Army explores new paradigm for tech requirements via new model for tactical radios
Summary
But effectively managing an inventory of communications equipment that large is a huge acquisition and logistics undertaking, and the Army is seriously considering outsourcing a significant part of the problem to industry in its newest potential foray into a technology as-a-service model. But effectively managing an inventory of communications equipment that large is a huge acquisition and logistics undertaking, and the Army is seriously considering outsourcing a significant part of the problem to industry in its newest potential foray into a technology as-a-service model. Then, notionally, the same company would be in charge of storing, maintaining and upgrading software on the bigger quantities soldiers would need for active military operations, leasing them out to the Army on an as-needed basis. “The as-a-service model might require us to relook at the processes that we use to fund and to field equipment, and it could also pose some risks to the ability to quickly surge radios and inventory, for example, in the event of a large scale conflict,” he said during one of the Army’s biannual Technical Exchange Meetings in Nashville last week. Meanwhile, officials are issuing two separate requests for information to industry: One, expected to be released in the next several days, will ask for companies’ views on the feasibility, possible expense, and wisdom of the overall “as-a-service” notion.