DNI ANNOUNCES PHASE-OUT OF UGOV E-MAIL

UNCLAS STATE 109953

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT AADP KRIM
SUBJECT: DNI ANNOUNCES PHASE-OUT OF UGOV E-MAIL

REFTEL: 09 KABUL 3253 (NOTAL)


1. (SBU)On October 2, 2009, the Office of the Director of
National Intelligence (ODNI) announced the decision of the
Director of the Intelligence Staff, ODNI, to begin termination
of the uGov web-based enterprise e-mail system. In compliance
with the directive issued October 1, on advice of the
Intelligence Community?s Chief Information Office (IC-CIO),
the IC-CIO and the IC Enterprises Solutions (ICES) staff will
work with the uGov customer community on the transfer of mail
records to other accounts. No account will be terminated in
the short term, with the goal of closing the uGov e-mail
system by the end of FY2011. The current draft timeline
envisions that forward-base, operation/theater operators, such
as those in PRTs in Afghanistan (ref) and Iraq will be the
last users to be phased out, in the second half of FY2011.


2. (SBU) While the press reported that the termination was due
to security concerns, according to ICES staff, uGov has been a
pilot project, with only about 15,500 current users in the
intelligence, defense, and broader foreign affairs
communities, including the State Department. The present
scale of operations and DNI funding limit the total user
community to a maximum of 25,000, which cannot meet the total
possible demand for accounts. ICES will limit new accounts to
those with critical and/or forward deployed mission needs, and
some others by exception, up to the ceiling. According to
ICES, new accounts established in the next six months will be
available for at least a year following their establishment.


3. (SBU) ODNI further announced on October 8 that ?a decision
was made to gradually phase out uGov unclassified email and
implement web-based email within the IC networks. ODNI will
migrate uGov email customers to alternate unclassified web-
based email services. This transition will not affect access
to collaboration services, such as instant messaging, search
and discovery, wikis, blogs, document management services,
Intellipedia, iVideo and Gallery, currently offered by the
ODNI.?


4. (SBU) The IC-CIO and ICES are developing a full plan, and
will be meeting with the State CIO and other senior Department
staff in the near future. The IC CIO reportedly will conduct
an ?impact analysis? of this decision and has encouraged State
users to participate in this survey. It is important to
continue the access for current and new users at least through
this fiscal year, including its role as a key component of
foreign affairs knowledge management needs in Afghanistan and
Iraq. This phase-out period will allow Embassies Kabul,
Baghdad, and other embassies to extend OpenNet and better
technology to additional desktops, both within State and
interagency.


5. For more information, contact Robert Watts
(wattsrm@state.gov) or John Wysham (wyshamja@state.gov) in the
IRM Office of eDiplomacy.


6. Minimize Considered.
CLINTON