Overview
USDA’s National Information Technology Center needed to scale infrastructure provisioning and service delivery without increasing operational overhead. The existing process was manual, slow, and required heavy IT involvement for every request.
The challenge
Infrastructure provisioning at USDA had become a bottleneck — and the process looked the same for every single request. A developer needed a new VM. They emailed the IT team. The IT team logged it in a spreadsheet and queued it behind every other open ticket. A technician manually configured the server, checked settings in vSphere, updated Active Directory, coordinated with the cloud team, and validated the build against a checklist. If anything was wrong, it went back in the queue. Three weeks later, the developer had their VM.
- Manual provisioning processes. Every infrastructure request — servers, VMs, storage — required manual setup, configuration, and validation by IT staff
- 3-week turnaround times. A single provisioning request took an average of three weeks from submission to delivery, creating a backlog that slowed every technology initiative
- Heavy reliance on professional services. Routine provisioning tasks required specialized staff or contractors, driving up costs and creating capacity constraints
- Disconnected systems. Provisioning required coordination across vSphere, Active Directory, cloud platforms, and internal tracking systems — each handled separately with no shared workflow layer
- Lack of scalability. As demand for infrastructure grew, the only option was to add more people to the process. There was no path to scaling without headcount
The solution
Kinetic implemented a self-service automation platform that transformed how USDA delivers infrastructure:
- Automated VM provisioning. End-to-end provisioning — from request through configuration and delivery — runs automatically based on predefined templates and policies
- Integrated with vSphere, Active Directory, and cloud platforms. Kinetic connects to USDA’s existing infrastructure tools via APIs, orchestrating actions across all of them from a single workflow
- Standardized workflows. Every provisioning request follows a defined, repeatable process with built-in validation and approval steps
- API-driven orchestration. The platform uses API integrations to trigger, monitor, and complete provisioning tasks across systems without manual intervention
- Self-service catalog. Users request infrastructure through a unified portal. The system handles the rest — no IT ticket, no email, no phone call required
Results
- Provisioning reduced from 3 weeks to 30 minutes. The same infrastructure that used to take 15 business days now deploys in under an hour
- 75%+ of services automated. The majority of business and service functions now run through automated workflows — a transformation from a nearly fully manual operation
- Rapid deployment in 4 days. Initial implementation took 4 days, compared to the 12+ months estimated for alternative platforms. USDA saw value immediately
- Significant reduction in manual effort. IT staff no longer spend time on routine provisioning. Their capacity is redirected to higher-value engineering work
Because Kinetic layers on top of existing infrastructure without requiring migration, USDA deployed in 4 days — compared to the 12+ months estimated for platforms that would have required system replacement.
Why Kinetic
USDA’s infrastructure stack — vSphere, Active Directory, cloud platforms — was not going anywhere. It didn’t need to. These systems were working. What was broken was the coordination layer on top of them: the manual routing, the siloed handoffs, the absence of any automated workflow connecting them. A rip-and-replace approach would have meant migrating working infrastructure, absorbing years of transition risk, and disrupting operations that federal programs depend on. What USDA needed was a layer that could orchestrate work across the systems it already owned — without touching what was already functioning. That is exactly what Kinetic provided.
Before and after
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Provisioning time | 3 weeks | 30 minutes |
| Process | Manual setup and configuration | Automated self-service |
| Wait times | Days to weeks | Immediate fulfillment |
| IT involvement | Required for every request | Self-service, automated delivery |
| Service automation | Mostly manual | 75%+ automated |
| Implementation timeline | N/A | 4-day deployment |
“We reduced server provisioning from three weeks to 30 minutes and now automate over 75% of our business and service functions. Our business could not run without the Kinetic platform.”
Strategic impact
- Enabled scalable infrastructure delivery
- Reduced dependency on IT teams for routine requests
- Improved speed and responsiveness across the organization
- Created foundation for full service automation