ABID 2024: PEO EIS highlights ALTESS’ approach to digital modernization

Over the past 20+ years, ALTESS — or Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Enterprise Systems and Services — has evolved its services to deliver whatever the Army mission requires. At AFCEA Belvoir Industry Days 2024, industry attendees received an update May 14 on ALTESS’ wide-ranging offerings, customers and future initiatives and opportunities. 

Speaking on behalf of ALTESS Product Director Boyd Williams, PEO EIS Acting Project Director for Enterprise Services Sergio Alvarez highlighted four key ways in which ALTESS has been supporting customers: via the migration of applications to cARMY, unique on-premise requirements, general compute and storage services, and prototype support. 

To date, ALTESS has migrated a total of 135 managed systems to the cloud, including 54 Army Materiel Command systems from DISA MilCloud 2.0 to cARMY over a three-month period and 81 Department of the Army systems from Joint Service Provider Pentagon to the ALTESS cloud in less than six months.  

Alvarez explained that ALTESS partners with the Enterprise Cloud Management Agency (ECMA) — which oversees cARMY and is now part of Army Cyber Command — on the management of applications in the cloud environment. ECMA leverages ALTESS’ experience in modernizing and moving applications into the environment, said Alvarez, while managing the overarching cloud environment itself.  

“Moving forward, there will be more of a mesh between us and cARMY on how we manage cloud environments,” he said, noting they will jointly decide whether applications should remain on premise or move to the cloud. 

Alvarez also discussed ALTESS’ evolution from providing Army Enterprise Data Centers (AEDC) to the transitional Army Edge Computing Environment — two of which are presently fielded at full operational capability at Radford, Virginia and Fort Liberty, North Carolina. While AEDCs only support enterprise applications at critical fixed sites, the future Army Edge Computing Capability will provide common compute and store to host applications on premise within AEDCs both domestically and abroad. 

ALTESS is working closely with Project Manager Integrated Enterprise Network at PEO Command, Control and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) on this initiative.  

In the future, ALTESS plans to pursue additional opportunities with C3T, as well as with the Army Software Factory. ALTESS also will focus on application modernization and the hosting of a rapid prototype development environment in Radford, said Alvarez. 

Asked which initiatives ALTESS will require industry’s help with, Alvarez said they want to engage with commercial businesses as much as possible on how to accomplish everything, including managing data, gaining cloud efficiencies and exploring which tools best help modernize applications and environments.  

“We don’t know all the answers and will always leverage industry,” said Alvarez.  

Prospective industry partners interested in meeting with ALTESS can submit a request via the PEO EIS website.