Results, not systems, targeted at annual Net-Centric Conference

  • Published
  • By Chuck Paone
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
NEW CASTLE, N.H. --  The ninth annual Net-Centric Operations conference held here Sept. 12 featured a robust group of speakers and panelists who focused on how to provide critical information more quickly, securely and cost-effectively.

The conference was sponsored by the Patriots Roost Chapter of the Association of Old Crows.

Electronic Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. CR Davis set the tone for the day-long session in his opening address, emphasizing that command and control of air and space forces is a top Air Force priority. He encouraged attendees to help improve the processes that equip operators to do this, starting with agreement on common standards.

"If we don't try to establish a set of standards and build systems that adhere to those standards, we'll basically bankrupt our capability," he said.

He also offered his own take on problems with developing requirements, saying that the list of things operators ask for often constitute "desirements."

"If you can't give us a small set of clearly defined requirements, then we shouldn't be building the system," General Davis said.

He also said that acquirers and developers can't be "enamored with elaborate IT solutions."

"It's not about the systems; it's about capability," he said. "How many bad people we kill and how many good people we protect is really all that matters."

This focus on results permeated the conference, which was specifically focused on an IT term of art known as service-oriented architectures, or SOAs. The crux of a net-centric SOA approach to IT development is to concentrate not on huge, monolithic hardware and software systems, but rather on development of standardized infrastructure and exposing authoritative and understandable information.

"When it comes to SOAs or cloud computing, if you ask 10 different people to define them, you'll get 10 different answers - each," said Dr. Tim Rudolph, ESC's chief technology officer and moderator for the industry panel at the conference. "The important thing to focus on is that it's about the connection between the people producing the information and those consuming the information."

Ron Mason, Air Force program executive officer for Net-Centric and Cyber Systems, noted that SOAs are not a new concept, but that the Air Force, like many organizations, has yet to realize their full potential. He said there are many reasons why, ranging from a clear migration strategy to a lack of resources.

However, most participants agreed that the benefits of SOAs, including agility, responsiveness and the ability to quickly compose new capabilities from existing systems, make them well worth pursuing.

The core of a good SOA approach is focusing on operational processes, according to Dave Michalowicz of MITRE, technical director for the Air Operations Weapon System. He recounted meeting with AOC operators.

"They said, 'Well, I use this system over here to do this, and then I use this system over there to do that," Mr. Michalowicz said. "We said, 'No, put the systems aside and tell us about your operational business processes.'"

The point is that in designing a new AOC model, or any other large enterprise, it's important to build in the flexibility to accommodate all current processes and potential future processes or applications. SOAs, he said, can help make that happen.

Lt. Gen. William Lord, the Air Force chief information officer and chief of warfighting integration, also addressed the need for flexibility. He said the Air Force needs a network that is "device agnostic," meaning that nearly any device or application can run on it.

As for the key to making this happen, he seconded General Davis's earlier call for enforceable standards.

All of this additional information-sharing capability and flexibility is critical not only within the Air Force but across the services and among coalition partners. Speakers were on hand to address those aspects, too.

Italian Air Force Brig. Gen. Giovanni Fantuzzi addressed the need for SOAs that can be tailored to "coalition-diversity requirements."

He spoke specifically of the Afghan Mission Network, which he said was the best example to date of a network that truly serves the needs of a coalition and serves as a "test bed for future use."

As for the degree of difficulty in building these services-oriented systems, most agreed with Peter Bostrom of Oracle, one of the industry panel participants.

"We never said it was going to be easier," he said. "What we said was that it was going to be more flexible, more agile and that it would present opportunities. Now, getting that orientation just right and getting the security level just right is part two of the great opportunity."