The Army’s Office of the CIO/G6 oversees an IT budget of more than $7 billion per year, managing 1,500-plus systems and programs — mostly by spreadsheets until recently. Two years ago, the Army implemented an off-the-shelf portfolio management solution to drive new processes that maximize resources, meet IT capability requirements and better align investment with strategy.
This is one in a continuing series of case studies about project management and portfolio management solutions in real-world applications.
With more than one million active, guard and reserve soldiers, the Army must allocate and manage its IT resources effectively to ensure that the troops receive the IT support they rely upon both on the battlefield and at their garrison location. In addition to supporting the rapid exchange of information on the battlefield, the Office of the CIO/G6 must support soldiers’ families at home who depend on the Army’s IT enterprise for pay checks, access to medical resources, and other necessities.
“These essential functions are all supported by the network backbone, which aids and assists in ensuring the right people get the information to make informed decisions on the battlefield, and receive the necessary support at home,” says Cliff Dickman, senior IT portfolio management analyst for the Army CIO/G6, part of the team supporting