NETCOM-the army's technology command: NETCOM Soldiers, civilians and contractors are found virtually everywhere around the globe to ensure that the Army's portion of the Global Information Grid is operational and secure

CHIPS, Fall, 2004 by Gordon Van Vleet

"In short, our Army customer will not have to worry about how a capability is provided. All the customer will do is request the type of service needed and NETCOM will figure out the best way to provide the needed service. We will negotiate service-level agreements that will ultimately lead to monetary savings and significant improvements in the way the Army's network users communicate," said Hylton.

ESTA's move toward a complete service-focused approach has resulted in enterprise level agreements on certain Microsoft software products. These agreements provide the Army with access to required state-of-the-art Microsoft desktop, application and server software and six years of software upgrades.

"We are buying in bulk and standardizing the software at the same time, " said Hylton.

In the wireless environment, ESTA is working closely with the Information Technology E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4), to develop blanket purchase agreements, which will provide an enterprise solution to wireless technology.

In its focus on the Army Knowledge Management mission strategic goals, NETCOM works to scale AKO as the enterprise portal to provide universal, secure access for the entire Army. In conjunction, ESTA is working to link with the Army Transformation Campaign Plan to incorporate technology and leverage streamlined knowledge processes into the Army at a cultural level.

"NETCOM is taking the lead as the global information provider. We are consolidating servers, strengthening and centralizing Army entry points into the Global Information Grid, and establishing centralized processing centers," said Hylton. "We ensure reliable, sustainable and survivable capabilities in support of Army and joint information technology requirements."

The goal is to transform the Army's information systems infrastructure through enterprise management.

"One Army portal, one Army-wide security policy and posture, and one comprehensive and universal Army communications directory is what we envision," said Hylton.

All qualified users would have single sign-on capability and have the capability to log on to the portal from any computer, anywhere, anytime, using their names and passwords. Once in the Army Knowledge Online system, users can push or pull all the information they need.

Explaining that the Army portal could be compared to Internet services like AOL, Goggle and Yahoo, the general said it was much more useful than those services.

"It is a controlled environment that is password protected for authorized users. Our young Soldiers pick up on its uses rather quickly because most of them were raised with the Internet in their homes."

"The uses for AKO are endless," said Hylton. "AKO is constantly evolving. It provides authentication for more than 100 applications, and through the use of a common user ID and password, it is faster and easier for users to traverse the portal from application to application."

Under the supervision of the chief technology officer, AKO provides services for all users, such as immunization status, TDY information, pay and promotion information, HIV/DNA status, and alerts to Soldiers who have a college loan repayment deadline looming.