The Daily Scoop Podcast

Episode Title: The CIA looks to commercial technologies to fuel innovation
Release Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Billy Mitchell (FedScoop)
Featured Guest: Ryan Klotz, Deputy CIO for IT Enterprise, CIA
Special Segment: Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer, HPE Networking, with Wyatt Cash (SNG Host)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Scoop Podcast dives into the CIA’s innovative approach to leveraging commercial technologies, moving beyond traditional government technology procurement methods to embrace commercial solutions—especially in the rapidly evolving domains of cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). Host Billy Mitchell talks with Ryan Klotz, the CIA’s Deputy CIO for IT Enterprise, about the agency’s “commercial first” strategy, the unique challenges of adopting industry technologies within the intelligence community (IC), and how government-industry partnerships are being reshaped for lasting mission value. A second segment spotlights HPE’s Bob Friday on public sector network modernization and AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Tech News Update (00:00–04:45)

• Citizen Satisfaction with Federal Tech:
  • Public satisfaction with federal services reached a 19-year high pre-2025 government shutdown, largely credited to tech adoption like AI and virtual agents.
  • Improvements noted especially in call center experience (+5%), credited to callback systems and AI-driven enhancements.
• Cybersecurity Watchdog at NIH:
  • NIH was criticized for lapses in cybersecurity controls around the “All of Us” health database, including insufficient access restrictions and response to national security concerns regarding sensitive genomic data.

2. **CIA’s “Commercial First” Technology Strategy

with Ryan Klotz (Fed Talks Interview, 04:46–13:38)**

Approach to Commercial Technology in the Intelligence Community (04:48–06:20)

• The CIA's mission requires handling massive amounts of data quickly. In-house custom solutions are no longer practical; “cutting edge commercial technologies” are essential for speed, accessibility, and analytics.

• Notable Quote:

  “We view it as mission essential to be able to have at our fingertips and within reach ... commercial technologies. It is just critical to what we do every day.”
  — Ryan Klotz (05:17)

• Emphasizes that democratizing access to AI—enabling non-technical mission users to leverage AI for analytics—is the key to operational advantage.

• Notable Quote:

  “We are not going to have the ability to build our own [AI] model. So how do I integrate those rapidly ... [and] democratize access to AI so... general users can connect to their data, summarize, to create insight and analytics from that data.”
  — Ryan Klotz (06:26)

Barriers to Tech Adoption in the IC (07:19–08:20)

• Major Challenge: Acquisitions are less transparent and lifting technologies from unclassified to classified domains is complex.
• Recent Shift: Proactive focus on opening pathways for startups via “prototype to production,” rapid prototyping in unclassified environments, and then scaling to classified domains for full deployment.
• Notable Quote:

  “Our acquisition processes are not as transparent as they need to be. The lift of technology from the unclassified domain to the classified domain is not as easy as it should.”
  — Ryan Klotz (07:29)

The Role of Industry Partners (08:44–10:49)

• Importance of ongoing partnership beyond the point of sale: technology companies must supply cleared resources and engage in training, support, and tech optimization.
• If new technologies aren’t fully optimized, agencies risk inefficiency and may need to “rip and replace”—not viable in constrained budgets.
• Notable Quote:

  “We need our vendor partners to be great and engaged beyond the point of sale ... help us be successful ... be optimized to the greatest extent possible.”
  — Ryan Klotz (08:44)

• Recounts success in cloud initiatives as a model for future tech collaborations.

Mission Value & Future of Commercial Tech at the CIA (10:58–13:30)

• Contrary to expectations, CIA builds much of its tech stack atop commercial cloud foundations (e.g., C2S, C2E on classified networks).
• Shifted philosophy: No need for bespoke “rack and stack” solutions; instead, focus on mission data and analytics atop standardized, commercial infrastructure.
• Future mission value comes from:
  • Leveraging commercial no-code/low-code solutions
  • Democratizing AI and frontier/open-source models for analysts
  • Streamlining the path from commercial to classified environments
• Notable Quote:

  “Cloud is that foundation. We're continuing to reap benefits from that transformation and investment to move up the stack and rapidly deploy kind of best in class commercial capabilities to our mission.”
  — Ryan Klotz (13:12)

3. **Sponsored Segment: HPE on Federal Network Modernization & AI

Bob Friday with Wyatt Cash (14:09–22:31)**

Federal IT Challenges and Trends (14:42–15:56)

• Federal and commercial clients alike need to automate complex networking—cloud adoption is key, but federal agencies face additional security requirements like FIPS and FedRAMP.

Organizational Change for AI and Cloud (15:56–17:06)

• Successful AI implementation isn’t just about technology—it requires tight alignment between data science and customer support, plus deep involvement of domain experts for progress measurement.

Impact of HPE & Juniper Merger (17:06–18:09)

• The merged data science teams will accelerate the “self-driving network” vision, with AI-driven automation and integration leading the way.

App-Network Monitoring Convergence (18:22–19:50)

• Digital experiences (e.g., Zoom, Teams) are now as critical to government operations as network uptime; AI-enabled monitoring can pinpoint the cause of app/network issues.

Security and Post-Quantum Cryptography (19:50–21:13)

• Zero-trust and SASE models are evolving, but post-quantum cryptography is emergent: by 2035, all US federal networks must be post-quantum safe.
• Notable Quote:

  “How much is it going to cost to go to be post quantum safe? ... They don't have to worry about post quantum attacks.”
  — Bob Friday (20:37)

Recommendations for Public Sector AI Adoption (21:29–22:04)

• AI and cloud are inseparable—federal agencies must proactively work through FedRAMP requirements and start their cloud and AI journey now.

Episode Highlights & Memorable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------|-------| | 05:17 | Ryan Klotz | "We view it as mission essential to be able to have at our fingertips and within reach ... commercial technologies." | | 06:26 | Ryan Klotz | "We are not going to have the ability to build our own [AI] model. So how do I integrate those rapidly ... democratize access to AI ..." | | 07:29 | Ryan Klotz | "Our acquisition processes are not as transparent as they need to be. The lift of technology from the unclassified domain to the classified domain is not as easy as it should." | | 08:44 | Ryan Klotz | "We need our vendor partners to be great and engaged beyond the point of sale ... help us be successful." | | 13:12 | Ryan Klotz | "Cloud is that foundation. We're continuing to reap benefits from that transformation and investment to move up the stack and rapidly deploy kind of best in class commercial capabilities to our mission." | | 20:37 | Bob Friday | "How much is it going to cost to go to be post quantum safe? ... They don't have to worry about post quantum attacks." |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00–04:45] Top federal tech news: citizen satisfaction, NIH cybersecurity
• [04:46–13:38] CIA's commercial tech strategy—Billy Mitchell interviews Ryan Klotz
• [14:09–22:31] HPE’s Bob Friday on network modernization, AI, and security
• [13:30, 22:04] Memorable closing recommendations and reflections

Conclusion

This episode delivers a timely and detailed look into how the CIA and public sector at large are transforming their missions through the adoption of commercial technology—especially cloud and AI. It offers actionable insights for tech vendors, highlights the importance of deep industry partnerships, and underscores shifting federal priorities toward agility, optimization, and security in a constrained environment.