Don CIO: putting information to work for our people

The ability to communicate is critical in all phases of our business. We are quickly becoming a society with diverse communication tools that include mobile phones, text messaging, instant messaging, voice mail, e-mail and of course--the desktop phone. We also communicate with data in the form of applications, e-mail, reports and presentations. Video--a growing personal and business communication format--is now poised to be as commonplace as voice, utilizing technologies ranging from camera phones and inexpensive Web cameras to more complex video conferencing equipment.

The Department of the Navy is on the brink of new commercial grade services that will provide true integration among data, voice and video--three former stovepipe technologies. The opportunity to achieve economies from positioning these technologies on NMCI, our Enterprise network, is very attractive.

The world of "converged communication" promises to broaden our horizons, and enable our business processes with communication-based applications that are independent of the communications structure. Such applications will recognize the capabilities and preferences of the destination device/user and convert text to voice, voice to text--and provide video responses. The future will provide the ability to retrieve messages in any format, anywhere, anytime.

While this may sound futuristic, these capabilities are being explored today. The benefits afforded by these capabilities to our business processes and the enhanced features that will support the warfighter are vast. Knowledge management will exploit communication systems to allow combatants and deployed forces a reach back for tutorials, updated manuals and video demonstrations. A single subject matter expert can provide front line consultation for dispersed combatants on a global basis through chat, voice or video. Supply chain communication will provide location, status and availability of critical components to expedite support for the warfighter. Telemedicine can engage surgeons; scientists and other medical staff in complex procedures; biological and chemical analyses; and battlefield triage.

The challenge we face is to constantly refine our Enterprise vision and align our organizational strengths to deliver these services. We have engaged Navy and Marine Corps commands in reviewing today's telecommunication services, and we are developing a telecommunications strategy for the future. What a great challenge! I encourage you to do your part in preparing the way for the opportunities and benefits that the integration of converged communication will bring.

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Navy
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group