By Bob Gourley
Editor’s note: The release below from the Defense Information Systems Agency points to progress enabling several key DoD missions with mobility solutions. I’m on the advisory board of Fixmo, a firm enabling this progress-bg
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. – The new year will bring new mobile capabilities to as many as 100,000 DOD users.
DOD will begin deploying version 1.0 of the unclassified mobility capability Jan. 31 and will build out capacity to support up to 100,000 users by the end of the fiscal year.
In the 11 months since the announcement of the DOD Mobility Implementation Plan, DISA as the lead agency for the DoD Mobility Capability has made substantial progress toward delivering unclassified mobile capability to the Department of Defense.
The program currently supports 1,800 unclassified mobile devices including iPad 3 and 4, iPhone 4S and 5, Samsung 10.1 tablets and Samsung 3S, and Motorola RAZR devices with participation from the combatant commands, services, and agencies throughout DOD. The program also supports 80,000 BlackBerry phones.
By Jan. 31, DOD Mobility Unclassified Capability users in DISA will begin the phased transition to initial release 1.0 capabilities including the mobile device management system, mobile application store, approved devices list, supported cellular access, DOD PKI support, transition of approved applications and enterprise services for mobility including DoD Enterprise Email, the DOD Global Address List, Tier 2/3 Service Desk Support and Defense Connect Online.
Along with the wide selection of devices, the mobility program supports 16 mobile applications and is in the process of vetting more than 90 additional applications. DISA is also working with key mission partners including Air Mobility Command from the AF and the Human Resource Command from the Army to service large mission needs that have not been connected to the network in the past. AMC has more than 18,000 Flight Bag devices and HRC anticipates more than 10,000 users. All future customer transition schedules are based on the priority set by mission partners. For example, the Army provided a detailed schedule by major command that DISA is using to prioritize requirements for new customers or to transition pilot users that already exist.
The initial release begins a 90-day spiral approach to deploying new capabilities. The next major release in second quarter of FY14 adds gateway support on unclassified side and also an office capability package to enable editing of Word documents and other Microsoft Office items.
The mobility program is not business as usual for IT procurements. DISA is working to create a secure adaptive mobile environment necessary incorporate the steady advancement of technology, including application development, changing security architecture requirements, and continuous enhancement of equipment. The DOD Mobility Program works through a collaborative team approach among combatant commands, agencies, services, and vendors to ensure that as the mobile environment changes, the security environment adapts with it to maintain the security requirements necessary to protect critical information.
