Summary
United States Department of State's State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset
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Extract
State gets SMART.
Editor's Note: SMART--the acronym for State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset--is a new suite of applications developed to enhance communication within the Department of State. SMART integrates cables and e-mail on Outlook and automatically archives messages of lasting value to a searchable database. The author is a retired Foreign Service Officer who is serving as a senior management consultant on the SMART program.-The Editor
BRIEF HISTORY "Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan." As SMART has passed the tipping point with successful deployment in more than 40 posts, its parentage can be traced to three studies and a digitally-comfortable Secretary of State. In late 1998, both CSIS and the Stimpson Center released studies recommending that the State Department modernize its information technology (IT). Within a year, a third study conducted by the State Department endorsed the CSIS and Stimpson studies by calling for increased resources for information technology. When Secretary Colin Powell took office, he moved expeditiously to seek funding for modern technology to support America's diplomats. Congress agreed, and the Department undertook several initiatives. First of all,...See the full content of this document
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