CASE STUDY: Managing Technology Transfer for the U.S. Government

CUSTOMER CHALLENGE:

The Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) manages the transfer of technology to and from the United States and other governments - a very complicated and cumbersome process with stringent security requirements and layers of approvals crossing multiple government agencies. The agency needed ATSC to build and manage a series of automated, paperless systems that allow the Government to respond quickly on export or disclosure decisions while protecting our national security interests.

DELIVERY:

ATSC has provided full life cycle systems development for this customer since 1980, creating a system today known as the Security Policy Automation Network or SPAN. SPAN is a wide area network made up of 14 sub-systems with components at the secret and unclassified levels. These solutions support over 1,000 users with multi-level security and approval needs, at 150 sites, 92 foreign embassies and the Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Commerce, industry and foreign governments. Key features include:

Automated exchange of classified and unclassified data
Archiving and database support
Advanced analysis, full text query, and workflow support to manage staffing
Extensive reporting capabilities

Several of the main SPAN systems include:

U.S. Exports System (USXPORTS) – manages the evaluation of over 30,000 export license applications submitted annually for the Department of Defense to review.
Foreign Disclosure System (FDS) – manages the release of classified military information to foreign governments and international organizations, or approximately 10,000 annual disclosures.
Foreign Visits System (FVS) – manages requests from foreign governments to observe U.S. military-related activities, consisting of approximately 27,000 annual visit requests and 250,000 visitors.

In addition to SPAN, ATSC provides operations and support for networks, servers and desktops as well as systems development and systems integration services.

RESULTS:

Improved approval time from weeks to days using automated workflow.
Reduced the amount of paper used in the export control process on the order of nearly two million pieces of paper annually – thus ensuring significant cost savings.
Facilitated the electronic, secure transfer of data to authorized users.
Enabled users outside of the Washington area to provide technical reviews to their respective headquarters via SIPRNet and NIPRNet.

CONTACT US: casestudies@atsc.com