Charbo: Procurement drives EA at DHS

The Homeland Security Department wants to develop its new enterprise architecture through procurements, DHS’ chief information officer said today.

Those procurements will adhere to the architecture’s business requirements, which will serve as a litmus test for vendors because not all products will make it into the architecture, said Scott Charbo, DHS’ CIO, at an Industry Advisory Council breakfast in Washington, D.C.

Products’ cost, configuration and operational characteristics will determine whether they make it into the architecture, Charbo said.

The imminent departure of Greg Rothwell, DHS’ chief procurement officer who is set to retire Dec. 2, will not have a large effect on Charbo’s office, Charbo said. “We hope there’s no impact, and that’s what we’re planning for,” he said.

Elaine Duke, the department’s deputy chief procurement officer, will mind the store until DHS names a permanent replacement, Charbo said. He also works closely with DHS’ Information Technology Acquisition Center, which maximizes DHS’ IT buying power.