For Immediate Release
June 8, 2005
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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FBI Briefs
Media on its Information Technology Reforms and Initiatives
Washington, DC - The FBI
today held a media briefing to discuss its information technology program
as well as recent media coverage of the FBI's technology initiatives.
The FBI's Chief Information
Officer (CIO), Zalmai Azmi, stated: "In the past year, the FBI has transformed
its information technology (IT) practices and management structure. The FBI
has implemented a coordinated, strategic approach to IT which includes centralized
management under the Office of the Chief Information Officer. This approach
includes a Strategic IT Plan, an FBI-wide Enterprise Architecture, a Life
Cycle Management Directive (LCMD), defined IT processes and procedures, several
IT governance boards, new training and certification initiatives, an IT Investment
Strategy, and a Portfolio Management System. These changes have been made
within the past year as the FBI's information technology program has begun
a transition towards becoming a state-of-the-art IT system.
"The Virtual Case
File program concluded in March, 2005, and as a result of the VCF pilot testing,
the FBI gained invaluable information about its current and future approach
to IT. As a result of VCF, the FBI is better situated to roll-out successful
IT initiatives in the future.
"The FBI's next
generation information management system, Sentinel, is the FBI's first deployment
in a Service Oriented Architecture, and goes well beyond the envisioned capabilities
for VCF. The FBI has requested IT industry feedback for the Sentinel program
through the National Institutes of Health's Government-Wide Acquisition Contract
(GWAC) office. Sentinel will roll-out key technical services, including automated
workflow, search capabilities, records and case management, and reporting
protocols, which will be delivered through Sentinel's four-phased program.
FBI CIO Azmi further
stated, "At this point, there is no complete cost estimate for the Sentinel
program. The FBI has contracted with two independent IT vendors to formulate
cost estimates for the Sentinel program. The cost estimate that was reported
in recent media coverage is incorrect."
One of the vendors that
FBI contracted to complete a cost estimate was Aerospace Corporation. A spokesperson
from Aerospace Corporation said: "The FBI contracted with us to prepare
an independent cost estimate for its future information management system,
Sentinel. Our methodology was based on generally accepted cost estimation
processes used across industry and Government. When we revisited our initial
estimate, we applied a new set of protocols, which included the period of
performance, contract type, and operations & maintenance costs. Consideration
of these new assumptions yielded a different program cost estimate that varied
by several hundred million dollars from our original estimate."
CIO Azmi stated: "The
reconciled cost estimate came in significantly lower than the first estimate
that was submitted to the FBI."
CIO Azmi reiterated: "The
FBI is committed to utilizing the most up-to-date technologies. I am fully
confident that through the Sentinel program, the FBI will be able to more
successfully manage and achieve maximum efficiency in its information infrastructure."
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FBI Information Technology Fact Sheet
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