The NaturalDynamics of SituationalAwareness

Giving Situational Awareness to the Front-LineJust Use COTS – Promises, Promises?

Pat Tyrrell

Today’s Text is........

“Rules are made for the guidance of wise men and the slavish adherents of fools.”

• Are we wise – or foolish?

The Operational Dilemma

• Successful operational commanders:PattenNelsonNapoleonZukov

• They tend to be mavericks, unconventional, unexpected and innovative. They bring strategic uncertainty to the enemy!

The Operational Dilemma

• We are beloved of:

– standards, – commercial-of-the-shelf, – low risk solutions,– Low cost products– Process driven methods.

• These have their place but be careful of making them the key factor!

The Operational Dilemma

• We need a balance that recognises the different environment in the front line.

• Need systems that can give us innovative and radical solutions to solve operational problems.

• If we mandate “systems” we will get sclerosis and an inability to be agile where and when we need to be.

• SOA and SofS can help – but never lose sight of the operational requirement.

Innovation in Situational Awareness

• Low Bandwidth Challenges• Large Heterogeneous Data Sets• Intermittent connectivity• Security• Complex Legacy Integration Requirements• They want the Internet!

– Browser/Google– Email

Remember the Requirement .........

We must be committed to:

Delivering knowledge, where it is needed, when it is required and in a form where it can be used most effectively in the decision process.

Public Safety Challenge

The “Disadvantaged Platform”

• The disadvantaged platform is any group, or person, who cannot, adequately, identify, retrieve or otherwise access the information they require to prosecute their business in a timely or responsive manner.

• This may be as a result of information overload, the inability to download information adequately or limited bandwidth.

UK Submarine Trial

• Sea trials – submarine deployed in early 2008• Integration with existing submarine platform• Putting over 6 times (and up to 50 times) the

information down the limited pipe– Broadband over dial up!– Savings on commercial sat. comm. costs

• Information Integration on board– Formal/Informal Messages– Janes– Doctrine– Track Data

Submarine Situational Warehouse

ACP 127 Formal Messaging Content

Submarine SOA

The Disadvantaged Platform

Military• Low bandwidth

• High volume of data

• “need to know when you need to know it”!

• Restricted storage

• High tempo

• Increasingly global

Civilian• “Pinch” points on

bandwidth

• Vast data repositories

• Need for agility

• Storage is not infinite

• Increasing importance of tempo

• Look at “credit crunch”

Complex Organisation ChallengesMilitary or civilian

• Information Silos• Structured and Unstructured data• No Data Standard Deployed• Complex Solutions for complex systems• Dynamic not static• Traditional system solutions problems• Knowledge is key asset of organisation

Innovation and Change

• Big organizations hate change• “We’ve always done it this way”• Difficult management task• SME not really welcome

– Higher risk – Less provenance– Erratic and irrational!

In Support of Small Companies

• Tend to have operational expertise• Develop the most innovative solutions• Always new ideas coming to the market• Tend to be owner-funded• Enthusiastic but lack control!• Limited opportunity to test their solutions

AFCEA

• Interlocutor for business and governments• Focuses primarily on US• Needs to move more into NATO, UN, EU

and other nations• Should focus on how to bring new ideas

into useful commercialisation

AFCEA Innovation Foundation

AFCEA Innovation Foundation

• Geared to bring new ideas and technologies from SMEs into mainstream.

• Coordinates some of the plethora of grants (EU, US, etc) into specific projects

• Looks at “quick wins” (less than 6 to 9 months gestation)

• Holds a stake in any joint activity between SME and big business of government

• Brings a US wrapper to satisfy DoD requirements

The NaturalDynamics of SituationalAwareness

Patrick@Openkast.com+44 7711 322541