DHS Migrates Networks Into One - OneNet

Via GCN -

Scott Charbo knows the future of his Homeland Security Department backbone. And the future is now—well, as soon as the Networx governmentwide acquisition contract is awarded and ready for agencies to use. The DHS CIO said his agency is close to completing OneNet—a consolidation of six WANs.

But he is waiting for the General Services Administration to award the two-part, $20 billion Networx contract in March and May so DHS can finish the job.

“OneNet is almost up,” he said after a conference sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s Bethesda, Md., chapter. “At least 40 percent of the circuits have migrated. We still have to move the Coast Guard and parts of the Transportation Security Administration.”

Charbo, like many other CIOs and network administrators, is seriously considering how much of his network can be outsourced to a managed-services provider—likely through Networx—and how much will be addressed by the IT Infrastructure Line of Business initiative. “This is the right model and where everyone should go,” Charbo said.

Agency and vendor experts recently said that handing over some or all of your network management responsibilities to a managed-services provider could provide cost savings, improved security and improved continuity of operations planning.