APEO Howell briefs industry on PEO EIS developments and opportunities

FORT BELVOIR, Va. ­­– PEO EIS’s assistant PEO for networks, cyber and services, John Howell, provided an update on the PEO, discussed business opportunities within his portfolio and answered questions from industry representatives at AFCEA Belvoir’s July 22 virtual luncheon.

Addressing an online audience of as many as 177 participants—an attendance that AFCEA event organizers say is at least 25 percent higher than at in-person luncheons—Howell brought everyone up to speed on the PEO’s leadership and organizational changes, new priorities and recent successes. Among other achievements, he called out the “Herculean effort” of the General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS) cloud migration that took place over July 4 weekend; the “unsung heroes of the COVID crisis” maintaining discipline at PEO EIS headquarters; and the Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) staff keeping the Army’s cyber mission going.

“Cyber never sleeps, and it hasn’t slept at all during COVID,” said Howell.

Howell went on to highlight several business opportunities from the networks, cyber and services portfolio, including a yet-to-be-scheduled industry day for the Enterprise Mass Warning & Notification System (EMWNS); the upcoming draft request for proposal for the re-compete of the Eagle Shield contract; and the Army Enterprise Staff Management System’s (AESMS) recent request for information for the Enterprise Task Management Software Solution (ETMS2).

During the Q&A, Howell fielded questions about collaborative technologies and COVID-19’s impact on PEO EIS. Noting that collaborative software has changed the way the Army thinks, Howell said that PEO EIS’s Enterprise Services project office has been working with CIO/G-6, the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) and other stakeholders to put Office 365 in users’ hands when DoD Commercial Virtual Remote (CVR) goes away in December. He added that the CVR Environment—designed to support large-scale telework during COVID-19—has seen tremendous success, among other organizations within the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), helping with training and operations, while maintaining or boosting user productivity.

“We have not had this eye-opening experience until now, and it has gotten attention up and down the entire Army,” said Howell.

Howell said he foresees future Army usage of commercial (or bring-your-own) devices once security-related issues are addressed; impending usage of CVR, and/or the follow-on O365 tool, for virtual industry days and other aspects of the acquisition process; and potential changes to how the acquisition workforce is distributed worldwide due to increased collaborative capabilities.

 “The beauty of this whole thing is that at there are so many opportunities for how to do business now that we’ve crossed the threshold,” said Howell, thanking industry attendees for their continued partnership.

AFCEA Belvoir Industry Days 2020—featuring speakers from PEO EIS—will tentatively be held November 16-18 at the Gaylord National Harbor. Information and registration options are available.