DoD strategy on open systems and interoperability

m The DoD information infrastructure cannot be built by one company or industry alone. It can only be achieved through consensus and cooperation between the private and public sectors and through discussions across national borders. The 5Cs Interoperability in Figure One show how the National Information Infrastructure (NII) Committee on Applications and Technology views interoperability. The JIEO/Center for Standards was part of the NII committee and contributed information.1 he 5Cs of Interoperability must be achieved in order for DoD to develop a single information infrastructure that will (1) produce useful information; (2) provide equity of access; (3) protect privacy and security; and (4) enhance competitiveness, education, and national wellbeing. Information technology (IT) standards is the primary issue underlying every application that DoD must use to achieve this single information infrastructure. IT standards are needed for DoD to establish an integrated, transparent, and interoperable information infrastructure that the WARFIGHTER perceives as seamless and without boundaries. Vendors play a major role in developing shrink-wrap products to help DoD achieve interoperability and open systems solutions. DoD does not believe interoperability is best achieved where interface specifications (i.e., application to application, application to appliance, appliance to network, and network to network) are not open.2 The IT industry has problems when a single powerful and well-capitalized provider (such as Netscape or Microsoft) refuses to release its application program interface specifications to obtain a public consensus. The DoD’s goal is to achieve interoperability through a public consensus process that results in nonproprietary specifications such as the Internet. To be accepted as an “open system” requires compliance with the Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM) and the DoD Personal Computer (PC) policy. A companion document called the Information Technology Standards T DoD Strategy on Open Systems and Interoperability