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Inaugural Software Development Forum shapes future of network capabilities

  • Published
  • By Katherine Kebisek
  • Air Force Network Integration Center
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  The Air Force Network Integration Center will host its first Software Development Forum Feb. 7 as part of an effort to standardize requirements for applications on the Air Force Network.

The event is the first in a series of planned forums to partner with industry in establishing a common set of standards for deploying systems and software onto the network, with the ultimate goal of providing secure, reliable network capabilities to Airmen faster and more cost effectively.

The forum is open to the public, however it is designed for those developing and integrating applications to reside on the AFNet, specifically program managers, application owners, and DoD contractors developing software. This initial SDF will address what steps the AF is taking to prepare for changes to its software development systems and standards, and to provide a venue to solicit input from industry.

"The purpose of the SDF is to get together in a collaborative environment so we can all agree on what the standards are going to be an how they will be executed," said Steve Stoner, AFNIC's Chief of AFNet Architecture Development and one of the event's lead planners. "It's a collaborative forum for us to inform them about what we need, as well as for them to give us feedback about how we should build our network."

The Air Force is currently in the process of migrating to a single integrated network environment. As the developer for that network's architecture, Air Force Network Integration Center specialists are in the unique position of intimately knowing what the network environment looks like today and how it will look in the future.

"As you go to one singular network, you get a bigger, more complex network and it becomes more of a challenge in some ways to field applications that work well on that," said Lt. Col. Richard Janoso, AFNIC vice commander. "We've had some folks who have rolled out an application on the network and realized there are some differences from when you're developing in a more local environment. We want to make sure folks understand those differences."

Representatives from AFNIC, the Office of the Air Force Chief Technology Officer, Defense Information Systems Agency, and the Air Force Software Assurance Center of Excellence are among the presenters. Topics include Networthiness, the Services Development and Delivery Process, software development standards and security, AF application hosting environments and case studies.

In addition, the team is also looking ahead, planning for the next gathering as well as an online community.

"We want to stand up a very interactive and collaborative website where we can post information and respond to questions ... and continue the conversations," said Stoner. The next physical forum is being planned for late summer 2012.

"We fully expect a two way discussion with industry on all those topics," said Janoso. "There's plenty of experience [within industry] and we want to make sure we capitalize on that and proceed smartly as we modernize our network."

For more information or to register visit http://www.afnic.af.mil/library/sdf.asp.