HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – Following key leader engagements in early June, the Enterprise Information Technology as a Service “Wave 1” team conducted a roadshow at eight Air and Space Force installations June 26 to Aug. 4.
EITaaS is a Department of the Air Force initiative that leverages industry to provide standardized, innovative, and agile information technology services across the Air and Space Forces. Wave 1 will transform DAF IT services from in-house, base-centric delivery models to an enterprise service model. During the roadshow, the Wave 1 transition team worked with select communication squadrons to gather feedback and lessons learned, address questions and concerns about the transition, and identify and overcome potential challenges to implementation.
The eight military installations that hosted the roadshow--Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska; Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama; Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado; Pope Field, North Carolina; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; and Hurlburt Field, Florida--all participated in a limited EITaaS program known as the Risk Reduction Effort.
“The user experience response from RRE bases has been excellent, and we are leveraging their feedback to ensure a smooth and successful Wave 1 transition,” said Col. Justin Collins, senior materiel leader, Enterprise IT & Cyber Infrastructure Division. “Working alongside our mission partners, we are excited to leverage insights from the roadshow to further improve Wave 1 for Guardians and Airmen to help them accomplish their vital missions.”
Wave 1 includes the following services:
• Enterprise IT Service Management 3.0 is an updated command and control platform that will include the 21st Century Storefront, a central hub for software and hardware asset management. EITSM 3.0 replaces EITSM 2.5 and will contain custom dashboards to track key performance indicators.
• The new Enterprise Service Desk is a help desk that will be available 24/7/365 to serve as a single point for all IT service questions and supporting endpoint management and detection and remediation.
• The new Image and Endpoint Management Stack will update existing tools with improved security capabilities and a reduced central processing unit load to improve device performance through detection and remediation, security configuration, data loss prevention, and endpoint vulnerability and patch management.
• New End-User Devices will include modern, high-performance hardware, to include computing, print, and voice devices, able to meet mission demands and available to order easily from the 21st Century Storefront.
• Field Services include technicians who will directly support bases with the ability to customize levels of service based on unique mission needs.
Field Services and End-User Devices will be funded by major commands, field commands, or bases, while all other services will be enterprise-funded.
Wave 1 implementation at RRE bases will begin later this calendar year. Air Force leaders will use the initial RRE to Wave 1 transition to help plan for DAF-wide implementation supporting more than 800,000 total users. The rollout schedule of services for bases that did not participate in RRE has not yet been determined but is slated to begin in calendar year 2024.
The Department of the Air Force is taking a phased approach to implementation to ensure a smooth transition. Wave 1 initial rollout will apply to the Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network, or NIPRNet, then later be applied to the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, or SIPRNet.
Wave 1 offers opportunities to bring best-in-class commercial technology to improve user productivity to optimize mission readiness; provide resilient IT and data operations to maintain and secure a mission-ready posture in cyberspace; and enhance the quality and consistency of IT service delivery. Estimated IT life cycle cost savings is approximately 31 percent.
“Wave 1 is a huge step toward bringing Air Force Enterprise IT into the future and enabling forces to focus more on warfighting missions,” said Maj. Gen. Anthony Genatempo, program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, and Networks. “The roadshow was a great team effort. The program office will continue to work closely with partner organizations to meet the needs of our most important asset, our Airmen and Guardians.”
CACI NSS LLC was awarded the EITaaS Wave 1 blanket purchase agreement in August 2022. After several rounds of protests, the Government Accountability Office denied the final challenge in April 2023, clearing the way for the Air Force and CACI to move forward. A BPA is a simplified method of filling recurring needs for services with the customer’s specific requirements in mind.