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C H E S S

Feature articles & full report available for download at: www.FCW.com/specialreportCHESS

Inside

Army’s CHESS contract delivers big savings on hardware and software s2

Benefits of CHESS deliver broad user capabilities, valuable cost savings s4

Spotlight on the CHESS Consolidated Buy program s5

Regulations and standards drive Army’s CHESS vehicle forward s6

MC4 leverages IT to aid in soldiers’ recovery s8

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[ C o m p u t e r H a r d w a r e , E n t e r p r i s e S o f t w a r e a n d S o l u t i o n s ]

The Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions contract vehicle is the Army’s designated primary source for commercial IT, including

computers, printers, enterprise software licenses and an array of related IT services.

As the Army’s mandatory source for commercial hardware and software, CHESS has provided acquisition support to the Army since 1996 and is expanding that support to meet the evolving needs of soldiers around the globe. In 1996, the Clinger-Cohen Act introduced for the entire federal government a preference for commercial off-the-shelf products. Sales of COTS products through CHESS, known at that time as the Army Small Computer Program, peaked at $363 million. At the end of fiscal 2010, COTS sales hit $3.7 billion, bringing CHESS’ total sales to $21.5 billion. Even more significant are the savings and cost avoidance generated by the CHESS program. In fiscal 2010, CHESS generated a cost avoidance of $724 million, increasing the program’s total cost avoidance to $4.5 billion.

The tremendous success of the CHESS program can be attributed to the organization’s ability to cost effectively meet the Army’s requirement to stay abreast of technology, officials maintain.

CHESS provides a no-fee, flexible procurement strategy through which an Army user can procure COTS IT hardware, software and services via an e-commerce-based process. CHESS offers simple, straightforward contract vehicles through its online Army e-commerce ordering system, an IT e-mart. These contracts provide continuous vendor competition for best value and consolidation of requirements to maximize cost avoidance and maximize the Army’s buying power.

In 2005, to increase the Army’s IT savings, CHESS established its Consolidate Buy (CB) program. A major benefit of the CB is that every soldier pays the same low unit price for a single desktop or laptop PC because the price is based on the total large quantity that the Army procures. CHESS serves as the Network Enterprise

Technology Command’s distribution point, so every CHESS desktop and laptop PC comes preloaded with the architecture and security standards required to run on the LandWarNet network.

No other provider of COTS products offers that assurance.

CHESS is also the Army’s Enterprise Software Initiative Software Product Manager. In this capacity, CHESS is responsible for managing the Defense Department and Army enterprise software agreements whose use has been mandated by the Army CIO. With the increased need for enterprise licenses, CHESS awarded three enterprise license agreements during fiscal 2010, including two awards for BMC software and CA help-desk software that will support the Army’s Enterprise Service Management System’s Network Operations requirements. Potential cost avoidance for the two agreements is $220 million. In addition, an enterprise license award was made for Minitab, which provides the software supporting the Army’s Lean Six Sigma projects. The cost per single-user license is $194 versus the $1,700 or more outside the Army.

The CHESS office consolidated Army user requirements to provide a lower cost for each order with a quantity. These ELAs supplement the other 25 CHESS-managed ELAs valued at $2.6 billion.

Separately, to support DOD’s transition to voice over IP telecommunications systems, the CHESS office collaborated with the Project Manager for Network Service Center office to make it faster and more cost-effective to purchase VOIP phones and right-to-use licenses. VOIP technology uses voice communications via an IP data network rather than a separate, dedicated voice network and is the foundation for implementing features known as unified capabilities. By itself, VOIP simply provides a service that is no different from basic telephone service. However, in purchasing VOIP phones to support VOIP infrastructure, soldiers will gain a range of additional services, including instant messaging,

s2 1105 Government Information Group Custom Report

Army’s CHESS contract delivers big savings on hardware and software

www.FCW.com/specialreportCHESSSnapshot: CHESS

1105 Government Information Group Custom Report s3

video calls, do-it-yourself conferencing and phone collaboration.

Because implementing VOIP capability often brings a variety of concerns not associated with conventional telephone service, CHESS has included information on its website that will assist customers in purchasing a VOIP phone.

Ultimately, CHESS contracts and license agreements leverage the Army’s enterprise purchasing power to provide state-of-the-art technology and aid in the protection of the LandWarNet. s

continued from page s2, Army’s CHESS contract...

www.FCW.com/specialreportCHESS Snapshot: CHESS

The inherent value that the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS)

contract vehicle provides lies in its relationship with key partners, including the Army CIO office, Information Systems Engineering Command, Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command and Army Contracting Command’s Army Contracting Command — National Capital Region.

With these partners, CHESS provides architecturally sound standards and policy-compliant IT enterprise solutions to all Army activities and organizations. Consolidating software requirements, developing business cases, assisting contracting officers in negotiating best-value deals and administering resulting agreements — CHESS helps to reduce acquisition and support costs in all of those areas by maximizing the Defense Department’s buying power.

Primary benefits of the Army’s CHESS contract vehicle include:• Close integration of the Information Technology

Enterprise Solutions (ITES) and Army Desktop and Mobile Computing (ADMC) vehicles to provide commercial IT, including hardware, software and services.

• Broad use of Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI)

agreements to generate cost savings across DOD. ESI agreements allow federal organizations to use stock fund dollars with an approved business case study to fund enterprise volume requirements.

• Online orders through CHESS’ IT e-mart to streamline the IT procurement process, establishment of an IT e-commerce procurement process through AKO channels and compliance with Army commercial off-the-shelf IT regulatory requirements.

• Consolidated Buy program, in which laptop and desktop PCs are offered twice per year at rates as much as nearly 50 percent off typical GSA schedule pricing, based on ADMC-2 contracts.

Meanwhile, officials say streamlined CHESS business processes provide:• ITES, ADMC and ESI enterprise level agreements at

significant volume discounts for all purchasers.• PKI Enabled/Active Directory enabled systems and

software for enhanced security.• Network management capabilities for desktop systems

and servers.• Compliance with DOD and HQDA policies for

standardization and interoperability. s

Benefits of CHESS deliver broad user capabilities, valuable cost savings


$


In a nutshell

CHESS advantages include:

• No fee for using the CHESS Army-approved contract vehicle.

• Any federal government organization is eligible to purchase from CHESS.

• Negotiated discounts and labor rates on contracts bring added cost savings.

• The contract leverages the Army’s enormous buying power.

• Compliance with all DOD and HQDA policies on standardization, interoperability and security.

CHESS statistics

FISCAL 2010 Commercial off-the-shelf sales: $3.7 billion

FISCAL 2010Cost avoidance: $724 million

FISCAL 2010Breakdown of costs avoided: • $362 million in software savings • $362 million in savings from hardware/services

Total sales since inception in 1996 $21.5 billion

Total cost avoidance since inception $4.5 billion

Source: Army CHESS



Spotlight on the CHESS Consolidated Buy program

The Consolidated Buy (CB) program managed by the Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and

Solutions office requires Army organizations to make any purchases of desktop and laptop computers twice a year, from January to March and from June to September.

Reporting to the Army Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, the CHESS CB program is open and accepting orders, and it will run through Sept. 30. During this period, Army Desktop and Mobile Computing-2 (ADMC-2) vendors supply consolidated buying discounts on top of prenegotiated low prices for commercial off-the-shelf IT hardware and software solutions.

The CB program offers Army personnel around the globe a variety of desktop and laptop configurations, with available options and upgrades, from various manufacturers and resellers that include CDW Government, Dell, Emtec Federal, Hewlett-Packard, ITG, NCS Technologies, Telos and Transource. All desktop and laptop computers are delivered preloaded with the latest standard baseline configurations embodied in the Army Golden Master program, according to CHESS officials.

A little backgroundIn 2005, to increase the Army’s IT savings, CHESS established the CB program to provide the Army a window to leverage its buying power twice each fiscal year. According to Army officials, during the CB open period, CHESS’ ADMC-2 contract suppliers offer additional discounts on prenegotiated prices for state-of-the-art COTS desktop and laptop computers and monitors, each with a wide selection of options and upgrades.

In fiscal 2010, the CHESS CB program shipped nearly 70,000 units, for sales of $58 million and a cost avoidance of $7.7 million, according to CHESS officials. Total sales since the inception of the CB program have topped $715 million, with a total cost avoidance of $275.8 million.

Contracting officers can visit the CHESS website and view side-by-side comparisons of specifications and prices and evaluate different systems in accordance with their procedures. They can also place orders, officials said. Army organizations take advantage of the CB program to net substantial savings regardless of the quantities procured. Even a single user who orders only one system benefits by receiving the same reduced price as larger volume purchasers. The savings possible varies but has exceeded 40 percent per system purchased, based on each vendor’s pricing and the options selected.

In accordance with Army Regulation 25-1, “Army Knowledge Management and Information Technology,” CHESS is responsible for implementing consolidated buys of desktop and laptop computers for the service at the enterprise level. The CB process is the most cost-effective approach to fulfilling user requirements for these products. The CB is also in direct support of the Army CIO’s strategy for acquiring products that are fully compliant with Federal Desktop Core Configuration regulations and Defense Department and Army security and interoperability standards.

Standard product delivery via the CB program is 30 days for orders in the continental United States and 35 days in other countries. Customers who require alternate or expedited delivery must contact the vendor before placing the order. International orders outside Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Turkey, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are listed as remote outside the continental United States.

CB products come with a standard three-year warranty. Warranty details for each vendor are on the CB Products and Prices Web page. Additional information about each vendor’s products is also on the CB Products and Prices Web page. Customers who require different warranty coverage should contact the vendor for a price quote. s

Several regulatory and standards drivers have helped the Army’s Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions program become a leading

contracting vehicle for federal IT purchases, especially at the Defense Department.

Under the authority of the Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Revision 25, published in April 2010:• CHESS is the mandatory source for commercial IT

purchases. “Purchasers of commercial hardware and software must satisfy their IT requirements by utilizing CHESS contracts and DOD Enterprise Software Agreements first regardless of dollar value. Any purchase made outside of CHESS contracts requires a waiver.”

• For IT services, purchasers should consider small-business set-asides. “If no small-business capability exists, CHESS contract vehicles are the preferred source for acquisition of IT.… [A waiver is] not required for IT services. However, if IT hardware and software are required as part of a non-CHESS IT services contract, a waiver for the hardware and software is required.”

Meanwhile, other Army IT management regulations assert CHESS’ status:• CHESS is the primary source for purchases of COTS

software, desktops and notebook computers regardless of dollar value.

• As a primary source, purchasers must get a CHESS waiver to buy from other sources.

Those regulations apply to the active Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve unless otherwise stated. It applies to IT contained in both business systems and national security systems, except as noted, developed for or purchased by the Army Department. This regulation also applies to IT contained in command and control systems, intelligence systems, except as noted, business systems, and when identified, national security

systems developed or purchased by the Army Department.

An Army CIO policy memo from May 2009 further backs CHESS as the definitive source for Army IT purchases. “Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions (CHESS) is the primary source for procuring commercial information technology (IT) hardware and software,” the memo states. This policy memo reinforces the existing policy to use CHESS for desktop and laptop PCs and videoconferencing, and it expanded the contract’s use to other COTS IT, including routers, servers and printers. It also added security and interoperability requirements to CHESS.

Additional CHESS standardsA chief contract requirement for CHESS is compliance with DOD, Army and Network Enterprise Technology Command standards, including:

• NETCOM Army Enterprise Desktop Standardization.• Army Golden Master (Federal Desktop Core

Configuration).• Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool.• DOD IT Standards and Profile Registry.• Information assurance (AR 25-2/OIA&C Approved

Products List).• IP Version 6.• Networthiness.• Section 508.• Smart-card reader.• Trusted Platform Module.• Wireless networking.• UID, radio frequency ID, and NETCOM Technical

Authority.• Hardware requirement for FIPS 140-2 Certified Mode

in support of 802.11 wireless connections.

Army/DOD Unified Capabilities Approved Products ListEffective October 2010, the Army implemented the DOD Unified Capabilities Approved Products List. With the

Regulations and standards drive Army’s CHESS vehicle forward


open



purpose to maintain a single consolidated list of products that have completed Interoperability and Information Assurance certification, use of the approved products list allows Army and DOD organizations to purchase and operate UC systems on DOD network infrastructures.

For specifications regarding the use of the approved products list, please refer to the Unified Capabilities Requirements from 2008, Change 2. Products approved for use on DOD networks are available at aplits.disa.mil/processAPList.do.

The CHESS contracts designated for approved products list item acquisitions are under the IT Enterprise Solutions-2 Hardware program. The approved products list items should be acquired by soliciting proposals from ITES-2H contractors. s

continued from page s6, Regulations...




In September 2009, a sniper’s round struck Maj. Andy Ingalsbe in the back, one inch below his Kevlar vest. The reservist and his civil affairs team had

just completed a humanitarian mission in southeastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province.

The projectile inflicted extensive damage, ending Ingalsbe’s service in theater. The bullet cracked two vertebrae, destroyed his right kidney, and tore his liver and digestive tract. Unable to brace himself for the fall, Ingalsbe also injured his neck when his head slammed against the ground.

Surgical teams treated him at Forward Operating Base Sharana and Bagram Airfield. They also digitally documented Ingalsbe’s care in computer systems fielded and supported by the Army’s Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care program. MC4 integrates, fields and supports a comprehensive medical information system, enabling lifelong electronic medical records, streamlined medical logistics and enhanced situational awareness for Army tactical forces. By accomplishing this mission, MC4 is providing the Army’s solution to presidential and congressional objectives set forth in 1997, which called for a medical tracking system for all deployed service members.

The Army’s Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems at Fort Belvoir, Va., oversees the MC4 Product Management Office headquartered at Fort Detrick, Md. MC4 is a rugged system of systems that contains medical software packages fielded to tactical medical forces throughout combat zones and in the United States. Comprised of joint, commercial off-the-shelf and government off-the-shelf software, MC4 provides the tools needed to digitally record and transfer critical medical data from the foxhole to medical treatment facilities worldwide. The MC4 Product Management Office uses the Army Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Solutions website as its primary source to support and

meet MC4 hardware and COTS requirements.

Deployable medical forces use MC4 systems to gain quick and accurate access to patient histories and forward casualty resuscitation information. The system also provides units with automated tools facilitating patient tracking, medical reporting and medical logistical support. Combatant commanders use the MC4 system to access medical surveillance information, resulting in enhanced medical situational awareness.

Most important, MC4 is helping deployed service members such as Ingalsbe.

By equipping deployed medical units with automated resources, MC4 helps ensure service members have a secure, accessible, lifelong electronic medical record, which results in better informed health care providers and easier access to the Veterans Affairs Department’s medical benefits.

With more than 10 years of experience managing the Defense Department’s first battlefield medical recording system, MC4’s vision is to be the premier enabler for improved tactical health care and better decision-making through the power of IT.

Ingalsbe’s ongoing careIngalsbe’s digital medical history helped physicians at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., piece together the entire traumatic story. “I arrived at Walter Reed five days after my injury but regained consciousness on the 18th day,” Ingalsbe said.

“The doctors told me about my injuries, and I required a lot of replumbing. Surgeons in Afghanistan removed a kidney and my right colon. The entire time I lived at Walter Reed, the doctors never asked me about any of my prior treatments. They had all of the information in my digital records. One doctor said that I looked better

MC4 leverages IT to aid in soldiers’ recovery


medically in person than what was documented in my chart.”

The timing of his injury was devastating to Ingalsbe. For 25 years, he trained for combat as a military policeman. In 2005, he voluntarily came out of retirement to serve in a civil affairs role just to get to the battlefield. From 2005 to 2006, he led more than 80 missions throughout Iraq. Ingalsbe’s teams dug wells, repaired schools and handed out food. However, his humanitarian experience came with a price. An improvised explosive device damaged his hearing, yet he remained committed to the mission.

At the end of his tour, Ingalsbe retired for a second time. In 2008, he returned to active duty and deployed in the same capacity, but this time for one year in Afghanistan. While in theater, he decided to extend for a second year. Two days before he was set to begin another year-long tour, he was hit by a sniper’s bullet in theater. Ingalsbe recuperated at Walter Reed for eight months. The digital history from the battlefield and home enables Maj. Jane Dickler, nurse case manager with the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed, to keep a close watch on Ingalsbe and others. “I review the electronic records and treatment plan to make sure my patients receive the medical attention they require,” Dickler said.

“Since the medical staff captures patient data electronically, it eliminates the need to hunt for paper forms. It also significantly reduces the possibility of losing patient information. My team also reviews appointment schedules so that patients are where they need to be at the correct times.”

Ingalsbe underwent a second surgical procedure in March 2010. To repair the damage in his neck, a neurosurgeon inserted two titanium discs, as well as a metal plate to hold them in place. Three months after the operation, he transferred to the Community Based Warrior Transition Unit-Arkansas. Ingalsbe continues his rehabilitation at outpatient facilities in his hometown of West Plaines, Mo. “Many times, being near friends and family are better recuperative agents for certain injuries than a stay

in a hospital bed,” said Maj. Barbara Schulz, nurse case manager at the Arkansas facility, who manages Ingalsbe’s care.

“Patients, such as Ingalsbe are able to receive medical care in their own communities. I stay in contact on a daily or weekly basis. When Ingalsbe receives physical therapy at his local hospital or meets with his family physician, we receive documentation from the civilian providers. Ultimately, all of the records we collect will go to the Department of Veterans Affairs, allowing future providers to view his complete medical history.”

Although digital medical records have replaced paper forms, Ingalsbe stays set in his ways. He still collects paper copies of every form from every appointment. After he was shot, the paper folder has since been replaced by a plastic binder. He also has CD-ROMs and DVDs that hold the results from his radiology exams. “The military is much different today than when I began my career 30 years ago,” Ingalsbe said.

“For most of my career, service members kept paper copies of their medical records to protect against a clinic misplacing months or years of medical information. Today, digital notes build upon older records like e-mail messages. I don’t have a medical background, but the digital records are pretty easy to follow.”

Periodically, Ingalsbe returns to Walter Reed for follow-up appointments with his doctors. He said that when it comes time for a medical review board to determine his future medical benefits, they will be well informed. “Between my paper copies and the digital records in the military’s computer system, I have my medical history covered,” Ingalsbe said.

“The medical board will have a complete medical picture of my military service. I have a lot of good memories from my military career. As a permanent reminder of my deployment to Afghanistan, I have a 12-inch scar on my abdomen and the sniper’s round mounted on my wall with my Purple Heart.” s

continued from page s6, MC4 leverages...

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