ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Nov. 25, 2013) -- As fiscal constraints increase demand for web-based collaboration technologies across the Department of Defense (DoD), several military organizations partnered with industry and academia to host a virtual conference to share information and best practices.
The Nov. 20 conference, which attracted approximately 500 attendees, provided a platform for military, civilian, academic and industry leaders to share insights about the trends, principles, strategic plans and technology transforming how knowledge is shared virtually within the DoD. Speakers and participants included experts from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Special Operations Command, Defense Intelligence Agency, Columbia University, Kent State University and several defense industry partners.
The conference, "DoD Virtual Collaboration in the Joint Information Environment," featured 12 sessions including keynote addresses from Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, commander of the Air Mobility Command, and Air Force Maj. Gen. David Allvin, director of strategic planning. Selva emphasized the value of existing capabilities for virtual collaboration and how the Air Force is utilizing them to achieve their mission.
"These are decision support tools," said Selva, who commands about 135,000 uniformed Airmen and civilians across 14 installations. "I'm a real believer they provide our innovative Airmen an environment within which they can engage their leaders."
Track sessions on tactical operations and strategy included presentations from U.S. Special Operations Command Science & Technology Director Lisa Sanders, Defense Intelligence Agency Chief Innovation Officer Dan Doney and Columbia University Information and Knowledge Strategy Academic Director Katrina Pugh.
The conference was co-hosted by Defense Connect Online (DCO) and milSuite, which are among nine 'Enterprise Services' Web 2.0 applications hosted at Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) core data centers that provide tools for communications between joint forces.
DCO is an enterprise collaboration solution for online meetings, eLearning and webinars.
milSuite hosts four social media applications that empower users to communicate through sharing documents, images, videos, blogs, discussions and a wide scope of features designed to improve efficiencies, capture information and enable professional networking.
DCO and milSuite are included in DISA's Enterprise Infrastructure, which offers user applications, infrastructure resources, mobility solutions and identity and access management for DoD personnel.
The next virtual conference is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2014, with keynote speakers Nancy Dixon, a knowledge management expert and DoD advisor, and David Stickley, the director of DISA's Joint Information Environment Implementation office.
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