Seven Business Practices

A U D A C I O U S E R A

T R A N S F O R M A T I V E B U S I N E S S P R A C T I C E S O F T H E A U D A C I O U S E R A

I N N O VAT I O N I S I N A R U S H . A N D W H I L E T E C H N O L O G Y C O N T I N U E S T O O P E N N E T W O R K S

A N D A C C E L E R AT E T H E WAY W E W O R K , C U LT U R E H A S S I M I L A R LY B E C O M E A C R I T I C A L

I N N O VAT I O N C O N D U I T. L A B O R I O U S , I N S U L A R M O D E L S O F VA L U E C R E AT I O N H AV E G I V E N WAY T O S N A P P I E R , C O L L A B O R AT I V E A P P R O A C H E S .

T HE R E S ULT ? B E T T E R S O L U T I O N S M O R E O F T E N .

Our research shows

organizations increasingly

see innovation as a business

imperative, and as a result,

they are taking the offensive

to realize the value of first

mover advantage. Broadly

speaking, this orientation is

motivated by five triggers:

+ Improved top-line growth (revenue)

+ Improved bottom-line growth (efficiency)

+ An engaged workforce (retention)

+ A culture of innovation (organizational transformation)

+ Access to diverse ideas and capabilities (growth environment)

Perhaps, for some, this is

not groundbreaking news.

Indeed, following the

industrial revolution, most

would concede that business

has traversed three distinct

‘eras’ of innovation. But

organizations with the most

mature innovation practices

are preparing to surge into a

fourth—the Audacious Era.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | I N T R O D U C T I O N 3

T HE R & D ER A

In the early years following

the Industrial Era, innovation

was more akin to invention.

Companies tinkered on

new products in isolation

and only revealed them to

the world when they were

complete. Think Bell and

the telephone, or Ford and

the automobile. This slower,

introspective approach relied

solely on organizations

to source all ideas and

technology in-house.

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ERA

In response, cash-strapped

entrepreneurs fearlessly

experimented with agile

development practices

and new business models.

The growing ubiquity of talent

and technology, coupled with

the willingness to release

proof-of-concepts into the

markets meant entrepreneurs

like Peter Thiel and Elon

Musk gained first mover

advantage by launching

products faster.

T HE COLL A BOR ATION ER A

Today, both big and small

organizations operate in a

networked global ecosystem.

The brightest ideas are

no longer shackled to the

brick and mortar of a single

institution. Technology

has extended the reach of

collaboration. The most

sophisticated organizations

forge alliances between

industry, non-profit, and

academic institutions to

source and package the

best ideas available.

T H E A U D A C I O U S E R A R & D E R A

1 0 0 %

7 5 %

5 0 %

2 5 %

E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L C O L L A B O R AT I O N A U D A C I O U S

I D E AT I O N DE V ELOPMEN T L AUNCH & REFINE R I S K

ERA COMPARISONS

With immersive collaboration lowering time

to market and raising the quality of products

and services, business must soon transform

again. In the near future, companies will no

longer wait for market conditions to change.

They will actively create the demand. This

transformation will require companies to

place one or more audacious bets.

At Booz Allen, we’re already innovating in

audacious ways. We have identified six growth

platforms in Cyber, Engineering, Systems

Delivery, our Innovation portfolio, as well as

our Commercial and International businesses.

These big bets will accelerate our core

business and have the potential to shake up

the status quo, invent new industries, and

improve market share and profit models.

It’s a bold new way of thinking. And it doesn’t

happen overnight. In fact, our research suggests

that transitioning out of the Collaboration

Era and into the Audacious Era requires

organizations to refine and perfect seven

business practices:

+ Network of Inputs: Openly source ideas with your partners

+ Disciplined Processes: Reduce time- to-market

+ Inorganic Growth: Crowdsource talent and capability gaps

+ Digital Enablers: Increase collisions between the ideas of dispersed people

+ Organizational Structure: Make big businesses more agile

+ Culture and Engagement: Encourage creativity and experimentation

+ Platform Innovation: Pursue new applications for existing infrastructure

Institutionalizing these practices, while

seizing the ambition to place big bets, will be

the hallmarks of successful Audacious Era

organizations. At Booz Allen, we’ve installed a

proven approach for some of these practices

and are polishing our vision for the others.

T H E A U D A C I O U S E R A

A U D A C I O U S E R A | I N T R O D U C T I O N 5

N E T W O R K O F I N P U T S

AS ORGANIZATIONS TR ANSITION INTO THE

AUDACIOUS ER A, UBIQUITOUS INTEGR ATED

INNOVATION WILL BECOME THE NORM.

BUSINESS ALLIANCES WILL FUSE TOGETHER

LIKE NEUR AL CONNECTIONS IN THE BR AIN.

INDUSTRIES WILL BECOME A SMARTER—

AND MORE NIMBLE—COLLECTIVE, AS THE

NET WORK OF INPUTS AMONG AND BET WEEN

ORGANIZATIONS IN INDUSTRY, NON-PROFITS,

AND ACADEMIA CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN,

INTERT WINE, AND BLEND TOGETHER.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | N E T W O R K O F I N P U T S 7

NETWORK OF INPUTS

Y O U R O R G A N I Z AT I O N

A C A D E M I A / S M E S

I N T E R N A L E M P L O Y E E S

I N C U B AT O R S / A C C E L E R AT O R S

C U S T O M E R S / C L I E N T S

P E E R O R G A N I Z AT I O N S

I N T E R N A L E X E C U T I V E S

Y O U R ORG A NIZ ATION

Academia/ SMEs

Internal Employees

Incubators/ Accelerators

Customers/ clients

Peer Organizations

Internal Executives

Once established, knowledge,

insights, and ideas stream

between connected

organizations. Whereas in

the past, the primary (and

sometimes exclusive) goal of

an external partnership was the

immediate execution of new

work, the future will look

very different. Alliances

will chiefly forge symbiotic,

reciprocal relationships

around idea generation.

While revenue will remain

critical to growth, it’s

not the only way to build

new value. Strengthening

brand equity, owning a

space that you monetize

later, and engaging, retaining,

and inspiring talent are

also valuable pursuits.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | N E T W O R K O F I N P U T S 9

JELLYFISH COLL ABOR ATION IS JUST THE WAY WE’LL DO BUSINESS

For example, we created Project Jellyfish,

our open source cloud broker platform,

through our client and industry partnerships.

A client challenge at a giant government

agency motivated the initial need for the

platform, which we co-created through

our partners at Red Hat and a startup

we encountered through Texas-based

accelerator, Capital Factory.

Early in our collaboration, we spotted the

adjacent potential of Red Hat’s ManageIQ

project, and began exploring ways to augment

and assemble it differently for our challenge.

As a broker solution, Project Jellyfish unifies

Red Hat’s solution with disparate cloud

resources, including Infrastructure as a

Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS),

and Software as a Service (SaaS). The result

is a rapid self-service marketplace, reusable

code, scalable infrastructure, and the ability

to accurately track and report cloud services

usage and costs.

The collaborative instincts between the

networks of the organizations involved

made the project possible. The refinement

or perfection of this practice is merely to

embrace those instincts.

MOVE TO WHERE THE ACTION IS

As Galileo once proved, we aren’t the center

of the universe. That’s why we’re gravitating

towards places with real momentum. We’re

using Innovation Hubs across the U.S. as

entry points to ideate and co-invest with

startups, investors, academia, and R&D

companies. Our physical orbit in these

communities provides reciprocal value in

co-investment opportunities, access to

new problems and clients, and recruitment,

training, and mentorship opportunities.

Collaborative partnerships are currently seen

as business accelerators. They supplement

an organization’s processes. In the Audacious

Era, a strong, well maintained network of

external inputs will be fundamental in daily

business operations. Truly open networks will

simply become how industry fails, adapts,

and learns faster.

D I S C I P L I N E D P R O C E S S E S

THE AGGRESSIVE TR ANSITION TO

PERVASIVE COLL ABOR ATION, ONE TR AIT

OF THE AUDACIOUS ER A, IS A WIN-WIN FOR

ORGANIZATIONS THAT SEE INNOVATION

AS NECESSARY, AND A PART OF EVERYDAY

ACTIVITIES. COLL ABOR ATION REDUCES

TIME-TO-MARKET WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY

IMPROVING THE QUALIT Y OF PRODUCTS AND

SERVICES AS INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAMS

SIMPLY CREATE BET TER SOLUTIONS.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | D I S C I P L I N E D P R O C E S S E S 11

INNOVATION BLUEPRINT

As the market adopts

this approach, however,

companies must take greater

risks to stay ahead of the

competition. One way they

can do that is by launching

products and services in

advance of market demand,

rather than relying solely on

lengthy, iterative processes

to test and perfect pre-launch.

The writing is on the walls.

At Booz Allen, we tallied these

risks and are accelerating

our core business through

six emerging growth platforms

(Commercial, Cyber, Engineering,

Innovation, International,

Systems Delivery.) We know

our clients have a growing

need for these capabilities,

so we’re actively building

products, services, and

solutions before they need

them, sometimes even before

the clients fully realize they

need them. It’s an approach

to innovation that requires a

disciplined process.

Lead ThroughCollaboration

Inspire Your People

Renew YourBrand Value

DiversifyYour Portfolio

DiversifyYour Portfolio

Focus YourAgenda

Solve Cross- Industry Challenges

Build Your Internal Ecosystem

SOLVE CROSS-INDUSTRYCHALLENGES

FOCUS OUR AGENDA

RENEW OUR BRAND VALUE

DON’T GO IT ALONE

INSPIRE OUR PEOPLE

LEAD THROUGH COLLABORATION

BUILD OURINTERNAL

ECOSYSTEM

DIVERSIFYOUR PORTFOLIO

Anyone across the organization can and

does respond. The BAHx is another example.

With this tool, Booz Allen’s developers store,

share, and reuse code and software. Both are

examples of tools that reduce the time to

develop and launch new products for clients.

When combined with the other cultural

elements from our Innovation Blueprint,

these tools add value to our employees, our

business, and our clients. They challenge our

employees to socialize their ideas and adopt

lean methodologies. They reduce ideation,

development, and launch time for new

products and services to reach the market.

And they source adjacent applications of

existing products and services for new clients.

Innovation requires speed, agility, and

risk-taking, but it shouldn’t be chaotic!

A U D A C I O U S E R A | D I S C I P L I N E D P R O C E S S E S 13

A BLUEPRINT FOR TRANSFORMATION

We developed our Innovation Blueprint in

2013 with this in mind. A series of connected

components and systems, we use the

Innovation Blueprint to source, supply,

and mature our own innovation practices.

Built off a cultural approach to innovation,

it uses repeatable processes and methods

to harness the power of our institution and

habitually collaborate with and participate

in the global innovation ecosystem.

While there is no ‘silver bullet’ to cultivate

a culture of engagement around innovation,

successful organizations consistently exhibit

agile progression, follow an established

process, and gain the commitment of

leadership. Industry research shows most

larger organizations will struggle to accelerate

a culture of innovation, which will leave

doors open for smaller firms to infiltrate

and steal market share.

Digital collaboration tools and platforms are

major components of our disciplined cultural

innovation process. Booz Allen’s Garage, for

instance, is a web-based tool where staff

post challenges about their toughest business

problems to generate collaborative solutions.

I N O R G A N I C G R O W T H

INORGANIC GROW TH WILL ALWAYS HELP

ORGANIZATIONS BUILD ORIGINAL VALUE.

ACQUIRING COMPANIES TO FILL SPECIFIC

CAPABILIT Y OR MARKE T G APS CA N

IMMEDIATELY INTRODUCE NE W BUSINESS

LINES; ACQUIRING SPECIALIZED TALENT CAN

TILT AN ORG ANIZ ATION’S CULTUR AL AND

COGNITIVE APPROACH TO PROBLEM SOLVING.

BUT IN THE AUDACIOUS ER A, ORGANIZATIONS

WILL INCREASINGLY LOOK TO CROWDSOURCE

TALENT OR CAPABILIT Y GAPS.

I N O R G A N I C G R O W T H

A U D A C I O U S E R A | I N O R G A N I C G R O W T H 15

TR ADITIONAL INORGANIC GROW TH

The balance between an

organization’s organic and

inorganic growth is typically

governed by its culture, as

well as its strategic goals,

approach, and what it wants

to be known for.

Our recent acquisition of

health analytics startup

Epidemico, for example,

prioritizes long-term growth.

Rapid integration can disrupt

innovation-based acquisitions,

causing acquired talent to

concern themselves with

administrative details—such

as changes to insurance

policies or relocation—rather

than continued innovation.

Our methodical approach

to innovation-focused

acquisitions centers on a

three-to five-year incubation

period. The goal is to gradually

integrate staff, strengthen

collaboration, and build value

for our clients’ missions

over time.

ENTREPRENEURIAL ERA & EARLY COLLABORATION ERA

MATURE COLLABORATION ERA & AUDACIOUS ERA

OrganicGrowth

InorganicGrowth

OrganicGrowth

Network of Inputs

InorganicGrowth

17

In the Audacious Era, sharing resources

with customers and partner organizations

will augment traditional inorganic growth

strategies. Reaching first to existing external

partnerships to satisfy intermittent capability

needs, organizations will essentially

crowdsource additional talent and resources

through their networks.

Think of it as cloud computing applied to

inorganic growth. Rather than store all your

capabilities in one central location, you spread

it across a network. It means you can access

talent from anywhere across the network, and

grow your business without acquiring additional

capabilities. It’s a bold approach that brings

reciprocal value across three dimensions:

+ Additional revenue streams through co-creation

+ Access to partners’ marketing and sales channels

+ Enhanced brand recognition in new markets and among new clients

Our Alliances and Ventures program is a

thriving example of this new inorganic growth

model in action. The reciprocal value between

our industry partners like Microsoft, Red Hat,

Amazon Web Services, and Intel, and our

relationships with accelerator partners like

1776 and Capital Factory, is access to one

another’s technology, expertise, and clients.

For Audacious Era organizations, strategic

ventures or acquisitions can grow your in-

house capabilities, but crowdsourcing and

alliances can accelerate your business growth

without accumulating additional assets.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | N E T W O R D O F I N P U T S

D I G I T A L E N A B L E R S

UNLIKE PEOPLE, IDEAS ARE NOT RESTRICTED

BY GEOGR APHY. TODAY ’S TECHNOLOGIES,

OR ‘DIGITAL ENABLERS,’ AT TR ACT AN

ORGANIZATION CLOSER TO ITS EMPLOYEES,

PARTNERS, AND CUSTOMERS WITHOUT THE

NEED TO BE PHYSICALLY NEXT TO EACH OTHER.

WITH THE RIGHT COMBINATION OF DIGITAL

ENABLERS—THE TOOLS AND PROCESSES TO

IMPROVE SPEED, COSTS, AND QUALIT Y OF

WORK—ORGANIZATIONS CAN SWIFTLY ADJUST

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN RESPONSE TO

FLUCTUATIONS IN MARKETS MILES AWAY.

THE Y MAKE BIG, BUREAUCR ATIC BUSINESSES

MORE NIMBLE AND MORE PRODUCTIVE AS THEY

FORGE INTIMATE PROXIMIT Y BETWEEN IDEAS.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | D I G I T A L E N A B L E R S 19

D I G I T A L T O O L S W I L L O N LY E V E R B E A S VA L U A B L E A S T H E I D E A S S H A R E D W I T H I N T H E M .

THE NEED FOR DIGITAL ENABLERS

Like many companies of our scale, we have

invested in an ecosystem of digital enablers

for just this reason. With approximately 22,500

minds dispersed across the country and

abroad, we needed a way to both syndicate

ideas and nurture the best ones into future

business opportunities.

Take our internal Innovation Ecosystem,

which features a host of digital tools and

collaborative virtual spaces for staff to engage

with one another’s ideas. Employees can

participate in trainings, explore toolkits and

best practices, and post ideas to digital

forums for feedback and development.

Digital enablers also extend the value of

interactions when people come together. At

company-wide ideation events and hackathons,

our attendees augment their conversations

and connections with one another through

exclusive mobile apps. Engagement apps

enable participants to plan their daily

itineraries, find events, share new thoughts,

and vote on ideas throughout the day.

The best digital enablers, however,

fuse internal and external collaboration.

OPEN SWIMMING IN FRIENDLY WATERS

This is the principle behind the National

Data Science Bowl (NDSB). Co-sponsored

by Booz Allen and Kaggle, a leading analytics

platform, the NDSB connected Booz Allen

data scientists to an external community

of more than 1,200 others to help marine

researchers analyze oceanic health. Together,

the NDSB produced more than 15,000

submissions and algorithms, facilitated by

a platform for the community to collaborate

and post progress.

Without the right blend of tech-savvy

personnel, however, organizations won’t be

able to make the most of their tools. That’s

why a thick network of inputs is crucial. Digital

enablers require a web of engaged, smart

users with different interests and agendas to

make associations between ideas to drive new

value and decrease time-to-market. Digital

tools will only ever be as valuable as the ideas

shared within them. The best digital enablers

evolve as the community shapes them for their

own purposes.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | D I G I T A L E N A B L E R S 21

O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E

THE FREEDOM FOR EMPLOYEES TO

EXPLORE AND PL AY WITH NEW IDEAS

HAS A NATUR AL TENSION WITH A BIG

ORGANIZATION’S INCLINATION TO

MANAGE RISK THROUGH PROCESS

STANDARDIZATION. TR ADITIONALLY,

L ARGE ORGANIZATIONS A R E BUILT F OR

E F F ICIE NC Y, NO T EXPERIMENTATION.

FORMAL STRUCTURES CAN STIFLE

CREATIVIT Y, BUT REDESIGNING

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES MAKE

BIG BUSINESSES MORE NIMBLE.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E 23

Innovation programs within big companies

slip some procedural bonds thanks, in part,

to their size. Small team structures enable

innovation programs to make strategic

decisions faster. The conventional wisdom

also states these ‘innovation teams’

should spend their time insulated from

the distractions of client and customer

obligations. At Booz Allen, we think differently.

THE STR ATEGIC INNOVATION GROUP

Our Strategic Innovation Group (SIG) is a small

organization within Booz Allen. It accounts for

less than 10% of our organization in terms of

headcount. While its configuration and intent

promotes experimentation around specific

initiatives, we haven’t isolated it from the

rest of the firm. In fact, we did the opposite.

The SIG exists to inject original thinking

directly into the markets and across our

entire employee base.

The SIG is an investment in a bundled set of

core and progressive initiatives that we believe

can solve our clients’ toughest challenges.

This approach allows us to focus resources

and deploy lean methodology for prototyping

and maturing transformative solutions.

The results have been extraordinary.

Through our collaboration with clients and

partners we have taught soldiers to think

like MacGyver by converting trash can

lids into antennas to re-establish broken

communications. We’ve prescribed data

science to our partners in the commercial

pharmaceutical industry to revolutionize the

production of life saving medications. And

we’ve augmented our traditional consulting

ethos with products like VAMPIRETM, our

ruggedized, handheld forensics device,

to move Booz Allen into new markets.

Unlike conventional innovation programs,

we intentionally made our innovation group

rotational. Around a quarter of SIG staff

shift in and out each year. In its first two

years, almost 1,000 people rotated in and

out of the SIG on ‘tours of duty.’ This cycle

allows SIG staff to focus on developing

new offerings and business, expand their

professional capabilities, and make them

even more valuable to the market upon their

return.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L S T R U C T U R E 25

U N L I K E C O N V E N T I O N A L I N N O VA T I O N P R O G R A M S ,

W E I N T E N T I O N A L LY M A D E O U R I N N O VA T I O N G R O U P

R O T A T I O N A L

C U L T U R E & E N G A G E M E N T

LIKE OPER ATIONAL MODELS, CULTURE ISN’T

CREATED BY CHANCE. IT ’S ENGINEERED. IT ’S

PR ACTICED. IT ’S DISCIPLINED. AND IT STARTS

WITH PEOPLE. THE TRUTH IS THAT WHILE

ORGANIZATIONS CREATE THE CONDITIONS

FOR CREATIVIT Y, PEOPLE DO THE ORIGINAL

THINKING. IT ’S THEIR IDEAS AND PASSIONS

THAT CHALLENGE PRECONCEPTIONS AND

PROPEL EXPLOR ATION INTO NEW INDUSTRIES.

IN THE AUDACIOUS ER A, COMPANIES WILL TAKE

CALCUL ATED STEPS TO ENCOUR AGE CREATIVIT Y

IN THEIR PEOPLE AND GROW NEW IDEAS.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | C U L T U R E & E N G A G E M E N T 27

As we know, big companies

are built for efficiency. Driving

strategy through culture,

however, can soften this

rigidity. Leadership must

encourage sensible risk taking

and set a strategic ‘true north’

as a guide for employees

to follow and aspire to. The

audacious investments in our

growth platforms establish

this vision while allowing us to

remain agile and responsive

to our clients’ needs, and our

people’s brightest ideas.

A series of cultural components and

systems to source, supply and mature our

firm’s innovation practices, to enable an

environment of sustainable growth

Incentives

Tools & Tech

nologyPeople

Pro

gram

s

In P

erso

n Ev

entsS

pace

s

POINTS OF COLLABORATION

I N C L U S I V E E N V I R O N M E N T T O C O N T R I B U T E A N D T H R I V E

DIVERSE POPULATION E F F E C T I V E F E E D B A C K L O O P RISK TOLERANCE T R U S T I N L E A D E R S H I P ALLOTED TIME TO INNOVATE H I G H Q U A L I T Y TA L E N T

• S P A C E S—Internal and external collaborative

environments to enable high-quality interaction,

exploration and problem solving

• E V E N T S—Internal and external activities to

spark creativity, mature solutions and propel

the best ideas forward

• P E O P L E P R O G R A M S—Hiring, development

and engagement approaches that result in

differentiated skillsets to deploy to the market

• T O O L S—A suite of crowdsourcing, open

source, and collaboration methods and

tools to generate ideas and solutions

• I N C E N T I V E S—Mechanisms to inspire,

reward and support the generation of

bold ideas, risk taking, and engagement

A CULTURE OF INNOVATION

ESTABLISH A TRUE NORTH

EVENTS, PROGRAMS, AND INCENTIVES TO INSPIRE YOUR PEOPLE

We believe that our people should work

on tough problems that excite them. Smart

people need the oxygen of a new challenge

to stay engaged, which is why our people

programs invite employees to develop

careers around meaningful opportunities,

persistent learning, and ‘tours of duty’

within different parts of our business. As

consultants, it strikes at our core to wrestle

with a new challenge. Once we’ve solved it

we want the next one, so we encourage our

employees to engage.

With incentives like our iTime initiative,

we’re recognizing and investing in the

self-directed time our employees spend

beyond their day jobs tinkering on ideas

that have original business value. And we

inspire them to think differently about these

problems with a calendar full of ideation

events to engage them in discussions about

disruptive technology, global challenges,

and groundbreaking thought leadership.

SPACES AND TOOLS THAT CONNECT THEM TO NEW IDEAS

It’s typical for employees to gain exposure

to multiple markets and clients during

their careers with Booz Allen. Their need

for an entangled network of inputs is as

much an internal mandate as an external one,

which is why we integrate our virtual tools

with in-person Functional Communities that

apply our problem solving across multiple

industries. In order to facilitate these cross-

capability discussions, we’re establishing

Innovation Labs across our regional offices

where staff can access new technology, and

work in an environment that challenges their

ways of thinking.

These physical spaces and digital tools

allow our management consultants to mingle

with our engineers, our scientists, and our

technologists. While we can’t always predict

the output of their interactions, it increases

the chances for attractive ideas to collide

in unexpected ways. It’s through these

communities and forums that our people can

let their ideas breathe with their colleagues,

and learn new techniques to solve old problems.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | C U L T U R E & E N G A G E M E N T 29

I N C L U S I V E E N V I R O N M E N T T O C O N T R I B U T E A N D T H R I V E

P L A T F O R M I N N O V A T I O N

AS ORGANIZATIONS MATURE THEIR

INNOVATION PR ACTICES, THE Y WILL ABOLISH

THE IDEA OF PROVIDING A SINGUL AR

VALUE TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. THE Y WILL

INSTEAD WIN NEW BUSINESS, ENTICE NEW

CUSTOMERS, AND CREATE NEW SOLUTIONS

BY PURSUING NEW APPLICATIONS FOR THEIR

EXISTING INFR ASTRUCTURE.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | P L A T F O R M I N N O V A T I O N 31

CREATE NEW PLATFORMS CREATE NEW ADJACENCIES

P L AT F O R MP L AT F O R M

ADJACENCIES

A COMPANY ’S INVESTMENTS CAN BOTH AUGMENT

EXISTING AND CREATE NEW PL ATFORMS THAT DISRUPT

MARKETS AND CREATE DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS AND

SERVICES THAT PREVIOUSLY DIDN’T EXIST.

ADJACENT PLATFORMS

Platform innovation occurs in two ways.

First, companies can build off adjacent

business opportunities. By extending previously

created infrastructure into new markets,

companies create transformative value.

Through our support of the a major

DoD client, for instance, we built a cloud

architecture that syncs threat intelligence

from multiple branches of the military and

delivers specific intelligence to an analyst

from a particular branch. It means when

an Air Force analyst needs information

for a certain mission, they have access

to what the entire military knows, not just

the intelligence gathered by the Air Force.

This platform technology has since spread

to adjacent markets. It was integral, for

instance, in standing up the core architecture

that allows a counter-warfare U.S. military

organization’s previously distinct systems

to communicate and exchange information.

NEW PLATFORMS

The alternative is crafting completely new

platforms. This route requires leaders to

identify unmet market needs. Our partners,

Amazon Web Services (AWS), created the

first enterprise Infrastructure-as-a-Service

platform, having identified the need for more

efficient data storage. They made large

capital investments in servers to support

the “Christmas rush” on their e-Commerce

platform, and repurposed the unused

computing resources as AWS.

These two trends in platform creation

confront our clients with numerous options

for implementing new services. There are

countless ways to expand the use of existing

technologies. Inside Booz Allen, we also seek

to continually improve the ways we use our

own internal platforms against this ever-

changing landscape.

Armed with this insight, we are developing

a cross-platform framework known as

Chorus. This platform will integrate a

common set of Cloud Computing, Analytics,

Predictive Intelligence and Digital Ecosystem

platforms to unshackle a rapid go-to-market

capability for investments, business

growth opportunities, and most importantly,

our client delivery efforts.

A U D A C I O U S E R A | P L A T F O R M I N N O V A T I O N 33

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, INC. © 2015

Booz Allen Hamilton has been at the forefront of strategy and technology for more than 100 years. Today, the firm provides management and technology consulting and engineering services to governments in the civil, defense, and intelligence markets, global corporations, and not-for-profit organizations.

Booz Allen partners with private and public sector clients to solve their most difficult challenges. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the firm employs more than 22,500 people globally, and had revenue of $5.27 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2015. To learn more, visit www.boozallen.com. (NYSE: BAH)

Excerpts included reflect findings from joint research project between Booz Allen Hamilton Strategic Innovation Group and Kaiser Associates, Inc.

BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON, INC. © 2015

A U D A C I O U S E R A