NCOIC/NGA Demonstrates Use of Cloud in Disaster Response

     When the world's next major earthquake, tsunami or other disaster hits, military, government and civilian NGA project is available on the NCOIC website.

responders will need to manage and disseminate a large amount of geospatial information to collaborate and get their life-saving jobs done. An interoperable, hybrid-cloud operating environment can be quickly enabled, allowing the teams to supply and retrieve data across multiple domains. This technological advancement in creating interoperability can improve mission speed, cost and reliability. Based on this demo, an open process, known as the NCOIC Rapid Response Capability (NRRC™), will be made available to governments (international, federal, state and local), companies and other organizations that need to build a federated cloud environment. More information on the

The NGA project began in late 2012 with Cycle One, during which the cloud infrastructure was defined and built. The NCOIC team established standards and processes, utilized best practices, and addressed potential problems such as ownership, bandwidth, latency, availability, access and security. Cycle One team members were:

• NJVC: Team leader for the project; designed, implemented and managed a federated cloud environment that provides baseline infrastructure services to participating NCOIC member companies
• Boeing: Provided geoservices through a Boeing-developed set of capabilities via its OpenGeo software
• Open Geospatial Consortium: Provided expertise to monitor, offer advice and report on the use of OGC standards throughout the demonstration period
• The Aerospace Corporation: Provided an OpenStack-based cloud and a virtual organization management system patterned after the one used by the Worldwide Large Hadron Collider Computing Grid

Cycle Two began in June 2013, with member-companies testing the cloud environment and preparing the real-time disaster simulation for Sept. 12, 2013. The members are providing technical applications and services that an international response force would use within a cloud operating environment. They are also serving as “actors” within the simulation, portraying military, government and civilian response teams from several different countries. The Cycle Two participants include:

• Boeing is creating two Ozone Dashboard Prototypes for dynamic disaster response re-planning and for operational impact assessment.
• NJVC is deploying its Cloudcuity Brokerage and Management Portal to integrate the apps provided by the other NCOIC members.
• Raytheon Company is providing its Readiness, Response, and Recovery Decision Support Tool and the Raytheon Android Tactical System application.
• Telos Corporation is providing four applications: Telos SE7EN; Telos Automated Message Handling System, Telos T-6 Collaboration tool set and Telos Secure Directory.
• Winthrop Management Services is providing a mobile application for handheld devices.

     Scheduled speakers include: Tip Slater, NCOIC director of business development; Eric Vollmecke, NCOIC project director and major general, U.S. Air National Guard (who, while on active duty, commanded two airlift wings during the 2010 Haitian crisis); and Kevin Jackson, NJVC VP/GM, cloud services. (Also Bob Henley of Private Digital Network Solutions, will discuss a national, private cloud used to securely host applications to support first responders and Colleen Dealey of Cloud Bound, LLC will demonstrate the ICS Bridge application and its disaster-management capabilities.)

(From PRNewswire-USNewswire)

WHEN:
Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013, 8:30 a.m. - noon
Key Media Opportunity at 10:30 a.m. - noon

WHAT: A real-time, open cloud computing demonstration for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. This simulation of a relief campaign after a complex, major disaster is based on the 2010 Haitian earthquake; it will show how an international group of agencies and organizations, using different technologies and applications, can quickly collect, store and share critical information, without the need to set up an onsite IT hosting environment, thus saving precious time and money.

WHERE:
Gannett/USA TODAY Corporate Headquarters -- Auditorium
7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va. 22107

WHO: The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium (NCOIC) is leading the NGA project team; participants are NJVC, The Aerospace Corp., Boeing, Raytheon, Telos Corp. and Winthrop Management Services.

VISUALS: Real-time demonstration of disaster-response management and interviews with key government and industry leaders

WEBCAST: A live webcast of the demonstration will be made available on the Internet to accredited media who register by September 9 to NCOIC Media Relations (www.ncoic.org/about/contact_us?tocontact=media)

About NCOIC The Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium works to enable cross-domain interoperability in and between such areas as aerospace, civil and military operations, air traffic management, health care and more. NCOIC is an international not-for-profit organization with more than 50 members and advisors representing businesses, government agencies and organizations in 12 countries. It has a nine-year history of developing world-class skills and tools that help its members and customers operate effectively across diverse global market sectors and domains. http://www.ncoic.org/.

SOURCE Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium

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