Service-Oriented Architecture
The OASIS Reference Model for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) defines SOA as “a paradigm for organizing and utilizing distributed capabilities that may be under the control of different ownership domains.” While this definition is concise, implementing SOA within an organization is complex. From small pilot programs to demonstrate value, to establishing SOA Centers of Excellence, and ultimately transforming into a fully Service-Oriented Enterprise, BiC-1’s SOA experts bring the right combination of business insight, management skills, and technical expertise to successfully execute your SOA initiatives.
Defining the Business Case and Objectives
Our management consultants will collaborate with you to understand your goals and objectives, helping to define the business case to gain the executive buy-in needed for a successful SOA initiative. Typical objectives for pursuing SOA initiatives include:
- Better alignment of IT with business objectives
- Integration with customers and partners
- Technical system-to-system integration
- Increased information sharing between agencies
- Establishing an enterprise-wide platform of shared services
Enterprise Architecture/Business Process Modeling
Our enterprise architects can help capture and define both “as-is” and “to-be” models of your organization to identify target areas and processes for service-orientation, and define your enterprise portfolio of services. While not all efforts require this, large-scale, enterprise-wide initiatives will benefit from a top-down approach to plan and manage related efforts during execution. Our enterprise architects are experienced in relevant standards and frameworks such as Zachman, DODAF, FEAF, BPMN, and others.
SOA Strategy and Implementation Plan
Most SOA initiatives are multi-year projects requiring a carefully considered roadmap and implementation plan. These plans often include pilots to demonstrate early successes. A critical element for continued success is a service governance strategy that defines and enforces policies for sharing and reusing services across the enterprise. Our experts will leverage best practices and lessons learned from past projects to help create comprehensive roadmaps and implementation plans that guide your efforts.
Technical Implementation
Our skilled architects and developers are well-versed in SOA-relevant technologies and are ready to assist with your technical implementation efforts. These include:
- Web Services Standards, such as SOAP, WSDL, UDDI, WS-Security, and more
- Data exchange formats like XML and JSON
- Security protocols, including authentication, authorization, attribute-based access control, and identity federation
- SOAP and REST-based implementation approaches and frameworks, including Apache Axis, CXF, Jersey, WCF
- Enterprise Service Bus technologies, such as Aqualogic, ServiceMix, Muse, and OpenESB
Identity and Access Management
For USTRANSCOM/SDDC, BiC-1 has developed and maintained their enterprise-wide Identity and Access Management (IdAM) system, integrated with over 60 systems and serving more than 165,000 users. The system utilizes SOA-based security services to provide essential capabilities, including single sign-on, authentication, authorization, role-based access, and policy management for web applications and services within the DoD’s transportation and logistics community.
Our solution employs a “trusted broker” architecture, as outlined in WS-Trust and WS-Federation, enabling applications to externalize security functions such as authentication and authorization. This decouples security from the business logic of the application, providing greater flexibility. One of the primary benefits of this architecture is the simplification of access control changes, which are dynamically implemented by updating an external policy rather than requiring updates to application code. Integration with third-party applications is facilitated through standard web service interfaces and the use of the SAML standard. BiC-1 also supports third-party integration efforts, including the development and support of third-party plug-ins and a developer’s guide.
The system includes a robust Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) capability, where users are registered and authenticated using their CAC, ECA, or TWIC PKI credentials. These credentials are validated through DISA’s Robust Certificate Validation System (RCVS) using Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) as the primary validation method, with fail-secure fallback to Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) when necessary. BiC-1 employs automated techniques to ensure PKI credentials match local user profiles, helping to detect unauthorized use, such as individuals attempting to share certificates. These techniques include interfacing with DISA’s Joint Enterprise Directory Service (JEDS) to obtain authoritative user profile data for comparison with local user profile information.
Business Intelligence and Data Analytics
We live in an information-driven society. Organizations that can transform this wealth of data into actionable insights are the ones that will lead and succeed. Achieving this requires a business intelligence strategy with executive buy-in, a comprehensive implementation plan, and a team with strong functional and technical expertise. Whether you’re in the early stages of defining your BI strategy, executing small pilots, or operating and maintaining an enterprise-wide data warehousing and reporting solution, BiC-1’s team of functional analysts, data architects, and engineers can help ensure your efforts are aligned with your organization’s strategic objectives and deliver value.
Our teams have expertise in the following disciplines and technologies and are ready to tailor them to meet your organization’s unique needs:
- Data Strategy & Management
- Data Warehousing
- Advanced Data Analytics
- Decision Support Systems
- Reporting, Dashboards & Data Visualization
- Big Data Processing Using Cloud Technologies
Continuous Monitoring
Whether you’re working to maintain FISMA compliance, manage the certification and accreditation of your systems, address vulnerabilities across the enterprise, or ensure overall situational awareness of your networks, implementing a continuous monitoring program provides the essential data and insights needed to make informed decisions and manage risk. NIST SP 800-137 outlines the key phases of the continuous monitoring process:
- Define a continuous monitoring strategy
- Establish measures, metrics, and status monitoring and control assessments
- Implement a continuous monitoring program to collect the required data
- Analyze the collected data and report findings
- Respond to findings with technical, management, and operational mitigation activities, or through acceptance, transference/sharing, or avoidance/rejection
- Review and update the monitoring program, adjusting the continuous monitoring strategy and enhancing measurement capabilities
BiC-1’s Information Assurance specialists and security architects have the experience and expertise to help you launch your continuous monitoring program, improve existing processes, or provide focused support across specific phases of the continuous monitoring lifecycle. Our teams are actively working to define and implement continuous monitoring capabilities at the DoD enterprise level to meet the needs of DISA and United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), as well as at the Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels to support the needs of specific COCOMs, Services, and Agencies. We have developed continuous monitoring capabilities utilizing best-of-breed technologies and adhering to industry and government standards common across the Federal government, Defense, and Intelligence Communities.
Red Flag
Red Flag, our Early Warning Decision Support System (EWDSC), is an innovative solution designed to help DoD customers secure and enhance the integrity of the defense industrial base supply and service chains. Red Flag assists our clients in answering the crucial question, “Will a specific company be able to deliver mission-critical industrial supplies now and in the future?”
Many organizations face challenges in making proactive decisions to reduce supply chain risks. They collect data and try to monitor the activities and performance of other companies to gain visibility into changes and potential risks, enabling them to make informed decisions before issues arise. To effectively manage these risks, organizations require detailed, actionable information to:
- Proactively manage risks
- Forecast another organization’s future decisions or activities
- Prevent disruptions in critical supply or service chain elements
To support the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Industrial Analysis Center (IAC)’s mission, Red Flag EWDSC:
- Collects and regularly assesses sustainable, valid business and economic data on defense industrial base (DIB) companies
- Identifies and forecasts risks for critical defense industrial base sites, both government and private contractor sites across the Department of Defense
- Enhances early warning notifications of potential failure at critical DIB assets
- Provides timely management information to senior stakeholders within the Department of Defense, other Federal Agencies, Congress, and the Executive Department
- Supports the development of actionable risk mitigation strategies
- Monitors and tracks recommendations to ensure continuous system improvement
Distance Learning and eLearning
BiC-1 has provided industry standards-compliant courseware development support for various clients, including the Air Force Institute of Technology. This support has often involved developing multiple courses within the customer’s curriculum, with an emphasis on reusing courseware components. BiC-1’s technical approach to courseware development is based on the ADDIE model for instructional systems design (ISD)—Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The application of the ADDIE model ensures project success by clarifying requirements, ensuring accurate front-end analysis, confirming instructional soundness, and maintaining continuous communication with the client.
BiC-1 utilizes Shareable Content Objects (SCO) to ensure that the end products conform to the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). We integrate SCORM conformance into the course templates and structures from the start of development. We test the course(s) against the appropriate SCORM Test Suites and retain the resulting test reports or deliver copies with the final product.
At AFIT, BiC-1 supported over 2,000 students and faculty members, in addition to over 1,000 long-distance learning and continuing education students. We installed, implemented, configured, and maintained all AFIT learning systems. BiC-1 was instrumental in managing the Learn.com environment within AFIT and, as a preferred vendor and solution provider of Learn.com, we gained additional technical support and access to the Learn.com development environment. Within AFIT, we deployed the Blackboard academic suite throughout the enterprise and provided expanded 24/7 Tier 2 support for Air University courseware for geographically separated users.
BiC-1 has extensive experience with a wide range of course authoring tools and multimedia software, including Adobe Director, Asymmetric ToolBook, AuthorWare, Icon Author, MediaScript, HyperCard, SoundEdit Pro, WaveEdit, Adobe Captivate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Soundbooth, Asymmetric Digital Video Producer, Aldus FreeHand, Specular Infini-D, Truespace, Bryce, Morph, Renderman, and GIF Animation.