Software Development Forum to shape future of network capabilities Published Jan. 24, 2012 By Katherine Kebisek Air Force Network Integration Center SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- The Air Force Network Integration Center will host its first Software Development Forum on Feb. 7 in Colorado Springs, Colo., as part of an effort to standardize requirements for applications on the Air Force Network. The event is the first in a series of planned forums to partner with industry in establishing a common set of standards for deploying systems and software onto the network, with the ultimate goal of providing secure, reliable network capabilities to Airmen faster and more cost effectively. The forum is open to the public; however, it is designed for those developing and integrating applications to reside on the AFNet, specifically program managers, application owners and Department of Defense contractors developing software. This initial Software Development Forum will address what steps the Air Force is taking to prepare for changes to its software development systems and standards, and to provide a venue to solicit input from industry. "The purpose of the (forum) is to get together in a collaborative environment so we can all agree on what the standards are going to be and how they will be executed," said Steve Stoner, the AFNIC's chief of AFNet architecture development and one of the event's lead planners. "It's a collaborative forum for us to inform them about what we need as well as for them to give us feedback about how we should build our network." The Air Force is currently in the process of migrating to a single integrated network environment. As the developer for that network's architecture, AFNIC specialists are in the unique position of intimately knowing what the network environment looks like today and how it will look in the future. "As you go to one singular network, you get a bigger, more complex network, and it becomes more of a challenge in some ways to field applications that work well on that," said Lt. Col. Richard Janoso, the AFNIC vice commander. "We've had some folks who have rolled out an application on the network and realized there are some differences from when you're developing in a more local environment. We want to make sure folks understand those differences." Representatives from the AFNIC, Office of the Air Force Chief Technology Officer, Defense Information Systems Agency, and Air Force Software Assurance Center of Excellence are among the presenters. Topics include networthiness, the services development and delivery process, software development standards and security, Air Force application hosting environments and case studies. In addition, the team is also looking ahead, planning for the next gathering as well as an online community. "We want to stand up a very interactive and collaborative website where we can post information and respond to questions ... and continue the conversations," Stoner said. The next physical forum is planned for late summer 2012. "We fully expect a two-way discussion with industry on all those topics," Janoso said. "There's plenty of experience (within industry), and we want to make sure we capitalize on that and proceed smartly as we modernize our network." For more information or to register, visit http://www.afnic.af.mil/library/softwareforum.asp.