Define Infrastructure Requirements

In order to implement a CALS Environment effectively on a program the existing and planned information technology capabilities of both the government and industrial team members must be analysed. It is important to understand that the organisations, team responsibilities and IT capabilities supporting a program and its end product will change during the program and product life cycle, and that a major advantage of implementing a CALS Environment is to plan for and manage these changes.

An important decision on IT infrastructure is whether to invest for the program, and if so, what to invest in and when to invest. The government should also determine what to request from offerors in the pre-procurement phase so to ensure that the industrial and governmental infrastructures are interoperable and satisfy the CALS goals and objectives of the program. The goal of this activity is to create a Shared Data Environment that supports the goals of the program utilising the NATO CALS Data Model throughout the full life cycle of the product. The following categories should be examined when analysing the existing and planned IT infrastructure.