CIA Director John Ratcliffe said on June 30 that the CIA completed nearly 400 technology acquisitions in the past six months under an acquisition framework introduced earlier this year to speed procurement and modernize how the agency works with industry.
The framework, announced in February, is part of a broader CIA effort to modernize how the agency acquires commercial technology, reduce procurement timelines, and strengthen partnerships with U.S. industry as the agency expands its use of advanced digital capabilities.
Speaking at the AWS Summit in Washington, D.C., Ratcliffe said the framework established a goal of completing most technology acquisitions within six months, replacing a years-long process.
“The whole process often took three years or even more. By that time the technology had become outdated,” Ratcliffe said. “Clearly, this model isn’t good enough. We have to do better, and we have.”
“We’ve stripped away all of the cumbersome red tape; delegated down to the lowest possible level to ensure that those who are closest to the issues are the ones who are making the decision,” he said.
Beyond acquisition reform, Ratcliffe highlighted broader organizational changes, including the creation of the Office of Corporate Partnerships, which he said gives private-sector companies a single point of access to the CIA.
“We recognize that when it comes to partnering with private industry, the CIA hasn’t always been the easiest agency to work with, because of both our security requirements and because we haven’t always coordinated our outreach to individual companies very well,” Ratcliffe said.
He said the new office is intended to provide “a more structured approach” to working with industry.
Ratcliffe also said the CIA reorganized its technology operations by transforming the Directorate of Digital Innovation into the Directorate of Mission Systems. He said the new directorate has a streamlined focus on core functions like cybersecurity, advanced data, and infrastructure services.
Ratcliffe also confirmed that the CIA has elevated the Center for Cyber Intelligence into a mission center. He described the center as a “sword” and the Directorate of Mission Systems as a “shield” for protecting U.S. digital infrastructure.
“As part of this transformation, we’re undertaking an aggressive data sprint to enhance the discovery and exploitation of all of our mission data,” Ratcliffe said. “We will drive data standardization across the entire agency, increase our ability to better integrate all of our holdings, and train our officers on how to use all of our new capabilities.”
Ratcliffe said the changes represent more than an organizational restructuring, calling them “the fundamental reshaping of the CIA’s entire approach to technology.”