DISA pushes to slash duplication with expansion of JELA program

Marines with Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command pose for photos in cyber operations room at Lasswell Hall aboard Fort Meade, Maryland, Feb. 5, 2020. (Photo illustration source: DVIDS)

By Carley Welch • Aug 18, 2025

Amid the Trump administration’s heightened focus on software modernization, the Defense Information Systems Agency is looking to expand one of its high profile software contracting vehicles called the Joint Enterprise License Agreement (JELA) program — an initiative that consolidates software contracts across the department’s services and enterprises into one agreement.

“The thought was let’s bring our buying power together and consolidate the agreements, so therefore we get better pricing for the taxpayers, a better pricing for our budget,” David White, JELA’s program manager, told Breaking Defense in a recent interview.

The JELA initiative, which DISA established roughly 10 years ago, attempts to eliminate duplicate IT agreements across services and makes it so the Pentagon only has to go through arrangements for a contract once, as well as only pay for the desired capabilities once, White said. For example, if the Air Force and Army both have a contract from a vendor that provides the same type of capabilities, the JELA program will lump these contracts together to create one larger agreement.