The Pentagon renovation program, especially the $1.3 billion
Information Technology (IT) portion, is keeping pace with the
ever-accelerating rate of technological change, bringing new hardware, software and
telecommunications components to the refurbished site and delivering
unparalleled capabilities to Pentagon tenants.
Driving the technological transformation is a team made up of
commercial IT suppliers, the Department of Defense and Army. The
Program Executive Office, Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS)
Information Technology Systems (ITS) Project Office also continues to
apply forward-thinking solutions in the renovation effort.
Under the leadership of ITS Director Hari Bezwada, the
Pentagon’s
25,000 tenants are being equipped with IT assets designed to optimize
cost and performance, while taking into account the limited space
available and ongoing construction schedule. Highlights of the
team’s efforts include:
Opening the Pentagon Cable Information
Network (PCIN) facility;
Implementing Voice over Secure IP (VoSIP)
capabilities;
Completing a full wedge of tenant moves
in one year.
The PCIN facility was developed to collect and distribute satellite and
over-the-air digital video content to users at the Pentagon, as well as
laying the groundwork for IP-based video distribution. As with all
other aspects of IT modernization at the Pentagon, the new technology infrastructure will
transform tenants’ use of technology, delivering easy access
to
information with unprecedented speed and flexibility.
The
VoSIP capabilities implemented at the Pentagon are delivered over a
Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN)-compatible, IP-based system. The
capabilities enable secure, joint-interoperable voice communications
from the tactical community to the Pentagon. Along with the
implementation of standard VoIP systems throughout the Pentagon, these
efforts underscore the ongoing convergence of voice, data and video
services on IP-based networks.
Moving one-fifth of the Pentagon in one year is a remarkable
achievement. The 2007 moves included the most senior Office of the
Secretary of Defense tenants in the Pentagon, including the Secretary
and Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force
Chief of Staff. All voice, data network and audio-visual/briefing
display systems were completed on schedule and within budget.
The ITS Project Office’s implementation of performance-based
incentive awards and effective governance models has set new benchmarks
for quality and customer satisfaction. Using integrated product teams
(IPTs) and other innovative business practices with industry partners have been key to
the program’s success.
Since the original Pentagon’s construction in 1943, through
the
renovation efforts that began in the mid-1990s, technological
implementations at the site were completed in piecemeal fashion.
Individual military services and various agencies installed solutions
to meet each organization’s specific needs. Today’s
Pentagon renovation effort is addressing inconsistencies as it deploys
integrated and streamlined solutions that leverage hardware, software
and telecommunications advances.
The ITS Project Office recognizes the efforts of industry partners who
contribute greatly to the success of this ongoing project. The combined
efforts of the team have helped to transform the Pentagon’s
technological infrastructure, which has a direct bearing on
tenants’ ability to meet national security
objectives.
The
VoSIP capabilities implemented at the Pentagon are delivered over a
Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN)-compatible, IP-based system. The
capabilities enable secure, joint-interoperable voice communications
from the tactical community to the Pentagon. Along with the
implementation of standard VoIP systems throughout the Pentagon, these
efforts underscore the ongoing convergence of voice, data and video
services on IP-based networks. 
