The Army is moving forward with plans to modernize its IT network and services, including through upcoming contracts.

The Army Program Executive Office – Enterprise Information Systems is in the process of rolling out enterprise-focused modernization efforts and IT services under LandWarNet 2025, a strategy for creating a holistic, Army-wide IT environment that stretches from home to the theater.

"We need a capable, reliable, trusted operating environment," Doug Wiltsie, Army PEO-EIS, said Feb. 4 at AFCEA Army IT Day in Vienna, Va. "Rolling in security with a network that has extremely high availability and reliability is critical for us to bring enterprise-level services to the formation, and put it anywhere the formation is located."

That includes capabilities such as desktop management, a single security architecture, wireless networks, cloud services, unified communications and a suite of virtual and as-a-service offerings – including Enterprise Service Management System as a Service (ESMSaaS).

ESMSaaS will deliver an easy to use, reliable, and secure Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) capability as a managed service, PEO-EIS officials said. Services will include global ticketing, network operations tools integration, a global self-service catalog, and comprehensive IT and systems management.

Army PEO-EIS officials also noted updates in key enterprise IT contracts.

The Army IT Enterprise Services (ITES)-Software contract award is scheduled for Feb. 11, offering software and maintenance renewals for software that have a Certificate of Networthiness but are not on a DoD enterprise software initiative agreement or Army enterprise license agreement, said Thomas Neff, project director for Army Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions.

The ITES-Hardware (ITES-3H) contract award is expected in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 after what Neff acknowledged was "a journey and not a destination" amid legal wrangling.

For Information Technology Enterprise Solutions-2 Services (ITES-2S), the current contract for numerous Army IT services and solutions, the Army has a requested a long-term extension on the ordering period for an additional 36 months through April 2018, Neff said. The extension is to avoid a gap as the follow-on ITES-3S draft RFP isn't expected until the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and Army officials expect a long source-selection process, he said.

ITES-3S will be a nine-year contract with a $14 billion ceiling, less than the previously estimated $20 billion.

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