August 6, 2019
This quarter's column expresses the views of Ruth A. Youngs Lew, Program Executive Officer for PEO EIS.
Develop and maintain an engaged and capable workforce; Deliver an enhanced and positive customer experience; Enhance data-driven decision-making; Increase agility and drive affordability.
Those four goals are the basis of the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems' (PEO EIS) recently ...
by Rob Foster - May 9, 2016
There are mobile applications for almost everything, and now there are apps that allow Department of the Navy active duty and civilian personnel in any location to access important information and required training on their personal smartphone or tablet. These apps will work on personal devices outside of the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) domain.
April 1, 2015
Presentations and preliminary Enterprise Challenge (EC) statements given during the PEO-EIS Innovation Cell Industry Day, held March 26, are now available by request. Please submit your request by using the "Contact Us" link located in the DON CIO Information section.
February 24, 2015
The Defense Connect Online (DCO) service will be discontinued on June 24. It will be replaced by Defense Collaboration Services (DCS). In preparation for the deactivation of DCO, users are required to save local copies of mission critical data hosted on DCO no later than May 30.
February 20, 2015
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer is pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 DON IT Awards. ...
November 24, 2014
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert has issued his 2014 Position Report. The Position Report is used to assess the progress that's been made toward the vision and plans outlined in the CNO Sailing Directions and Navigation Plan: 2015-2019. The report also highlights both achievements, and areas which need improvement, and discusses the progress yet to be made while focusing on three tenets: Warfighting ...
by Dr. John Zangardi, Ph.D. - November 14, 2014
I am pleased to address you as Acting DON CIO after having been appointed to serve in that capacity on 24 Oct. Though the office has been aligned with the DUSN (M) organization, the DON CIO will continue to maintain a direct reporting relationship to the Secretary of the Navy on matters required by law, regulation, and policy. In addition to serving as Acting DON CIO, I will remain the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the ...
by Thomas Hicks - July 11, 2014
In today's rapidly evolving environment, the information technology, management processes, and administrative functions of the Department of the Navy are becoming increasingly integrated. All major indicators portend that reliance upon data systems and access to information will be even more critical in the future than it is today. To ensure the DON is properly organized to thrive in this complex environment, we are in ...
by Barbara Hoffman - June 9, 2014
It has been a privilege to serve in leadership positions for the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer, including as Director of both the E-business and Investment Management teams, Principal Deputy for two very talented DON CIOs, and now as the DON CIO (Acting). Our business IT environment has evolved dramatically over this timeframe, in technology advances as well as in operational and fiscal challenges.
by Terry Halvorsen - April 18, 2014
Is newer always better (or necessary)?
In today's world, where technology changes in the blink of an eye, and the race to be faster, more capable, bigger, etc., moves at lightning speed, we sometimes forget to ask ourselves that very simple question. The government IT world isn't immune to this phenomenon. Cutting edge technology may bring useful new capability, but cutting-edge costs money – usually lots of money. ...
March 31, 2014
Did you know that multifunction devices could save the Department of the Navy $285 million over the Future Years Defense Program?
March 13, 2014
The Department of the Navy's enterprise wireless contract, established by Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center San Diego (FLCSD) for all DON wireless use in the CONUS, went into effect in May 2011. The contract includes provisions to lower costs; it includes free devices, web portals provided by the wireless carriers that account managers can use to analyze and "fine tune" services, and a limited number of ...
February 19, 2014
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 DON IM/IT Excellence Awards, the John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Leadership Award, and the new DON Cyberspace/IT Rising Star and DON Cyberspace/IT Person of the Year Awards. There were also seven information technology leaders from the DON among this year's Federal 100 Award winners.
In addition, the DON CIO ...
January 16, 2014
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer has instituted a department-wide policy to comprehensively manage print devices. This policy, signed Jan. 25, 2013, became the cornerstone of the DON Print Management Initiative, which is expected to achieve cost savings of $285M over the Future Years Defense Program.
January 10, 2014
The current budget realities faced by the Department of the Navy have created for us a "new normal." And though we still work diligently to find more ways to save money, we also must adjust to the new normal by asking, "Now what?" How do we get from a mindset of "cutting back to save money" to using the cutting edge of technology to transform our business processes?
September 9, 2013
The first Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) portal hosted in a commercial cloud environment is now operational. This portal is the result of a pilot program between the Department of the Navy Assistant for Administration (DON/AA), the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Systems Center Atlantic team and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
August 26, 2013
In a time when every dollar counts, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer continues to look for innovative and efficient ways to reduce costs. One of those efficiency efforts is "virtualization." The process of virtualization allows multiple operating systems and applications to be run on a single physical server, reducing operational costs and improving flexibility within an existing information ...
August 2, 2013
With the effects of sequestration still being felt, the Department of the Navy continues to look for innovative ways to decrease information technology spending. One cost saving possibility under evaluation is the Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD). With HVD, instead of software loaded onto a computer, a network-centric virtual desktop is provided from a data center, giving the user increased flexibility, mobility, ...
August 1, 2013
On July 31, 2013, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer released the memo, "Enterprise Mobility and Cloud Service Pilot Project Governance," which states that any organization planning to initiate a new Enterprise Mobility (EM) or Cloud Service pilot must submit an enterprise information technology standard business case analysis (BCA), or an abbreviated BCA, justifying the initiative to the appropriate ...
July 31, 2013
On July 29, 2013, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer released the memo, "Server, System, and Application Virtualization," which stipulates that the DON must virtualize all current servers and server-based systems/applications. The process of virtualization will allow multiple operating systems and applications to be run on a single physical server, thus reducing operational costs and improving ...
June 17, 2013
Printing in duplex (double-sided) mode saves the government money on paper costs and reduces the number of trees "consumed" by agencies. The estimated average savings is less than one cent per page, but that can add up to government-wide savings of $61 million annually, plus an estimated 546,850 trees saved.
June 3, 2013
The Department of the Navy issued policy in January that established the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Document Services as the single provider of office document devices across the DON enterprise. This encompasses about 70,000 Navy and Marine Corps devices. But did you also know DLA Document Services can provide you with paper?
April 22, 2013
When you start a new document on your computer, do you check the margins? If not, you’re missing a simple way to save paper, ink and money for the Department of the Navy. One printing best practice is to use .75 inches as the default margin size for printing instead of the usual 1-inch. The exception should be for official letterhead correspondence, which requires 1-inch margins.
April 16, 2013
In the 1986 movie, "Heartbreak Ridge," Clint Eastwood plays the salty Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Highway, an old-school Marine who realizes he must change some of his ways to succeed in a changing world.
His personal mantra — "improvise, adapt, overcome" — is also a teaching point he uses — relentlessly — with the Marines of his underperforming reconnaissance platoon. We, in the Department of the Navy, face a similar ...
April 8, 2013
You’ve heard the term and seen the ads on TV, but what does "cloud computing" mean, and why is the Department of the Navy talking about it?
March 25, 2013
Department of the Navy leadership is putting action behind its words on saving money on printing costs. All Navy Secretariat and Chief of Naval Operations NMCI unclassified printer default settings are being changed to print documents in black ink, with draft quality, and on both sides of the paper. The changeover started March 15 and is scheduled to continue through April 5.
March 8, 2013
One way to save money on printing is by using one of the three "toner-efficient fonts" approved by the General Services Administration (GSA). But what are these fonts and why are they cheaper to use?
February 22, 2013
We have all heard the saying: "It's the little things that matter." In the case of printing costs, it's the little things that add up – to big expenses. Although half a cent per page does not sound like a lot of money, counted across the government, the total annual expense amounts to more than $60 million.
February 11, 2013
In the "old days," most offices probably had a piece of equipment for each administrative function – printer, fax machine, copier, etc. Today, many still do, but these functions are increasingly done by one device – known as a "multifunctional device," or MFD. Combining these functions into one device saves money, energy and resources. Additionally, MFDs take up less space in the office and can be a more secure ...
January 31, 2013
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 DON IM/IT Excellence Awards and the John J. Lussier Electromagnetic Spectrum Leadership Award.
January 30, 2013
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer established another DON-wide IT efficiency policy in a memorandum signed Jan. 25.
by Enterprise IT Communications - December 7, 2012
The Department of the Navy has made significant progress in adjusting to its smaller budget, but much work remains. The $100 million in savings achieved so far is just a start to the $2 billion cut to the DON’s IT budget, said Terry Halvorsen, the DON Chief Information Officer.
November 26, 2012
To enable greater transparency into IT spending, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer has recategorized several overly used categories, or "buckets," in the DON information technology budget database, Naval IT Exhibits/Standard Reporting (NITE/STAR). The positive effect of this action is already paying off.
November 5, 2012
As the Data Center Consolidation (DCC) and Application Rationalization efforts move forward, a significant milestone was recently reached. The Navy DCC Task Force, formed in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, has successfully completed 17 of 19 planned site consolidations. As part of the effort, the Navy moved more than 100 systems into Navy enterprise data centers.
October 24, 2012
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein said these words two generations ago, and yet they ring even more true today. But, we must not stop there. While it is vital that we use current solutions, best practices and technologies to enable our immediate success, we must also maintain a steadfast eye on the horizon for future requirements, industry trends ...
October 15, 2012
To maximize the overall power of the Department's mobile (cellular) purchasing habits, the Department of the Navy established the DON Enterprise Wireless Contracts in January 2011. The benefits of these contracts are paying off, and savings have steadily increased since the establishment of the Enterprise Wireless Contracts. ...
October 1, 2012
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer implemented mobility management tools and cell phone optimization training in March 2012. The overall goal is to gain business efficiencies and reduce cell phone and mobile device spend due to unused lines, total number of devices and overage minutes. To date, this effort has been very successful in setting the foundation for significant cost reductions. ...
September 21, 2012
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer and Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy/Deputy Chief Management Officer recently released the policy memo, "Achieving Measurable Efficiencies Through Data Center Consolidation, System, and Application Rationalization Guidance." This memo provides details on the steps the DON must take to achieve budget savings through application rationalization while ensuring mission ...
September 4, 2012
The Department of the Navy values energy as a strategic resource. One of the DON's major initiatives is to become more energy efficient. There is much to do from an information technology perspective to accomplish this. Office equipment such as computers, printers, fax machines and copiers consume energy even when not in use. By simply using efficient equipment and turning them off when not in use, the DON can ...
September 3, 2012
If you have good ideas on how to save money through improving management of the Department of the Navy's IT, improving existing processes through insertion of IT or changing existing processes to save money, the DON Chief Information Officer would like to know.
August 20, 2012
Although printer maintenance and ink are a significant cost to the Department of the Navy, we must not forget that the environmental and budgetary impact of those printed pages really adds up! It is estimated that the average employee uses approximately 10,000 sheets of paper per year. In addition to the environmental impact of producing this much paper, it is also costly to the Department. ...
August 6, 2012
As the Department of the Navy looks for greater efficiencies in how it conducts business, it is important to remember that each of us can help the DON save significant amounts of money and operate more efficiently. One area that can be improved is our printing habit. The DON spends more than $100 million on basic printing costs each year.
August 1, 2012
There are few milestones that better mark a time, an accomplishment and the hope for a bright future than a graduation. On July 12, 2012, Terry Halvorsen, Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer, had the honor of speaking at the graduation ceremony of the most recent graduating class of the Senior Enlisted Academy of the Naval War College in Newport, RI. He spoke of the challenges the graduates will face and how ...
by Sue Shuryn and Victor Ecarma - July 30, 2012
A critical component to achieving cost savings is transparency of business information technology data, which provides needed insight into, and thus enables more effective management of, the financial and programmatic status of the enterprise. The Department of the Navy Enterprise Architecture (EA) process is essential to providing visibility of such vital information. The DON EA assessment process is cyclical and ...
July 27, 2012
We all save an overabundance of mementos from the past — whether it is a favorite blanket from grandma, a box full of baseball cards (unfortunately, not a Tug McGraw or Ted Williams rookie
card in the mix), or 20-year-old report cards. While it may be comforting to know that we can always find a particular item; in reality, is that box of baseball cards valuable enough to keep around? We, as a department, have long ...
by Government Accountability Office - July 19, 2012
In 2010, as a focal point for information technology management across the government, the Office of Managment and Budget's (OMB) Federal Chief Information Officer launched the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative - an effort to consolidate the growing number of federal data centers. In July 2011, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) evaluated 24 agencies' progress on this effort and reported that most ...
June 5, 2012
At the most recent Department of the Navy Information Technology Conference in Virginia Beach, Va., Terry Halvorsen, DON Chief Information Officer, held a town hall to discuss his strategy for business IT transformation and the future of DON IT. Download the full transcript, which includes questions from the audience, here.
May 30, 2012
During the next five to 10 years, the Department of the Navy is facing significant budget constraints. To support vital warfighting capabilities that protect the safety of the nation, it is necessary to find efficiencies in other areas. As part of this effort, the DON Chief Information Office and its information technology partners, such as internal stakeholders and industry, will thoroughly review all operations from an ...
by Floyd Groce, Brian Fischbeck and Behrad Mahdi - May 11, 2012
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer and the Information Technology/Cyberspace Efficiency Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) have undertaken a number of initiatives that have important implications for the future of the DON business IT environment. Specifically, the DON Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL) IPT developed business case analyses (BCAs) that provide enterprise-level visibility of how much money ...
April 24, 2012
Consolidation of data centers is a complex and long-term issue that both private and public sectors are facing. This issue was the focus of the panel discussion, Data Center Consolidation from the Department of the Navy Perspective, that Mr. Terry Halvorsen, Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer, moderated at this year's Sea Air Space Convention. Comprised of data center consolidation and data storage experts ...
by Terry Halvorsen - April 20, 2012
Two years ago, Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called the national debt the greatest threat to national security. He also emphasized the importance of good fiscal stewardship and the need for Department of Defense leaders to work together to cut spending, which had doubled from 2000 to 2010.
March 22, 2012
Data center consolidation is not a new concept to the Department of the Navy. The department has been actively consolidating IT resources and has already seen significant savings as a result. ...
March 12, 2012
Both the Navy and Marine Corps are assessing the data centers in existence today and consolidating appropriate centers to achieve efficiencies and realize savings. To ensure the data center consolidation streamlines operations, reduces overall costs, and maintains the high level of security, the Navy and Marine Corps are moving forward with a thoughtful plan that will achieve significant savings through fiscal year 2017. ...
March 5, 2012
Currently, the Department of the Navy has approximately 150 data centers that were established to meet the needs of individual organizations. This has resulted in a complex and duplicative network structure. Data center consolidation will reduce server requirements and merge the hardware residing in many data centers into fewer, more modern and efficient enterprise data centers. It will also virtualize DON applications ...
February 20, 2012
The Department of the Navy must reduce its business IT costs by 25 percent over the next five years. One way the DON is doing this is through data center consolidation. But, what is a data center? A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. ...
February 14, 2012
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer discussed the Department's IT business transformation efforts to prepare for a fiscally constrained future with enterprise and joint solutions that are effective, efficient and agile during the DON Information Technology Conference in San Diego.
February 14, 2012
Small businesses currently hire 43 percent of high-tech workers, including scientists, engineers and computer programmers. To help the Department of the Navy take advantage of that talent, Randy Cieslak, Command Information Officer, U.S. Pacific Command, hosted a panel to discuss how small businesses and the DON can better work together to find cost-effective, innovative solutions for tomorrow's military needs.
February 3, 2012
Five information technology leaders from the Department of the Navy were among this year's Federal 100 Award winners. Federal Computer Week magazine presents the award to 100 government and industry leaders who have played pivotal roles in affecting change, progress and efficiency in determining how the federal government acquires, develops and manages IT.
February 3, 2012
Four individuals and eight teams were honored for their outstanding contributions to excellence in information management/information technology during the Department of the Navy Information Technology Conference, Jan. 24, in San Diego.
by Michele Buisch - January 17, 2012
To continue supporting the operational forces stationed around the world, protecting the nation and providing humanitarian assistance during these fiscally constrained times, the Department of the Navy is seeking opportunities to increase IT efficiencies while cutting business spending. A primary focus of this effort is data center consolidation, which is essential to reducing the IT budget by 25 percent during the next ...
by Terry Halvorsen - January 17, 2012
Happy New Year! This year, the Department of the Navy will build on the efforts of 2011 as we continue on our difficult but necessary journey to transform the way the department manages its business information technology. Finding ways to become more effective in how we acquire and operate IT will lead to decreased costs and ensure we hit the target of reducing the IT budget by 25 percent by 2017.
by Mike Hernon - January 17, 2012
In today's efforts to identify and leverage all potential efficiency opportunities, one area often overlooked is a device that hundreds of thousands of Department of Defense personnel carry every day — their mobile phone. With voice and data plans sometimes costing more than $100 a month, the DoD spends tens of millions of dollars on cellular bills every month to ensure that personnel away from the office have access to ...
by Alison Dickson-Kozloski - January 3, 2012
As we approach the New Year, it is always good to take some time and focus on what we want to accomplish in the future. The Department of the Navy is facing an increasingly constrained fiscal situation. Budget cuts are forcing us to take a much closer look at how we conduct business and find innovations and efficiencies in our operations -– from energy consumption, to building construction, to IT infrastructure and ...
by Alison Dickson-Kozloski - January 3, 2012
The Department of the Navy has a long history of effective information technology solutions that provide the highest level of service and security while being conscious of limited resources. Facing an increasingly resource-constrained future, this commitment to maximizing DON IT support using the most innovative, efficient and effective means will continue.
by Jessica Pelenberg - November 18, 2011
As the quest for cost saving efficiencies rages on, three government officials spoke about the challenges their organizations are facing and their plans to tackle them at the Fifth Annual C5ISR Government and Industry Partnership Conference held Nov. 16, in Charleston, S.C.
by Jennifer M. Ellett - October 27, 2011
Certification and accreditation (C&A) transformation is an initiative to align processes, terminology and frameworks for assessing information security risk across all federal agencies, including the defense and intelligence communities. This effort will provide efficiencies, standardization and support to reciprocity.
by Victor Ecarma - October 27, 2011
In May 2011, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer released the DON Information Management/Information Technology/Cyberspace Campaign Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2013. As stated in the campaign plan, "Fiscal realities in the Defense community today and in the anticipated future will not support our continued development and delivery of Information Management (IM), Information Technology (IT) and Information ...
by Terry Halvorsen - October 27, 2011
It has been a busy year for the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer staff and the information technology efficiencies integrated product teams (IPT) as we analyze how the DON can improve the way business IT is purchased, managed and operated. This hard work will enhance the department's effectiveness, as well as result in real savings, as we grapple with shrinking budgets.
by Floyd Groce - October 27, 2011
The Department of Defense Enterprise Software Initiative, established in 1998 and sponsored by the DoD Chief Information Officer, was created to consolidate requirements for commercial software applications and negotiate with vendors to save time and money in the acquisition of software.
October 13, 2011
In another move to promote effectiveness and efficiencies in the Department of the Navy, the Navy, Marine Corps and DON Secretariat have each designated an Information Technology Expenditure Approval Authority (ITEAA). The ITEAAs are responsible for ensuring that all IT projects undertaken in the Department are integral parts of rationalized portfolios, aligned with DON and Department of Defense enterprise architectures.
by Lonnie Cowart, SPAWAR Public Affairs - October 7, 2011
CHARLESTON, S.C. –- SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic unveiled a new data center that will play a key role in consolidating more than 100 Navy data centers to increase effectiveness and efficiency to reduce costs while still meeting the Navy's security and operational requirements.
by Floyd Groce and Karen M. Davis - August 15, 2011
As all personnel within the Department of Defense and across the federal government are well aware, this is an era of increased budget scrutiny. However, with this scrutiny comes a new opportunity to assess and advance how DoD operates and to improve efficiency across a wide variety of business units and operations. As a significant budget item, the massive information technology infrastructure is no exception and offers ...
by Terry Halvorsen - July 27, 2011
The Department of the Navy must change the way it manages its business information technology (IT) systems. It is the reality of these fiscally constrained times; and frankly, it is the right thing to do as good stewards of taxpayer money.
July 26, 2011
An update to the Department of the Navy Standard Business Case Analysis Template, as well as a new user guide, is now available on the DON Chief Information Officer website.
July 25, 2011
The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer signed out formal data center consolidation guidance officially establishing a moratorium on the purchase of additional data center capacity.
by Lynda Pierce - May 4, 2011
In the January-March 2011 issue of CHIPS, the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer announced the DON CIO's role in addressing information technology/cyberspace efficiency initiatives and realignment in the Department of the Navy, in response to a memo released by the Under Secretary of the Navy Dec. 3, 2010. The Under Secretary directed the DON CIO to take the lead for this endeavor.
by Lynda Pierce - January 31, 2011
The Under Secretary of the Navy, The Honorable Robert O. Work, signed a memo, dated Dec. 3, 2010, addressing information technology (IT)/cyberspace efficiency initiatives and realignment in the Department of the Navy. The memo underscores the challenge from Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Robert Gates to think about the DON's approach to IT initiatives and to centralize and consolidate efforts where it makes sense. Work ...