The future of open architecture innovation in C4ISR requires the government to define and publish open standards that contractors can then use to provide more cost effective products and services, several industry representatives said this week.
Current systems are unsustainable and a revolutionary approach is needed to reduce costs without sacrificing capabilities, Bill Ott, vice president of strategic innovation at Booz Allen Hamilton, said during Defense Daily’s Open Architecture Summit Tuesday.
The government should “take that overarching architecture perspective (with the assistance of, potentially, a contractor) to define those standards and publish those standards out to the industry partners to be able to increase innovation and increase competition,” Ott said.
Ott referred to the changes in open architecture platforms and systems as the Digital Open Ecosystem. He compared this to the kinds of options a consumer has in planning a night out using smartphone applications. The open architecture version can deliver cost efficiences and increased capabilities, he said.
Mike Rice, president and senior systems engineer of R2E Inc., said during the same panel discussion that changes along these lines must come from the top of the leadership pyramid. He noted the importance of adaptability becoming a necessary component of naval platforms.
The Navy’s C4I Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise System (CANES) is a prime example of an open architecture system used by the Navy, Rice explained. CANES is the Navy’s next generation tactical afloat network, consolidating five legacy networks into one.
Rice highlighted its value in cost containment and use of open standards as the networks are being installed on surface ships through FY 16. “The CANES program did pretty much grab hold of [open standards] and are following an open systems approach,” Rice said. “Employment of open standards is pretty much a good practice.”
Northrop Grumman [NOC], which designed CANES for the Navy, is currently the prime contractor on CANES for low-rate production. The Navy plans to re-compete full-rate production.