Principles
Level of Security - security is fundamental to collaboration systems. The level of security will be based upon the sensitivity of data generated and maintained and will meet or exceed the directives of departments or agencies with oversight.
Rationale: With the introduction of stricter government mandates, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the increasing digitization of sensitive information, any collaboration system will be grounded in an appropriate level of security, balancing the sensitivity of the data with ease of use.
Investment Leverage - collaboration systems will leverage existing and future enterprise software, management systems, infrastructure and standards.
Rationale: As a practical matter, NIH has invested heavily in a number of technologies, infrastructures and standards. Therefore, any system that is expected to be widely used will need to leverage as much investment as possible.
Integration - collaboration systems will integrate with enterprise application and directory structures and support the import and export of information, facilitating sharing at NIH and external organizations as needed to accomplish the NIH mission.
Rationale: Any collaboration system will need to interface with the appropriate existing systems at NIH and to external organizations to better facilitate sharing and communication.
Common Access - collaboration systems will provide common access for authorized personnel and offer full access from standard platforms. Common access for authorized personnel includes:
- Access from supported platforms and user interfaces
- Access within NIH
- Access via remote connectivity.
- Access by other entities to NIH-wide collaboration systems.
Rationale: Because of NIH’s global character, any successful enterprise collaboration system will address the requirements of NIH’s user communities, especially in regard to remote access, access within NIH, access by other entities, and platform support.
Best Practices and Open Standards - collaborative systems will be based on industry best practices and open standards.
Rationale: In order to effectively manage risk, NIH requires that any collaboration system employed be based upon open standards, when possible, and best practices.
Reliability and Availability - collaborative systems will be highly reliable, striving for 24x7 service.
Rationale: In order to provide maximum value to NIH, collaboration systems must be available around the clock to its users.
Resources - collaboration systems will support the effective use of NIH resources, enabling them to meet user needs while allowing minimal duplication of effort and technologies between Institutes and Centers (ICs).
Rationale: Collaboration systems need to keep in mind the efficient use of NIH resources and should eliminate redundancy of efforts across the organization.
User Rights - collaboration systems will allow a user to control accessibility and define managerial privileges as appropriate to one’s role.
Rationale: NIH collaboration systems must provide the capability for controlling accessibility based on user privileges.
