Army plans enterprise email system

The Army is planning to cut its $400 million-a-year email bill by consolidating its email systems and outsourcing the operation. In a draft solicitation request, the Army said it plans to build the entire system on Microsoft Exchange 2010. Lt. Gen Jeffery Sorenson, the Army's chief information officer who is spearheading the effort, said he'd like to see the entire Defense Department use the system.

It's a massive undertaking for the Army which supports 950,000 accounts. When a soldier moves from one location to another, he or she currently has to get a new email address, and the old one has to be deleted. And these multiple accounts open many doors for cyber hackers.

Warren Suss, president of Suss Consulting, a federal information technology consulting firm, estimates the Army could cut its $400 million operating bill in half with this new plan.

For more on the Army's e-mail plans:
- see this nextgov.com article

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