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Work Continues on Next Generation Enterprise NetworkI receive several requests each month for interviews with magazines that report on government policy, management and trends. Apopular question among reporters pertains to what projects I am working on, my top five projects, or some variation of that. Lately, myresponse has been to tell them about our critical work on cyber security, the consolidation of information technology services due tojoint basing in Guam, consolidating our enterprise architecture work, and the important work we’re doing to bring the Next GenerationEnterprise Network (NGEN) to fruition.In pondering what to write for this column, I recalled the reporters’ questions and my responses, and thought that an update on one ofour most important projects, NGEN, would be in order, since it will affect the majority of our people. When the Navy Marine Corps Intranet(NMCI) contract expires on Sept. 30, 2010, NGEN, as the follow-on to NMCI, will be in place to continue to supply a secure IT infrastructurefor naval networking in the continental United States, ashore and at some overseas locations. The NMCI to NGEN transition will affect allof our approximately 700,000 users who are currently on NMCI.While NGEN will continue the work of NMCI, there will be some changes as well. The services provided by NMCI are almost completelyoutsourced and do not afford the Department the desired level of control over network design and operations. Because our IT networksand information are recognized as absolutely critical to our mission, the Department has determined that we must exert greater oversightand direct control of the design and operations of NGEN.Critical management control and oversight roles will not be outsourced. That being said, we expect the role of industry in the futureof supporting Naval networks to be broad and necessary. Support roles related to basic network services will continue to be provided byindustry under the direction of the government. The shift in roles and functions identified for NGEN will require that military and civilianbillets be included in the NGEN operating structure and that these people will possess the skills to successfully perform their functions. Iforesee the composition of the NGEN workforce changing over time depending on workforce constraints, policy, technology innovations,and acquisition and operational strategies.The Department revealed information about the roles and functions for NGEN during a DON-sponsored “industry day” held in Washington,D.C., on Sept. 8. About 500 industry and government representatives from 207 large and small companies attended the event. TheDON shared its vision for the Naval Networking Environment 2016 … a bit about how we intend to achieve that and notional plans forpotentially separating the work related to NGEN into segmented pieces, e.g., enterprise services, end user computing devices, desktopsand peripheral support, local area networks, application servers, and more.The intent of the segmented approach to NGEN is to increase competition and reduce costs throughout the program’s life cycle. Wealso shared the Department’s plans for an increased role and expanded control over the network.The acquisition and contracting strategies have not been set, but it is likely that many companies could end up providing portions ofthe services associated with NGEN. We are also in the middle of conducting the Analysis of Alternatives as directed by the Office of theSecretary of Defense — examining the risk/reward related to cost, technology, schedule and performance and courses of action associatedwith how we deliver network services to the NGEN population.With the notional segmented approach to NGEN, small businesses will be able to compete, as well as larger companies. This is actuallynot so different from the way NMCI works now; although EDS is the integrator, it does subcontract a significant portion of its work tosmaller companies.Planning efforts for NGEN have proceeded in five primary areas: requirements definition (complete), Network Operations Concept ofOperations (complete), acquisition planning, a security concept of operations, and transition planning. We have gathered NMCI lessonslearned and will focus on user identified needs, improved reliability and security, and network performance.This is an exciting time that affords opportunities to improve upon an already successful network infrastructure. In returning operationalcontrol of the infrastructure to the Department, we will institute common DON governance across all areas of the network andimprove flexibility and agility to support changes in DON business rules and operational warfighting missions.Robert J. Carey