1: Strategic Plan
Develop and execute the strategic plan and the means for demonstrating the viability and scalability of a virtual, adaptive
network that users will find exciting and supportable.
Other Information:
Introduction: In 2003, the founders of the Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium™ (NCOIC) formulated a vision and
related mission statement establishing a goal for advancing global interoperability among systems and components of operational
interest to NCOIC members and their customers. Interoperability, in the sense intended by the Consortium, can be described
as a continuous improvement objective for enabling secure, reliable, pertinent, and globally available sharing of information,
on demand, among operational entities of all kinds. NCOIC is one of the most remarkable corporations in the world. It is an
enterprise resourced by industry, government, and academia members, with the sole purpose of fostering and enabling application
of current and evolving information technology to promote interoperability and information sharing among all legitimate operational
venues on the globe. As such, this singular enterprise has the potential for focusing and encouraging the growth of current,
evolving, and, as yet, unknown information systems and networking capabilities, to the benefit of civilized humankind everywhere.
If these observations seem grandiose, consider the state of information technology application and capabilities today, as
viewed by the traditionalist users, developers, and industry. No other organization focuses on carefully selecting and globally
leveraging current and evolving standards to fully address the world-wide networking needs of an increasingly mobile world
population. Most information systems and products users and providers still view the incredibly rapid advancement of technology
in the context of the industrial age. That is, products and systems are almost invariably designed around industrial era production
and sales notions related to stand alone usage and, at best, 20th century economic and industrial models. Insufficient attention
is paid to the power of inherently compatible, virtual, ad hoc networks and the ability of globally scalable networks to multiply
the utility and productivity of products enabled for that purpose. Current behaviors are generally reinforced by the very
complexity of the emerging technology. Some more senior citizens are intimidated by, and do not realize the fact that almost
everything electronic today is first and foremost a computer, regardless of its intended function. Younger generations of
people, while not intimidated by computers and certainly more computer literate and interested in the instant gratification
found with cell phones and instant messaging tend to be less interested in the internal workings or pure technology of the
gadgets themselves. This suggests that the real power of information will be realized only through demonstration of the capability
gains from ubiquitously networking today’s products. Hence NCOIC, with its potential for fostering and demonstrating the world
of information sharing and complex adaptive networks is positioned perfectly to enable its members to reshape the entire world
of information technology. Need for Long Term Strategic Plan: The original strategic intent of the NCOIC is defined in vision
and mission statements codified by the founding members of the Consortium in 2003, and was updated and revalidated by the
Executive Council in 2006. Those documents have informed the Technical Council in development of its technology roadmap and
several important “deliverables” that have gained international recognition and support: the NCOIC Interoperability Framework
(NIF), the Network Centric Analysis Tool (NCAT), the Systems, Capabilities, Operations, Programs and Enterprises (SCOPE) model,
and a Network Centric Operations Lexicon. For this evolving enterprise to continue successful service to its shareholders
and a growing array of potential beneficiaries of its deliverables, NCOIC requires a focused, cogent, and enduring enterprise
strategy. Although numerous enterprises are engaged in activities addressing subsets of our goal of increasing interoperability
leading to netcentricity, the preponderance of such activity is focused on proprietary interest in, and/or ownership of, communications
infrastructure, consistent with classical analog telecommunications business models. Advancement of standards for the evolving
digital information technology of the 21st century—whether hardware or software—is still based largely on processes and proprietary
interests substantially derived from 19th and 20th century telecommunications interests. Examples of this are private ownership
of radio spectrum and proprietary waveforms, ownership and segmentation of the cellular telephone infrastructure, switched
telephone systems, proprietary segmentation of fiber optic and broadband coaxial cable subsystems, and proprietary software
standards and data schema. None of these tendencies favors either the advancement of interoperability or satisfaction of the
demand for sharing information across numerous operational venues and among increasingly complex military, medical, industrial,
and consumer-oriented operations. The answer to interoperability needs is not merely expansion of fiber, coaxial, or other
terrestrial broadband systems or pursuit of more cellular towers across the globe or satellites on orbit. There is a growing
realization among organizations in the NCOIC that the principal challenge of the information age is global interoperability
and Net Centricity on an unprecedented scale, encompassing and leveraging the capabilities of current (and often antiquated)
communications infrastructures as well as those of new digital systems. More vital and to the point are design and orchestrated
growth of a global information sharing environment that leverages emergent technology and effectively selected standards to
get the right information to decision makers—wherever and whenever needed, in the right form, consistent with the security
and validation requirements of any eligible user and their operational mission. Also of great significance and adding even
more potential power to network centric operations is the already stunning rate of advancement in network and information
technologies. The "bricks and mortar" for net centricity, are elements such as the Semantic Web, modeling and simulation,
new architectural structures (e.g., Service Oriented Architecture), mobile networking technologies, communities of interest
(e.g., network centric logistics), ontology-based information sharing and more. The Strategic View: NCOIC cannot solely address
all the elements of network centric operations, but this Consortium is committed to enable interoperability to whatever level
possible. The announced intent to develop, continually evolve, and employ a common framework for imbuing the products of each
company with the latent capability for interoperation with those of other members is very powerful. Said framework is intended
to be non-proprietary, open, and based upon carefully evaluated and selected current and emerging standards. The NCOIC has
been immensely successful in creating interest in its objectives. It has carefully limited those objectives to an infrastructural
baseline that subtends, but enables and supports, the capability layers of information system architectures and does not reduce
or impair the competitive objectives or capabilities of its members. The success of the Consortium is highly likely to improve
the competitive stature of all its members, and to increase returns on investments by providing a common, consistent, and
evolving “substrate” for product development and interoperability that heretofore has been a recurrent development requirement
for every new product: a requirement that, addressed without the commonality of the NCOIC approach, encourages a continuation
of systems lacking in interoperability potential. Satisfaction of operational requirements for interoperability require a
longer term outlook, a more profound strategy, and a stable, long range objective set consistent with the overall objective
of globally scalable interoperability. Evolving information technology and its potential indicate that numerous functions
previously regarded as “stand-alone” capabilities are soon to be melded in some fashion into a single, global composite of
immense power. The Internet is often used as an exemplar of that notion. The Internet came into being circa 1990 after the
U.S. government decided that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-funded experimental packet switched network
called DARPANet, had reached size and capability exceeding its original intent (350,000 users) and would no longer fund. Its
successor, the ubiquitous Internet, began to expand at a stunning rate with addition of the “dot-com” URL extension and explosive
spread of personal computer technology. Only four years after the transition, the Internet claimed 40+ million subscribers
and today boasts hundreds of millions of users and billions of “pages” of information source material. The Internet, however,
is still somewhat experimental in its structure. It does not yet consist of a single layered architecture or protocol set,
although it can be argued that IP is easily the most widely employed standard in the world and is likely to remain so. The
Internet is an example of a huge, complex adaptive network—one that is highly permissive in its treatment of subscribers to
its myriad services. The element of the Internet to which the majority of users is routinely exposed is the World Wide Web;
the element toward which most current research and advancement is directed. “The Web” is fertile ground for application of
artificial intelligence tools and rich new programming enabled by such intrinsic utilities as the Resource Description Framework
(RDF) and Extensible Markup Language (XML). These powerful tools drive the current thrust toward advancing Semantic Web technology
which, in turn, will enable the advent of true ontology-based knowledge management. As such, the Internet is a vastly popular
and widely employed service set that, although lacking in the discipline and security that much of its user population desires,
is a part of most human life in non-agrarian societies. It is a powerful, immensely useful, generally productive and not entirely
benign environment that few in the world can ignore or fail to use in some fashion. With rapidly growing Voice Over-IP (VoIP)
capability, extension of Semantic Web principles, an increasingly rich language set for network programming, and advent of
ontology-based content administration, the Internet appears poised to satisfy a very large fraction of the information services
and communication needs of the world. A further extension of the above capabilities, adding the dimension of virtually unlimited
global, mobile, ad hoc networking, is a reasonable aim-point for the long term strategy of NCOIC. The extension is essential
to NCOIC strategy because the combined capabilities of our members can lead to the realization of every user’s dream; a world
no longer limited by the bandwidth constraints of “radio” and “telecom” and “wired” communities where there is a stop light
at every intersection, and packets of information often sit impotently in traffic jams at the whim of inefficient, uncooperative
and uncaring control agents, or at dead ends in the numerous and incoherent mazes of the current environment. The Strategy
Core: The information user expects information technology to serve his decision making needs, regardless of location, whenever
those needs surface. This is the ultimate operational imperative, regardless of the domain or mission. The only way to satisfy
that demand is through instantiation of a global, virtual, complex and adaptive network, the behaviors of which can be described
and enabled by NCOIC. This forms the basis of our long-term strategy. There is a need to address items other than enabling
networks, such as network and Web services, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and the service needs of various communities
of interest; but, no matter how well addressed and designed, the potential of such services cannot be realized unless the
means exist for delivering the services. That was the rationale of the founding members of NCOIC and the reason for their
initial focus on creating and instantiating a scalable, global, mobile, ad hoc networking capability. That focus is still
vital; however, the development and prioritization of other venues of NCOIC activity consistent with the advancement of global
interoperability and network centric operations is important as well. The technical, relationships, and business sub-strategies
of the Consortium must, therefore, address all elements of the overarching strategy and provide execution plans to the Executive
Council for approval. The strategic intent of this unique Consortium has accordingly been underwritten by a set of enabling
guidelines that provide clear direction for its technical and service activities and form the basis of a focused long-term
strategy. Overarching NCOIC Strategy: NCOIC is uniquely positioned to initiate and orchestrate a global effort leading to
the networking environment herein suggested. It has the organization, the essential resources, and the increasing support
of a growing number of influential user communities necessary to launch an unprecedented global interoperability initiative
that could change the world in numerous positive ways. NCOIC members see a well-defined, high-order, global initiative consistent
with their needs that leverages their investments in time, expertise, and financial support. The challenge is executing our
strategic intent, based on our vision and mission commitments, a broad set of objectives and a road map leading to global
interoperability. The NCOIC will develop and execute the strategic plan and the means for demonstrating the viability and
scalability of a virtual, adaptive network that users will find exciting and supportable. Such a lofty effort will require
on-demand integration of appropriate modeling and simulation capabilities of our members such that the user can touch and
see the potential of emerging networking technology and the integration potential of their current and future operational
elements and decision/control systems. If constructed and organized correctly, virtual interoperable networks will not be
limited to the operational needs of any single user set. Such networks must adhere to the open, non-proprietary intentions
that the NCOIC formulated at its very beginning, thus suiting their development to the needs of every operational venue. This
is not an easy proposition; but all NCOIC members have experienced daunting obstacles to many of the investments and strategies
they have initiated. Persistence, hard work, and employment of legions of scientists, engineers, and business people have
led to world-changing triumphs in the past—and will lead to like successes in the future. Summary: The Strategy Committee
has only begun the work of constructing a strategy. The Committee has attempted to formulate a well-considered and workable
strategy proposal for consideration, with the expectation that there will be continuing evolution. The Committee Chair, Carl
O'Berry (Boeing), briefed the EC at the November 2006 Plenary in San Diego as to the organization of the Committee and the
proposed path and organization for proceeding with the strategic plan once the EC indicates its approval of the initial output
outlined above. The initial Chair, after presentation of this preliminary proposal to the EC, has yielded leadership of the
Strategy Committee to the new EC Chair Emeritus. The Committee Chair wishes to express his gratitude for the members’ hard
work and commitment to this challenging task. This effort has been admirably well served thus far by: Edgar Buckley (Thales)
Bob Collet (SAIC) Mike Curtis (IBM) Bob Davis (CACI) Wolfgang Glagla (IBM) Alan Murdoch (Northrop Grumman).
Objective(s):
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