Input from contractors is expected to inform the department's reforms to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program.

The issuance follows the release of a directive from Pentagon Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies.

Shankar, who previously served as a strategic advisor to the department via the BOND program, was officially sworn-in Aug. 24.

The new instruction was approved by Kirsten Davies on July 23 and became effective July 29.

The initiative is intended to modernize and consolidate IT and data architectures at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division.

The Enterprise Software Agreement consolidates all of the DOD's contracts with Oracle under a single contract vehicle.

More than 1,000 troops and civilian experts are participating in the event.

The initiative comes as the Pentagon faces challenges in competing with the private sector to hire established cyber experts.

Officials hailed the deal as a major step in the military alliance's digital transformation.

Experts from both companies demonstrated the hardware and briefed a small group of reporters on the underlying technologies.