The secret is out: Lamont Copeland would love to own and draw for his own comic book studio.
“There’s just something that’s special and magical to be able to take someone’s imagination and ideas and thoughts and then put it onto a piece of paper and just pull out a new world or environment,” says Copeland, director of Federal Solutions Architecture for Verizon. “You can get yourself into it and forget about all your troubles.”
While Copeland isn’t planning to quit his day job any time soon, it bears remarkable similarities to that comic book dream that kindled in his childhood while he immersed himself in the worlds of Spider-Man, X-Men and other Marvel superheroes.
With the nation aspiring to be a digital powerhouse, federal leaders seek collaborative industry partners to modernize technology, shield against cyber threats, and harness emerging tech. Their need: a sort of comic book artist willing to invest in understanding the world they’re trying to create — and then draw it out page by page until it rises to life.
Working closely with the departments of Defense and civilian agencies, among others, Copeland aims to do just that: help federal agencies solve pressing challenges, improve cost effectiveness and elevate user experiences. And it all starts with developing a deep knowledge of the mission.
The myth of Verizon as a peddler of cellular devices sometimes gets in the way of understanding that the company is so much more, he adds.
“We’re a services integrator,” Copeland says. “We’re more than just cellphones and tablets. We do sell those, but we also sell enterprise services, critical infrastructures and solutions, which we deliver for the DoD and all of the federal government.”
Most importantly, Verizon acts as a trusted advisor on a variety of issues to help government entities meet their missions and alleviate their pain points. That’s a fundamental shift from how contract negotiations used to go.
“The way we used to procure services in the past was, ‘Here’s [are] my requirement[s], give me your box, tell me the cost and then we’ll figure out if you fit into that thing,’” Copeland recalls. “Now, we’re really wanting to have outcome-based, solution-based discussion[s] with them and be able to help drive toward a mission.”
For Copeland, that means even as the tech community has its eyes on the latest in 5G, quantum computing, artificial intelligence and more, he keeps his focus squarely on how to use these technologies to help solve the government’s enterprise challenges.
When Copeland realized his comic artist dream might remain just that, he turned his attention to other areas. At one time, the pendulum swung back and forth between pursuing a career as a scientist or as an engineer. He took things apart, experimented with his chemistry set.
“I had a nice little explosion in my garage that my mother wasn’t too thrilled about, but I also loved taking things apart,” he says. “My goal was to become a programmer and also a chip designer. I still do programming a lot, and I still love robotics and tinkering with drones and things of that nature.”
Later, in the process of studying semiconductors at Penn State University, Copeland became interested in telecommunications. After adding a few more classes to fulfill requirements, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and went on to also earn an MBA at George Washington University, marrying his interest in technology and business.
Part of his job today, particularly in serving the warfighter, is building capacity for moving data across a range of environments. Whether the data is inside of a defense data center, DOD office building, a barracks or residing with a commercial public cloud provider, Verizon is tasked with providing connectivity in a secure manner. The aim is to offer users a dependable communication service for their missions.
It also involves personal interactions with decision-makers.
“It’s getting out there and getting feet on the street and having those conversations with the civilian agency leaders, the leaders in the DOD in each one of the military branches to understand their needs,” he says.
Verizon has partnered with VA to offer veterans advanced clinical capabilities. The company also works to provide services in not only hospitals but also remote environments.
That also goes to supporting warfighters in a variety of situations — data protection as devices move across private and public networks during training, combat or other situations and building capacity for those seamless connections and access to vital data — inside and outside of the continental U.S.
Verizon is also constructing a private 5G network inside an aircraft maintenance hangar on Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam (JBPHH). The design will allow military leaders to leverage the high-speed, high-bandwidth and low-latency of Verizon 5G, providing on-base personnel with the ability to explore how enhanced wireless coverage can help increase operational efficiencies.
And there’s also working to derive insights from training data, information sharing and other communications.
“A lot of what we’re trying to do is push the envelope with the technology we have based on the use cases that the government has today,” Copeland says.
5G is still on the cusp of becoming truly transformational. Beyond downloading videos quickly, it can power breakthroughs, for example in autonomous vehicles on public and military roads. Many experts say they believe 5G lays the foundation for innovative and adaptable public services.
But unlocking the power of 5G also means understanding how to ensure the full range of devices, applications and infrastructure are optimized. And that’s where the idea of being a trusted partner comes in.
“We have a goal to continue to provide what would be the next generation of technologies and the communication path to get there,” Copeland says. “There are going to be more advances in how robotics work and how we do supply chain and get that real-time information.”
If a problem arises, Copeland and his team continue working as trusted partners, proactively finding and delivering on possible concerns even before they fully arise. Part of that relationship means having a deep understanding of the mandates, regulations, policies and funding limitations government enterprises are up against.
Security is the top priority for all supporting the federal government and elsewhere, Copeland adds, and that means baking in zero trust architecture and unlocking actionable insights from Verizon’s view of their global network.
Like all companies, Verizon continues to keep its finger on the pulse of AI innovations and explores how to use AI internally, such as in help desks, call centers and data analysis to support customers.
But wherever the next round of innovations leads, enterprises everywhere will still be looking for one key partner — a tinkerer and artist, someone who can draw up solutions where technology unlocks new possibilities in an ever-changing world.
“What amazes me with us as a nation is where we can go once you unleash the business processes around something,” Copeland says. “We’re at the precipice of great things and learning how we can continue to foster those.”
More than a cell phone vendor.
Explosions, semiconductors and a new goal emerges.
Missions, mandates, oh my!
Use cases abound across defense.
Working as a change agent.
Some heroes wear capes, others make connections.
Lamont Copeland
Director, Federal Solutions Architecture
Verizon
"A lot of what we’re trying to do is push the envelope with the technology we have based on the use cases that the government has today."
Lamont Copeland | Director, Federal Solutions Architecture, Verizon
"What amazes me with us as a nation is where we can go once you unleash the business processes around something. We’re at the precipice of great things and learning how we can continue to foster those."
Lamont Copeland | Director, Federal Solutions Architecture, Verizon
"We have a goal to continue to provide what would be the next generation of technologies and the communication path to get there. There are going to be more advances in how robotics work and how we do supply chain and get that real-time information."
Lamont Copeland | Director, Federal Solutions Architecture, Verizon
From comic book enthusiast to tech maestro
Lamont Copeland's journey to supporting federal missions
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