NCOIC Debuts Roadmap for Designing, Managing Cyber-secure Hybrid Computing Environment

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) has begun offering an open process that will enable governments, agencies and businesses to create and manage a secure, hybrid IT computing environment quickly and cost effectively.

Known as the NCOIC Rapid Response Capability (NRRC™), the process defines how to build a federated cloud infrastructure that provides a foundation for information sharing within a secure environment, enabling a diverse group of users to exchange data via their different technology applications so they can work on a common project or problem.

"When you set up an IT infrastructure in a traditional manner, you get traditional results. The NRRC represents a different way of doing business," said Tip Slater, NCOIC director of business development. "An interoperable platform, with both cloud and traditional IT environments and a security wrapper, is the most effective way to multiply your resources and capability while cutting your computing costs by more than half."

The NRRC was initially developed for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which is incorporating the process into its plans for disaster and humanitarian response.  

In a demonstration to NGA leaders last September, an NCOIC industry-government team showed the ability of an open cloud environment to quickly collect, store and share geospatial data during a complex disaster-response situation. A virtual organization was set up in a federated cloud environment to provide cyber-secure operations and data protection for unclassified information.

NCOIC's new rapid deployment process includes checklists, rules and patterns designed to promote data exchange and is applicable to a wide range of business needs beyond disaster response. Using the NRRC process, organizations are able to develop a secure cloud where they can establish online identities and manage access to unclassified, proprietary and classified information, while honoring the rules, regulations and release policies of different data owners.

"The need for interoperability and global collaboration has become more important than ever," said Slater. "The international typhoon-response mission in the Philippines and the multi-industry/government team implementing the Affordable Care Act here in the U.S. are just two examples of operations that could be improved by a secure and reliable computing environment that supports information transfer across domains."

Government, non-governmental and business organizations interested in the NRRC open process should contact NCOIC. The consortium also has trained a team of master practitioners to assist organizations in implementing their interoperable cloud computing platforms.

"NCOIC has a broader focus than just one business or part of the world. What we have done in creating and testing the NRRC is beyond the capability of a single business or nation," said Slater. "As a neutral consortium, we are able to bring together great minds from government, industry and technology-oriented organizations to find a methodology that utilizes the latest technology and still integrates all of the major efforts."

For more information on the NCOIC Rapid Response Capability process, go to www.ncoic.org/technology/deliverables/NRRC/.

The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium works to enable cross-domain interoperability in and between such areas as aerospace, civil and military operations, air traffic management, health care and more. NCOIC is an international not-for-profit organization with more than 50 members and advisors representing businesses, government agencies and organizations in 12 countries. It has a nine-year history of developing world-class skills and tools that help its members and customers operate effectively across diverse global market sectors and domains. www.ncoic.org

SOURCE Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium