PEO Perspective December 2019

RECENT EVENTS
Last month, Wayne Sok, the product lead for Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS), represented PEO EIS at the AFCEA NOVA Small Business IT Day. Wayne and the CHESS team shared information about the upcoming ADMC-3 contract vehicle and other procurement opportunities throughout the PEO EIS portfolio, and also participated in a speed networking event with industry. Thank you to the AFCEA team for continuing to provide these vital opportunities for us to come together with industry and our cross-service counterparts to collaborate, innovate and partner to deliver critical solutions to warfighters.

Also in November, Assistant PEO Col. Ed Barker spoke at the ISR & C2 Battle Management Conference about the Army's approach to data quality, specifically via the Army Vantage (formerly known as Army Leader Dashboard) solution. To make informed decisions about resource allocation and readiness, senior leaders need access to reliable, trusted and timely data. Army Vantage organizes and integrates data for near-real time visibility to make it accessible and understandable to Army leaders.

It was a pleasure to host Defense Acquisition University’s Dr. D. Mark Husband, Center Director for Executive Programs, for a lunch and learn session here at headquarters PEO EIS on the topic of Framing Assumptions – a critical topic for all acquisition leaders as they begin implementation of their programs.

Lee James III, project director for Enterprise Services, was the keynote speaker for the AFCEA Belvoir November luncheon, where he discussed his organization’s priorities, challenges, expectations and procurement opportunities. Lee’s slides can be found on the PEO EIS website.

On December 11, the Installation Information Infrastructure Modernization Program (I3MP) will host an Industry Day at the Fort Belvoir Community Center, where the team will share their three-year procurement forecast with industry. I3MP directors and Army Contracting Command – Rock Island (ACC-RI) will speak in the morning, with one-on-one industry meetings in the afternoon.

WORKFORCE SPOTLIGHT
Finally, I wanted to spotlight our teammate Col. Kyle Jette, Army G-8 lead data scientist on loan to the PEO EIS Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG). DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO) Mr. Dana Deasy recently honored Kyle with an award for excellent performance in cyber and information technology. Col. Jette’s work with Army Vantage is changing the Army's approach to data. Leaders like Kyle are inspiring, reminding us that there are many dedicated individuals and teams selflessly focused on the Army mission in support of our great nation. You can read Kyle’s #PEOEISTeammateTuesday interview on our Facebook page.

2019 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The end of the calendar year is always a good time to take stock of our accomplishments and look to the future. Here is a quick round up of some of what the PEO EIS team has been up to this year:

The Product Manager Acquisition Management Support Solutions (PdM, AMS2) will deactivate at the end of this year, with a plan to transfer six of the AcqBusiness applications within the portfolio.

The Army Contract Writing System (ACWS) began development efforts in June of this year. ACWS is a next generation, single enterprise-wide, contract writing and management software system that will provide full-spectrum contract management from requirements identification to close out. ACWS supports the Army’s top priority of readiness by providing the data commanders need at all levels to make informed decisions. Additionally, ACWS decreases the number of complex interfaces while fostering audit readiness.

This year, the Army Training Information System (ATIS) marked one million users registered in Army e-Learning, and more than 600,000 courses completed by Soldiers and Civilians.

Throughout the year, Automated Movements and Identification Solutions (AMIS) maintained a 99 percent readiness rate for its Radio Frequency In-Transit Visibility, the world's largest active RFID network. By the end of this year, AMIS will have expanded its RFID visibility by adding another 20,000 cellular tracking devices to the network.

Global Combat Support System – Army (GCSS-Army)’s effort to provide total government sustainment of its software is on schedule for completion in March 2020 and is anticipated to reduce life cycle sustainment costs and increase efficiencies through shared resources.

The Product Lead Enterprise Content Collaboration and Messaging (PL EC2M) successfully provisioned over 145,000 users on the Army’s Unified Capabilities Software as a Service solution – one of the Army’s first initiatives to use the commercial cloud.

Enterprise Computing fielded the first Enterprise Managed Service (Army Enterprise Service Desk (AESD)) to the Functional Command, Army Cyber (ARCYBER), in July.

The Product Manager Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems (WESS) helped to commission the WGS-10 satellite constellation to full operational capability in its mission orbit, and teamed with the Air Force to define requirements and design for the next block of constellations.

I3MP completed the first round of Network Modernization (NETMOD) high-speed switch upgrades at all CONUS installations, while Power Projection Enablers (P2E) is nearing completion on the Yongsan relocation program, a project that is helping to consolidate the U.S. forces footprint in Camp Humphries – the largest Army OCONUS installation. Awarded enterprise contracts to reduce costs by $590 million over the life cycle.

Project Manager Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) spearheaded the use of the Cyber Operations Broad Responsive Agreement (COBRA) Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement, allowing for rapid acquisition, while Applied Cyber Technologies/Forge successfully implemented the OTA to deliver the Deployable Defensive Cyber Operations System (DDS) Modular. They also held their first Industry Day and Forge Storm event this year, which led to three prototype solution awards.

The Acquisition Strategy for the Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army Inc. II outlines a plan that reduces risk, and divides capabilities into core and non-core categories, while focusing on deployment of the core capability.

In April, we awarded an OTA to execute a prototype project for the development of the Accessions Information Environment (AIE), which will support the Army Accessions Enterprise in its mission of meeting and maintaining the Army's end-strength goals. The award supports a commercial off-the-shelf product-based solution hosted on the commercial cloud.

This is just a sampling of our accomplishments this year, demonstrating that PEO EIS is the Army’s technical leader for business information systems and the network, focused on driving Army transformation through innovation. Thank you to our stakeholders, industry partners and customers for your dedication and support in getting the right systems and solutions deployed to Soldiers so that they are ready to fight tonight.

I wish you a happy holiday season with your loved ones, and a safe and prosperous new year in 2020.

Connecting the Army. Working for Soldiers.

Chérie A. Smith

Program Executive Officer Enterprise Information Systems