TechNet Augusta 2026

Michael Garrison
DISA Cloud Environment Private Program Manager, Hosting and Compute Directorate (J9)
Defense Information Systems Agency


Michael Garrison is an accomplished technology leader with over 20 years of experience delivering enterprise information technology, cloud engineering, automation, and infrastructure solutions for the Department of War. Throughout his distinguished career, he’s built a reputation for driving large scale digital transformations, mentoring elite technical teams, and executing strategic initiatives that significantly improve operational efficiency, cybersecurity, and national defense capabilities. Known for his collaborative leadership style and unwavering dedication to mission success, he’s dedicated his career to bridging the gap between complex, cutting-edge technology and frontline warfighter readiness. Over his two decades of dedicated DOW IT stewardship, Garrison has spearheaded numerous multi-million-dollar infrastructure and automation initiatives, consistently delivering modernization projects ahead of schedule and within complex federal budgets. As a leader who believes in cultivating talent, he’s built and mentored high-performing, cross-functional technical teams, fostering an organizational culture rooted in continuous learning, agile execution, and an absolute focus on cybersecurity. His efforts have championed the successful evolution of aging legacy systems into flexible, secure, and modern hybrid cloud architectures, directly enhancing DOW’s operational agility and aligning complex technical programs with high-level agency directives. Currently, Garrison serves as the Program Manager for the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Cloud Environment Private in DISA’s Hosting and Compute Directorate (J9), where he’s the driving force behind a landmark transition in defense cloud infrastructure. In this role, he actively guides the strategic vision to simplify and unify DISA’s disparate IT footprint across both public and private clouds, advancing the HaC’s strategic plan to establish DISA as the preferred hybrid cloud provider. Under his leadership, Garrison and his team are orchestrating two critical initiatives: accelerating the migration of legacy x86 workloads into the state-of-the-art DCE P environment and designing collaborative onboarding frameworks for strategic partners to deliver as-a-service flexibility and consumption-based cloud dynamics directly to defense data centers. Through this comprehensive technical transition, Garrison ensures the warfighter is supported by a secure, highly responsive environment ready to meet the tactical challenges of tomorrow.

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