Model-Based Communication Networks and VIRT: Orders of Magnitude Better for Information Superiority

Defense community leaders have spearheaded an effort to transform and elevate military capability around information superiority. This means improving decisions and outcomes by making US and coalition forces better informed, more coordinated, faster and more adaptive. Our research focuses on how to architect communications so these goals are reached. We find that the "smart pull" approach described in global information grid (GIG) technical guidance can't meet these goals. The principal weaknesses stem from the stateless approach that can't make good use of the operator's context and dynamic information requirements. A better approach must exploit dynamic context and operator requirements to assure that high-value information flows quickly where it's needed (VIRT) and is processed promptly by recipients. Initial studies have shown that this approach reduces the volume of bits by several orders of magnitude. It also raises the productivity of every operator enormously by assuring each can give immediate attention to truly valued information. Because the GIG, NCES, FORCEnet and related initiatives promise to cost billions of dollars and span a decade or more, we believe a change in direction is required to attain the goals of information superiority. Model-based communication networks and VIRT are essential pillars of an effective approach