Xacta AMHS Saves Money and Improves Efficiencies Across the DoD.

ASHBURN, Va. -- Xacta Automated Message Handling System (AMHS), a Web-based messaging system deployed throughout the Department of Defense and in several civilian agencies, saves the government tens of millions of dollars each year with the management of enterprise messaging and the elimination of a thick client-server infrastructure.

In 2001, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and military services began migrating to AMHS from the Defense Message System (DMS), which used a thick client-server architecture and relied on Fortezza cards at the desktop layer. The move to the Web-based AMHS messaging system, known also as DMS 3.1, allowed users to go online with nothing more than a Web browser running on the desktop to send and read messages. The messages are encrypted or decrypted at the AMHS server so that the user does not have to resolve the complexities involved in message security protocols.

The Air Force estimates that the move to AMHS has saved the service $80 million a year in eliminating 320 Exchange 5.5 DMS sites, 2,300 servers and 1,150 system administrator positions. Similarly, the Army has benefitted from centralized account management and help desk and a reduced DMS global directory footprint by deploying AMHS.

"Ease of use has improved dramatically through the deployment of AMHS, which has resulted in an increase in use," said Barry Morton, chief engineer of DMS Air Force. "Operationally, there have been many improvements with AMHS, including dramatic enhancements in availability and maintainability. As a result, there have been less errors and fewer inconsistencies."

The DoD and services use AMHS to send messages at all classification levels. AMHS is the next generation of DMS, a client-server architecture that lets users sign messages with digital signatures. DMS was developed to replace AUTODIN, the post-World War II-era bulk messaging system that enabled users to ship electronic memos via military message centers. AUTODIN, as a point-to-point, serial interfaced system is much slower and less-capable than DMS.

Now, AMHS takes DMS to the next level. "AMHS allows people to not worry about having a heavy client or Fortezza client to send messages over the DoD's network," said Mike Masters, vice president of Secure Messaging Solutions for Xacta Corp., a Telos company. "We also have version control and the capability to keep audits of what happens with each message. The rollout of this solution has allowed military personnel to send secure messages without the hassles that they had to endure before. This has been a true win-win for the DoD, military services and Xacta."

About Xacta Corporation

Xacta solutions are employed by the federal government's most security-conscious organizations to comply with demanding federal and DoD information security mandates. A subsidiary of Telos Corporation, which has provided innovative IT solutions and services to the federal government for more than 30 years, Xacta offers enterprise IT security management solutions, enterprise security consulting services, secure networking, secure enterprise messaging, and secure identity management solutions. Xacta solutions are represented to the federal government on Telos' GSA schedule. For more information, visit www.Xacta.com.

"Xacta" is a registered trademark of Xacta Corporation. "Telos" is a registered trademark of Telos Corporation. All other product, service and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Xacta Corporation is a subsidiary of Telos Corporation.