AI is changing the modernization playbook for aging mission systems. Instead of treating legacy infrastructure as something that must be fully replaced before it can deliver new value, agencies can use AI agents, dynamic semantic layers, and secure integration patterns to extend, refactor, and progressively modernize systems of record. This fireside chat will explore how AI can reduce technical debt, accelerate migration to cloud-native environments, and shift organizations away from brittle static ontologies toward more adaptive, mission-aware models of data and workflow. We will also discuss why cloud remains essential for accessing frontier models and scalable AI infrastructure, while on-prem compute, smaller models, and agentic workflows are becoming increasingly relevant as performance improves and compute costs rise. As AI lowers the barrier to creating highly tailored software, the differentiator will be less about buying narrowly verticalized applications and more about building secure, governed, auditable AI capabilities that can safely read from, write to, and orchestrate across legacy systems in mission-critical national security environments
Preferred Format: Fireside or Panel