Nine U.S. naval organizations are collaborating to increase the agility of communications to sailors and Marines conducting distributed operations in ground and littoral environments. Using a combination of manned and unmanned engagement platforms and integrated sensors, the system of systems not only will boost warfighters’ situational awareness but also will enable them to engage hostile forces remotely at the tactical level. This organic land, sea and air intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability provides long-distance over-the-horizon communications capabilities and feeds into both lethal and nonlethal weapons. As a result, commanders will have a variety of immediate offensive and defensive options.

After decades of creating phenomenal information technology tools, the U.S. military is now focusing on convergence. The systems-of-systems approach gradually is being replaced by a more fully intertwining architecture into a powerful mash up. The benefits of initiatives that create unified communications capabilities are as dissimilar as the difference between having a single computer or radio and being part of a network.

A kaleidoscope of issues, priorities, methods and rules influences the decision-making process that provides warfighters with the equipment and technical capabilities they want and need in current operations. The challenges run deeper and wider than simply fixing the acquisition processes or building a new platform. They involve aligning just the right pieces of relevance, adaptability, scalability and affordability to promote significant change while smoothly tipping the mechanisms to develop at an ample rate.

A small unmanned aerial vehicle powered by a fuel cell soon may be soaring over distant battlefields. Lightweight tactical robot aircraft are vital for supplying ground forces with immediate reconnaissance information, but their battery-powered engines limit their operational time. New advances in fuel cell technology will allow smaller, lighter robotic aircraft to stay aloft for 24 hours or more to supply commanders with continuous data.

An advanced radar being designed for the U.S. Navy would provide future warships with a powerful sensor capable of detecting and tracking a variety of threats, from ballistic missiles to aircraft and supersonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missiles. The new radar will combine the capabilities of two existing radars, resulting in fewer antennas on a ship’s superstructure, increased reaction time and the ability to adapt to changing combat environments rapidly. The system also will feature a modular plug-and-play architecture allowing quick system upgrades, more efficient use of hardware and bandwidth, and reduced power and cooling requirements.

Some of the digital world’s most bitter rivals have joined forces with government and public-sector organizations to develop solutions for disaster relief. An inaugural meeting November 12-14 in Mountain View, California, already has generated some products, and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has lauded the effort and has pledged support.

One of my pet peeves as a sales professional is when other sales folks don't do their homework before visiting with a client or prospect. Most business persons have seen it done or been a part of it: a show-up and throw-up sales call. Whichever side of the equation you happened to have been on, these are not pretty meetings. Selling - on its best day, is a bilateral conversation, not a one sided technical dump, from the "sales person" towards the prospect.