Navy combat, C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance], and machinery control systems are characterized by a wide range of programs, all of which have their own system architecture, configuration, and composition, mostly program-specific and irrespective of adjacent systems. This disconnected environment creates roadblocks to cost-effective technology refresh and generates institutional inefficiencies, resulting in increased program expense in the long term and less effective warfighting capabilities overall. However, open computing strategies – such as those initiated by social media giants Facebook and LinkedIn – as well as manufacturing practices common in the auto and freight transport industry can be leveraged by the Navy embedded computing industry to solve the interoperability and long-term cost challenges created by these disparate systems.