Case Study: Cost-saving, Efficient Asset Management Solution for Army

Challenge/Scope

The Army is responsible for delivering enterprise common shared services to enable its units to deploy applications across multiple classification levels and multiple cloud environments. To effectively serve their stakeholders, our Army client needed to revamp their Toolchain-as-a-Service, including software purchase requests and procurement workflows.

Approach/Solution

Highlight worked quickly, on parallel tracks, to discover and analyze all of the customer’s software assets, and post-discovery develop a procurement and tracking solution. We researched and assessed open-source, COTS, and Government-Off-The-Shelf solutions to determine a solution that meets their needs from a functional, enterprise and security standpoint. Knowing that the customer was standing up ServiceNow as their ITSM, we proposed a ServiceNow workflow solution for procuring toolchain software. Army needed the improved service faster than the production environment could accommodate.

Highlight used a phased functionality approach, designing and implementing a software asset management system using an Excel back-end and a PowerApps interface (Power BI), while working with our customer to implement a Phase Two ServiceNow software procurement application. Our UX team worked closely with Army stakeholders to understand the procurement process and design an effective request, approval and purchase workflow for automation. In turn, we delivered a consistent workflow with designated request forms for POCs, as well as an automated software asset management system that ensures easy retrieval and analysis of software asset data, which can be used to help drive informed enterprise decisions.

Phase Two of development resulted in the Software License Management (SLiM) tool. SLiM allows users to view the software catalog, request and receive new software through automated workflow, and offers managed user permissions, budget, and more.
Streamlining the request to delivery, SLiM routes new requests through the approval
channels, and delivers to the procurement point of contact for next steps, based on
the set evaluation criteria. We embed security checks throughout the procurement and management process to ensure compliance within the client environment. SLiM provides visibility into the requests, usage, inventory, security, and financials, allowing managers to see a full view of their software.

In parallel, Highlight’s Cloud Software Management Services team provides toolchain as an enterprise service operating on AWS and Azure GovCloud platforms. We procure and manage software assets and programming tools used to perform complex software development tasks, and create software products within the DevSecOps Pipeline. These include enterprise common shared services tools, data service tools, and business tools that enable our customer to communicate, function, and manage various data sources.

Capabilities

• DevSecOps
• COTS, ServiceNow Delivery
• Software Asset Management 
• Software License Procurement 
• cATO Facilitation and Management
• cRMF Compliance

Results/Outcomes

Our solution provided teams inside of the Army with a secure software development ecosystem complete with an audited software library, free from redundancies and waste, with an updated procurement workflow to ensure existing licenses are maintained and new purchase requests are executed in a timely fashion. Highlight created a toolchain marketplace where enterprise licenses and approved open-source tools can be delivered to teams quickly in a self-service process. We designed and implemented an automated software license management system that ensures easy retrieval and analysis of software asset data, which can be used to help drive informed enterprise decisions and decreases time-to-field software.