasizes that accelerating military innovation requires more than a single company or organization.
Sand describes military modernization as an effort that requires collaboration across government and industry.
She says the commercial sector, defense industrial base and federal government each bring capabilities that can help the military adapt and respond to emerging challenges.
By combining their engineering expertise and creativity, those organizations can identify opportunities to deliver new technologies and improve existing capabilities.
For Sand, the ability to learn and adapt throughout that process is particularly important.
She says military organizations need access to the latest capabilities while also understanding how those technologies can support specific operational requirements.
That means commercial partners must understand the missions they are trying to support.
Sand explains that companies like Accenture work closely with government organizations to identify the challenges they face.
That understanding helps industry recognize where emerging technologies could address capability gaps or strengthen the effectiveness of military forces.
It also allows companies to connect developments in the commercial marketplace with potential military applications.
One of the biggest opportunities Sand identifies involves dual-use technologies.
These are capabilities that already have applications in commercial environments but can also support military operations.
Sand points specifically to autonomy and robotics.
She says technologies being developed and deployed commercially can have direct relevance to military requirements.
The challenge is recognizing where those applications overlap.
Commercial partners can help military organizations understand what technologies are emerging, how they are being used and where they could provide operational benefits.
At the same time, those partners need to understand the military context in which the technology would operate.
Sand says that combination of commercial awareness and mission understanding is essential.
Rather than introducing technology simply because it is new, industry needs to identify how a capability can address an actual operational challenge.
That approach also helps organizations recognize opportunities they may not have previously considered.
Sand says another important connection between commercial and military operations involves the speed of decision-making.
In both environments, leaders need reliable information to understand changing conditions and determine what actions to take.
She says the objective is to provide information that is complete, relevant and actionable at the moment it is needed.
That allows leaders to make decisions quickly and act on those decisions.
Sand explains that commercial companies face similar challenges.
Businesses are constantly competing to move faster than other organizations, identify opportunities and respond to changing circumstances.
Military organizations face a different set of consequences, but Sand says the underlying mindset is similar.
Commercial companies are trying to outpace competitors, while military organizations are trying to outpace adversaries.
Both benefit from shortening the time between understanding a situation and taking action.
Sand says that shared experience creates opportunities for commercial organizations to bring their approaches to decision-making and innovation into the military environment.
While commercial companies can provide new technologies and approaches, Sand says the military remains responsible for identifying its priorities.
She emphasizes that military organizations generally understand the outcomes they want to achieve.
The challenge is sometimes determining the best way to reach those outcomes.
That is where industry can contribute.
Sand says commercial partners can work alongside government organizations to explore different approaches, identify promising technologies and develop solutions that support mission objectives.
She argues that partnerships should allow room for innovation rather than requiring companies to follow a predetermined script.
By focusing on the desired outcome, industry and government can work together to determine how best to deliver the necessary capability.
That flexibility becomes especially important as emerging technologies continue to change what is possible.
Sand's message is that successful military innovation depends on combining the mission expertise of government with the technological experience and capabilities of the commercial sector.
As the military continues looking for ways to deliver capabilities faster, she sees collaboration as an important part of achieving that goal.
For Sand, the opportunity is not simply transferring commercial technology into military operations.
It is bringing together the knowledge, capabilities and creativity of government and industry to help warfighters achieve their missions.