"We're looking at options to divest existing infrastructure and capabilities to industries as a service," said Jeremy Hiers, project director for enterprise services at Army Program Executive Office – Enterprise Information Systems. "Bottom line, we're looking for [the unified capabilities] RFP in fiscal 2016."
Unified capabilities (UC) is an umbrella that includes enterprise services such as classified and unclassified voice-over-IP communications, improved video conferencing and enhanced messaging among several software-based options. It's part of an effort to move away from legacy, hardware-based systems, and closer in line with the Defense Department's Joint Information Environment – as well as the technologies soldiers are used to using in their daily lives.
"This is quickly becoming a huge focal point for the Army because we're under incredible pressure under declining budgets. But we need to get that target environment defined and that target environment is changing," Hiers said.
The Army's push toward UC is happening in coordination with efforts at the Air Force and the Defense Information Systems Agency, and the components are working together to figure out the best way to make enterprise services available that can be widely used and not hamstrung by unique requirements.
"We're moving in concert with DISA. We did the industry day last year and that was a joint DISA-Air Force-Army effort," Hiers said. "UC-as-a-service is a big thing and we've all got our unique organizational requirements, so we're working together to figure out where those swim lanes are. We're all looking at it from a difference lens so it can come together as an enterprise set of solutions."
A UC request for information went out in February of last year, and subsequently the effort has faced some delays as the Army negotiates the best ways to incorporate commercial cloud services. That's gaining traction now as DoD officials have given components more authority in commercial cloud-purchasing, including a new security requirements guide, and as the Pentagon tests out commercial cloud services for higher security levels.
