By Bob Gourley
Congrats are in order to DMI. Their hard work, focused planning, and collegial approach to working with other great firms (including the greatest mobile risk management firms in the world) resulted in a contract award that will end up helping enable many DoD missions. Good on you DMI!
Congrats are also on order to DISA. It is hard to run a procurement on a new topic and you guys clearly did great here. Your vision of enhanced functionality, enhanced security and risk management and unified approaches is exactly that the DoD needs right now. Good on you DISA!
Here is more from the DISA press release at: http://ctolink.us/19Iig51
DISA AWARDS MDM/MAS CONTRACT
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. — DISA’s Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization awarded a firm fixed price contract for the Mobile Device Management (MDM) system and Mobile Application Store (MAS) to Digital Management, Inc. (DMI) of Bethesda, Md. Thursday for an initial award amount of $2.9 million, with four six-month option periods for a total lifecycle amount of nearly $16 million.
The base period of performance for this contract is July 9, 2013 to July 8, 2014.
The establishment of the MDM and MAS is a keystone for the Department of Defense Mobility Implementation Plan as it sets the stage for the digital ecosystem that will operate and assure the mobile devices that connect with DOD networks. “An enterprise-level service capability for unclassified information processing will be accomplished by an MDM system with an enterprise MAS,” the plan states.
“DISA is proud to lead the DOD mobility effort because we see mobility is one of the disruptive technologies that we are bringing to bear. It gives us the ability to move information wherever we need it and put the information in the hands of the warfighter wherever he or she might be. With the mobile device management system and mobile application store, we will be able to manage devices and the applications that our warfighters use while ensuring our networks and information are secure and protected,” said Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins, DISA Director.
“A strong MDM capability lets us provision and manage devices with best-practice protections, trusted platform configuration and continuous monitoring,” said Douglas Gardner, DISA’s Technical Director for Program Executive Office for Mission Assurance.
In defining the need for an MDM, the DOD Mobile Device Implementation Plan states, “As end user dependence on mobile devices rises, enterprise management implemented via an MDM becomes necessary to ensure secure mobile device operation and maintenance in a cost-efficient manner. The MDM provides the ability to enforce policy for end user devices at application and user levels by instituting end user permissions for approved functions on the mobile device. MDM also supports malware detection, over-the-air (OTA) electronic software distribution of applications, remote data-wipe capabilities, remote device configuration management, and asset/property management capabilities that protect against key and data compromise. These capabilities ensure the security of the entire user community is not compromised by an improperly configured or operated device. A unified MDM architecture secures monitors, manages, and supports accredited mobile devices across a range of DoD environments.”
Hand-in-hand with the MDM, the mobile application store ensures that the applications distributed and managed on the MDM are vetted and approved for use on mobile devices connected to the DOD Networks.
“This plan establishes an enterprise Mobile Application Store (MAS) capability that operates in conjunction with the MDM system. The MAS can deliver, update, and delete applications on mobile devices without the end user having to return the device for service. The objective of an enterprise MAS is to optimize the functionality and distribution of mobile applications to mobile devices while minimizing replication, cost, and downtime,” according to the DOD Commercial Mobile Device Implementation Plan.
The establishment of the MDM and MAS is the next major step forward in DOD’s process for building a multi-vendor environment, supporting a diverse selection of devices and operating systems.
“Mobile security is not about the device — it’s about making the information available to the warfighter,” said John Hickey, DISA Mobility Program Manager at the AFCEA International Cyber Symposium in Baltimore Wednesday.
The solicitation for this contract was issued as a full and open competition.
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