SSG will head technology council

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GUNTER ANNEX, Ala. (AFPN) --  Standard Systems Group experts here will now develop Air Force-wide strategies for buying and managing information technology products as they assume their role as head of the new Air Force Information Technology Commodity Council. The council will stand up in mid-June.

John Gilligan, Air Force chief information officer, and Charlie Williams Jr., Air Force deputy assistant secretary for contracting, selected Standard Systems Group officials to head the organization to better leverage and manage commodity purchases.

The council includes representatives from across Air Staff and Air Force major command staffs.

"SSG is the ideal place to form the nucleus of the Air Force's IT Commodity Council," said Ken Heitkamp, newly appointed council director. "The (information technology), integration, standardization and enterprise-wide mission support for the Air Force are found at SSG."

Once the strategies are approved and contracts are in place, Heitkamp said Air Force users will maintain the decentralized flexibility to order what they need, when they need it using AFWay, a Web-based system for purchasing commercial, off-the-shelf technology.

"An Air Force IT Commodity Council will greatly benefit the Air Force," Gilligan said. "By bringing together a group of experts from across the Air Force to establish IT procurement strategies, we can focus on our enterprise needs, reduce the unit cost of goods and services and ensure we're spending our IT dollars wisely."

"The Air Force currently buys information technology at the organization level and does not take full advantage of the overall buying power of the Air Force," Williams said. "The strategies the commodity council develops will allow the Air Force to make better use of acquisition resources and fully leverage the buying power of the Air Force."

The commodity council will work daily using tools on the Air Force Portal and with virtual meetings, according to Heitkamp. The group will first focus on desktop and laptop computers and then information technology peripherals. He said buying strategies will eventually be formed for everything dealing with commercial information technology. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)