Army building IT asset management system

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Army wants to know where all of its information technology assets are, from the day something is bought until it the day it is retired.

To achieve that vision, the Army's Network Enterprise Technology Command (Netcom) is creating the Army Enterprise Infostructure Repository, an asset management database that will track all of the service's hardware, software and IT services from the point of sale through implementation, use and retirement, said Thomas Leahy, Army Small Computer Program (ASCP) deputy assistant project manager.

ASCP has been involved with the repository program, which Leahy said is still in the "developmental stages," for the past few months. Its data will help form the baseline for the asset management database, Leahy told FCW June 3 at the Army IT conference.

Having ASCP data at the front end of the repository is a natural fit because the office can track when, where and from whom an IT asset is bought and where it is shipped. But then the office loses oversight, Leahy said.

At that point, Netcom can build from that data and ensure that the various assets and systems meet operational and network worthiness criteria, as well as that they fit into the Army's enterprise architecture, Leahy said. Netcom became operational in October 2002; its job is to perform enterprisewide management of the Army's networks and IT.

Olga Lawrence, ASCP assistant project manager, said the office's current capabilities meet the enterprise repository requirements and that ASCP is working with Netcom on integrating its information into the larger database.

ASCP's enhanced MarketPlace Direct system, a governmentwide, Internet-based e-commerce solution that enables customers to identify, evaluate and purchase products and services against established IT contract vehicles, will be used to feed the Army Enterprise Infostructure Repository, said Marian Keitelman, leader of the MarketPlace Direct team and ASCP product leader.

"We will gather the information and statistics to make it happen," Keitelman said.