Randy Cieslak, U.S. Pacific Command
Which emerging technology will have the biggest impact on your organization in the future?
Full-featured distributed collaboration tools served to operators on a full-featured multiscreen workstation will be the emerging technology that will have the biggest impact on the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) in the future. It is a long way to go anywhere in the Asia-Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). Emerging technology that is mature enough to create virtual presence anywhere in the AOR and beyond enables real-time information sharing, decision support and direction, thereby improving speed of command and force synchronization. In short, collaboration tools will enable the command to be there without going there; that saves time and fuel and eliminates the need to secure real estate.
The economic benefits of distributed collaboration tools are important as well. The combined use of audio teleconferencing with applications that can be shared among many distributed users is a powerful group enabler. Although video teleconferencing is useful, at a minimum, collaboration tools and robust audio teleconferencing combined with shared applications are a must.
There are many features associated with collaboration tools, all of which are important and valuable. Simple text chat, threaded discussions and Web logs, or blogs, are low-cost, low-bandwidth ways to maintain situational awareness and information exchange among multiple distributed participants. Several channels of these sessions can go on simultaneously. Actions, decisions and dialogue can be recalled and reviewed for clarification, analysis or repudiation. Simple text-related collaboration tools are valuable for tactical command and control but would not be sufficient to eliminate the need to travel.
At the full-featured end of the collaboration tools continuum are several features that simulate, and sometimes exceed, the physical meeting experience. Building, floor and room metaphors make it easy for participants to navigate to the virtual meeting place. Video or audio teleconferencing with participant awareness supports free-flowing communication. Shared applications allow participants to share PowerPoint slides or manipulate a common operational picture.
Other features include private sessions with smaller groups of participants, and voting and brainstorming tools allow members to express their opinions either anonymously or with attribution. Bulletin boards allow participants to post useful information for the group, including hyperlinks. Accessing stored information is a major requirement. This is achieved using a Web page, portal or document management system in concert with the collaboration tool suite.
Another important element of distributed collaboration is the user’s workstation. To achieve virtual presence, users must be able to do their own work such as write a message using their favorite word processor, research and retrieve needed information through their Web browser, and participate in the collaborative session.
Today, PACOM has to juggle the many windows of its full-featured collaboration session on a 17-inch computer display. Often a participant wants to show his application only to have the application-sharing window hide the push-to-talk button. Managing all these collaboration-related windows on its limited computer display real estate can be a frustrating experience.
A three-screen display is best to achieve virtual presence. Screen one is the user’s items such as word processing, spreadsheets and applications to share. Screen two is the information page with the multiple browsers open to search and retrieve information. Screen three is the collaboration session itself with the main chat window, videoconferencing, a participant’s listing, bulletin board, shared application and any other tool.
There are still a lot of windows associated with the collaboration session, even with three screens. As Dilbert says, you can never be too well equipped, so more screens would be even better—until you get to a point where you no longer have awareness of what is displayed where. In small numbers, the cost can be reasonable—especially when compared to travel costs. For the tactical user, multiple screens are not feasible, so the collaboration session must be focused.
Typically, when personnel travel to meet at a conference, they end up in an auditorium with what is in their briefcase. They sit through briefings wishing that they could be somewhere else and trying to stay awake because they are jet lagged. With robust, full-featured collaboration tools and a workstation that lets them work by not cramming several windows on a small screen, the meeting experience can actually exceed the effectiveness of a physical meeting.
By staying at their normal work location, personnel have full access to all of their information resources. Their workspace is more comfortable in both dress and space, and through use of ‘I’ve got a question or comment’ notifications, the session is more orderly. In addition, they don’t have the jet lag or the time lost due to travel. And, eliminating travel yet rapidly providing direction and decisions to deployed forces has great benefits to tactical users.
