Information management challenges on the path to net-centric operations

Net-centricity, the notion of transforming large-scale intranets into capabilities-based, service-oriented architectures, exploits a new information management concept. Net-centricity implies that existing and future information systems within an enterprise will be engineered to publish product and/or service offerings within a strategic context that allows virtually all employees and applications to readily discover and use information. Therefore, the objective of net-centricity is to create the military equivalent notion of commercial electronic marketplaces for information that can adapt to challenges associated with the fog of war. Net-centric goals include breaking down organization stovepipes and facilitating dynamic information sharing and management practices by leveraging the principles of self-organization and market forces. With respect to large global organizations like the USAF and the DoD, this is a challenge that influences a wide range of social, technical and programmatic issues. In this paper we discuss information management in the net-centric environment. In the context of the discussion, we highlight a few of the challenges on the path to net-centric operations.