Theatre information management through the services of information dissemination management (IDM)

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is in the process of fielding new capabilities for information awareness, access, and delivery management under the Information Dissemination Management (IDM) initiative. Incorporating advanced technologies from the Battlefield Awareness and Data Dissemination (BADD) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) and lessons learned from the Bosnia Command and Control Augmentation (BC2A) efforts, IDM supports theatre information management (TIM) and the Global Broadcast Service (GBS) by providing integrated capabilities across strategic, operational, and tactical levels of operation for timely, relevant, and accurate information. The paper discusses key IDM capabilities and how it supports the TIM's operational role in information management. The IDM approach involves smart information push/pull, metadata-based cataloging, profiling policy, and search capabilities, all having general application to any information system. In addition, IDM features other supporting services and options that provide the ability to effectively manage deployment costs and overall system performance based on operational mission needs and dissemination resources.