The Senate Armed Services Committee’s (SASC) version of the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2015 is pushing the Pentagon to adopt greater open architecture practices in the acquisition of major information technology systems.
The proposed language in the SASC bill would require the Pentagon to use an open systems approach for major acquisition systems primarily focused on information technology if that system enters concept development after Jan. 1, 2016.
The bill says the purpose of applying open systems is “to achieve agility, rapid capability enhancement, interoperability, increased competition, and lower costs over the life cycle of the program.”
Senior officials in the Pentagon have been highlighting the importance of taking an open architecture approach in the acquisition of systems, and it is a key focus in the Better Buying Power 2.0 initiative outlined by Frank Kendall, the undersecretary for acquisition.
Open architecture is seen as a way to enable quick technology upgrades while reducing lifecycle costs and promoting innovation and competition, and as a way to phase out “closed” systems that are expensive to maintain and harder to upgrade throughout their existence.
While the Pentagon at the top levels has embraced the idea of open architecture, some observers believe acquisition officials and program managers have a long way to go to fully and adequately implement open models into systems, and have pointed to the institutional challenges associated with shifting away from the legacy practice of closed systems.
While the SASC bill would require an open architecture, or OA, approach, it also allows for some exceptions. It would exempt programs where a business case shows that an open system would be more expensive and “not practically achievable.” It would waive the requirement for commercial-off-the-shelf, or COTS, technologies as well.
Systems being developed to meet an “urgent or emergent” requirement would also not have to comply, but if they were to evolve to a program of record then an analysis must be conducted to determine if they should be converted to an OA system, according to the proposed bill.
The bill would also require Kendall to submit a report to Congress identifying “all closed systems that are in development, production and deployed status as January 1, 2016,” specifically ones that are or were major programs involving information technology. It would call on the Pentagon to create a process for prioritizing which programs should be transitioned to OA as appropriate and develop a plan to do so within 10 years.
The SASC bill still must be passed by the full Senate. Then Senate and House lawmakers must work out differences between their respective versions before it can become law.