The U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office, or PEO, Enterprise has unveiled the Product Lead Digital Market to modernize and streamline the procurement of IT hardware, software and services to deliver a more efficient experience to Army and Department of Defense users.
The Army said Wednesday the PL Digital Market program management office replaces the PL Computer Hardware, Enterprise Software and Services, or CHESS, organization.
CHESS served as the Army’s mandatory source for commercial off-the-shelf IT hardware, software and services.
Reginald Shuford, project director of Enterprise Services at PEO Enterprise, has been named acting product lead for Digital Market.
“This effort will result in a more Agile, rapid and efficient way for users to procure IT products and services,” Shuford said. “As we usher in the era of the Digital Market program management office, our team is dedicated to empowering the Army with innovative, efficient, and user-centric procurement solutions that will drive mission success well into the future.”
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Managing Army’s Enterprise License Agreements
PL Digital Market will modernize the procurement process by improving its management of the military branch’s enterprise license agreements, or ELAs, and community-based licensing.
“We’re changing how we buy software licenses,” said Andi Fehl, the lead for ELAs. “This means identifying Army license needs, changing when we buy them and developing agreements that maximize the Army’s investments.”
‘Digital Marketplace’
PL Digital Market will provide a modern digital experience through its future online ordering platform, which will be called “Digital Marketplace.”
According to PEO Enterprise, the Digital Marketplace will help streamline the acquisition process through artificial intelligence, automated workflows, and a new catalog search and order functionality.
Susan Williams, the lead for the Digital Marketplace development effort, said her team is conducting research on platforms that could deliver an e-commerce-like capability with minimal configuration and customization.
“Our focus is on fully developed commercial solutions that enable seamless catalog integration and an intuitive, e-commerce-like experience,” Williams said.
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