Navy-Marine Corps Intranet Project Takes Fresh Flak
____Gov't IT Review____
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Navy Secretary Gordon England on Tuesday treated the NMCI controversy with kid gloves. GovExec's piece noted "Hanlon's comments came as a sharp contrast to the overall tone of the conference, where the NMCI project has received lavish praise from an array of service officials. ... England praised NMCI and said there are a 'few bugs' in the system, but 'you're always going to have them.'"
According to another Federal Computer Week article, England said initial expectations for the project "were way too optimistic." and that "despite perceived user dissatisfaction, the program is proceeding more rapidly than at any time in the past."
"We applaud EDS for staying the course with us," England said, according to an updated article by Government Computer News. As for any technical woes, "England likened the difficulties to the uncertainty he sometimes faces at home logging on to his America Online account." More from the article: "This has not been a perfect process... Still, it's already leaps better than the way IT was managed before in the Navy, he said." That provides little solace for taxpayers and government watchdogs who have watched the costs tied to the project soar despite lackluster results.
The Navy "might renegotiate payments to EDS considering the unexpected complexity of the project," another article by GovExec.com reported. "Schedule delays have forced EDS to shoulder an unexpected financial burden until more people can connect to the network. 'From the beginning of the program, we were struggling with schedules,' England said. He said 'that EDS and Navy officials "did not fully understand" the complexity of the program.'"
Navy Capt. Craig Madsen, who GovExec.com said manages the Navy's deployment of NMCI, offered some more sugarcoating. He "said that problems are bound to occur as people are integrated into the system, but added that most users are generally happy with the program. He said he has heard stories about problems, but hard data shows an 80 percent customer satisfaction rate. As the number of people who have to be integrated declines, customer satisfaction rates will go even higher, he said," according to GovExec.com.
The Dallas Morning News noted the "relationship between EDS and the Navy, while never openly contentious, was noticeably friendlier at a technology contractor conference in New Orleans this week, analysts said. 'Participants from last year noted the difference in tone and that there was very little finger-pointing and more of a collaborative approach,' said William Loomis, an analyst for Legg Mason, in a research note."
A Room of Empty Seats?
Pacific Business News, part of the American City Business Journals chain, explained that NMCI "is meant to replace tens of thousands of computer networks in the two services. It is run from three computer nerve centers, in Norfolk, Va., San Diego, and on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor. EDS originally said it would switch over 30 computer stations per day to the new network, but it has come nowhere close to that pace."
Case in point: The Marine Corps's transition to NMCI has not shown a good track record for EDS. "From the start, EDS has failed to meet its original goal of transitioning 30 seats per day at Quantico to NMCI. After a five-week pause in rollovers, EDS began the transitions at a brisker pace, but still short of the 30-seat target, Hanlon said," according to FCW. "We understand the [Navy and Marine Corps command's] intent, but it is imperative to tell them when it isn't working exactly as expected," Hanlon said.
Since March 2003, only 9,000 Marine Corps computer seats out of a total 89,000 have been transferred to NMCI, while only 1,350 out of 6,000 seats have moved to NMCI at Quantico, Va., GCN noted. According to GovExec.com, Navy officials said more than 360,000 users are now connected the system and 340,000 more will be added.
In other NMCI news, a center set up to evaluate software products and services for use on the NMCI network "may not be up and running until the end of this year, according to NMCI executives. NPEC is a clearinghouse that will allow software vendors to submit their applications to determine compatibility with the enterprisewide network," Federal Computer Week reported.
