Army components should identify one or two critical issues they can address with low code–enabled, data-centric operations to get intelligence in warfighters’ hands faster, according to CDW Government and ServiceNow experts.
During their session on the subject at TechNet Augusta 2025 on Wednesday, presenters said several factors — including the shift to digital electronic warfare on the battlefield; the massive increase in data being collected from sensors, UAV feeds, maintenance operations logs and other sources; and preparations to fight a near-peer adversary — outweigh change management concerns.
Army components worry they will have trouble integrating any low- or no-code platform they transition to with preexisting platforms and thus will hesitate to make the switch. But even when integration occurs, there are differences in output and throughput between platforms.
“That's a legacy problem,” said Mike Longoria, a former officer and senior account executive at ServiceNow. “We're not going to solve that tomorrow, but iteratively I think we can improve that just by reading the engagement layer between systems in that single, flat, fast and transparent pane of glass that sits on top.”
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The Army Needs a Data-Centric Platform Now More Than Ever
Military components are already moving off platforms that have failed to scale with increased data demands or that have exceeded their budgets because costs have increased based on application or user volume. Meanwhile, the military’s need to make that data actionable at the tactical edge requires a local capability with a simplistic user experience so warfighters can create apps on the fly. Enter low- or no-code.
“Whether it's government or industry, when we look at the institutional knowledge required to deliver meaningful impact, the answers are in the junior officers,” Longoria said.
A data-centric platform stores their training and knowledge at a time when the Army needs to aggregate unstructured data across the enterprise to keep senior leaders apprised of changes in real time.
The ServiceNow platform’s code is secure, reusable and ready to integrate with artificial intelligence whenever the military component is ready.
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Low- and no-code are like LEGO blocks. Military components don’t have to build them; they’re ready to be used, said Keith Demma, principal field solution architect at CDW Government.
While traditional code will still be needed in certain cases, low and no code are essential to warfighters operating quickly at the tactical edge, especially as AI capabilities accelerate. Demma says.
ServiceNow’s Platform Doesn’t Need Army Data for AI Training
The Army isn’t going to provide vendors with several petabytes of data each to train their large language models, but ServiceNow’s intelligent platform, which requires a single license, boasts structured workflows for generating Controlled Unclassified Information within instances.
“Now we have two avenues of approach, from an agentic and generative standpoint,” Longoria says.
The more the Army uses the platform, the more data there is in the repository, allowing components to move faster.
All that remains is for the Army to pick a domain — land, sea, air, space, cyberspace — to start with.
“We can move as fast as you will let us,” Longoria said.
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