Federal Computer Week
reports that NMCI failed to support the Common Operating Environment (COE) which is the backbone of DOD IT and several enterprise-wide applications including Global Command and Control System (GCCS) and other afloat tactical software. The Defense Information Infrastructure (DII) COE was developed in the early 90's and codified into a set of guidelines and standards for software including the OS (kernel), data exchange services and support (messaging) applications.
The shortcoming came to light at Hawaii's new Nimitz-MacArthur
Pacific Command Center. Navy officials had to stand up a work-around GCCS network to meet the needs of their joint partners. Simply one example of the hundreds of networks and equipment suites erected (or never removed) to compensate for shortcomings in NMCI. Despite the failings of NMCI to support command and control systems, the Pacific Command reports that they are "generally happy" with NMCI as it allowed them to supply desktop PCs to the support staff. Although to read the
other report, it sounds as if NCMI solved a procurement problem, not an IT problem.
Is this a Navy problem or an EDS problem? Yes. Did the Navy ask EDS to support DII COE before the contract was bid? Does the EDS bill of goods actually have the infrastructure necessary to support DII COE? Did anyone think about this before a multi-million dollar facility had to punt to compensate for failure?
