About AFEI

The Association for Enterprise Integration is the leading industry group providing a framework for collaboration between government and industry. The DoD CIO has turned to AFEI to be its conduit for policy and strategy input from industry through jointly chartered working groups.

Recently the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Business Transformation has requested a partnership with AFEI for the purpose of garnering industry input on transforming DoD business operations. AFEI working groups formed under these partnerships provide the opportunity for industry to influence policy, shape the future and secure the nation.

The Association for Enterprise Integration (AFEI) is a non-profit association for corporate and individual members whose common goal is to advance enterprise integration, network centric operations and world-class electronic business practices for industries and governments around the globe.

AFEI builds government and industry inter-relationships that cut across national and organizational boundaries and promotes the development of a global information infrastructure. AFEI is a member of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) family of associations.

AFEI Vision

Leading government agencies, industry and academia to strengthen global enterprise integration technology, processes and solutions.

AFEI Mission

• Advocate the effective use of technology to promote enterprise-wide ability to share information
• Promote vigorous, responsive, open and objective Government-Industry and Business-Business collaboration
• Provide platform for exchange of information on issues, policy strategy and best practices
• Collect and disseminate information resources that help define enterprise integration into the future
  

Membership Benefits

• Knowledge and Information: Current information on trends challenges, and opportunities in the field.
• Government Policies: Participate in the development of network centric operations, electronic commerce/electronic business, and information sharing policies and procedures, architectures/frameworks, and product/process information exchanges.
• Studies: Participate in neutral, industry-wide studies conducted for government on enterprise integration issues.
  Leadership: Establish your organization as a leader among government and industry participants in EI events.
• Exposure: Get your organization valuable exposure to potential clients and partners through AFEI activities.
• Professional Development: Attend seminars, symposia, and workshops sponsored by AFEI. Members receive discounts to attend.
• Exhibition Services: You will be among the first to learn when exhibitions are available, and you will receive a discount on booking rates. The leading companies exhibit at our symposia.

History

The Association for Enterprise Integration (AFEI) was created in 1998 under the not-for-profit incorporation of the National Defense Industrial Association. AFEI was formed from its predecessor organization, the US CALS Industry Steering Group, to conduct programs and activity in e-commerce and e-business. Motivation for the creation of AFEI was in large part due to the interest in the continuation of some of the programs and activities of the CALS group in the wake of the decision of the Defense Department (DoD) to move away from the CALS strategy and towards e-commerce implementation. AFEI took up the challenge focused its energy on the emergent e-commerce activities, which at that time were based on the implementation of Electronic Data Interchange in Defense procurement. Since that time AFEI has advanced the goals of enterprise integration and world-class electronic business practices for industries and governments around the globe. Today, AFEI builds on its past as it moves to provide industry perspectives on network centric operations for National Defense and Homeland Security.

AFEI is open to international participation and membership, and officially chartered AFEI Belgium as its only international affiliate in 1999. In recent years AFEI has experienced declining membership and participation in its annual event (21st Century Commerce Conference and International EXPO). The bursting of the tech stock bubble in 2000 and subsequent economic struggles, AFEI this year began an intense analysis of its strategic direction and relevance in today’s business and government climate. AFEI quickly discovered that its traditional core mission was highly relevant to the needs of industry and government today.

AFEI has a 15-year history of government / industry volunteers working on many joint projects. Over the years many changes have occurred and the role of the association has expanded - from a beginning in Defense logistics to an enterprise view of the entire federal government and its private industry partners. Our membership represents a diverse range of organizations, from small and mid-sized business to multi million dollar corporations from those who support only DoD to those who conduct business in both the public and private sector.

CALS Industry Steering Group
In 1985 the U.S. CALS Industry Steering Group (ISG) was formed at the request of OSD. Volunteers from the private and public sector teamed with government logisticians and acquisition managers in order to implement business process improvements in the areas of data information digitization. The initial role of the ISG was to advise the Defense Department on the selection of commercial standards to enable data exchange among dissimilar systems.

CALS was a seminal concept for the information process and data management operations of business enterprises.
Under the umbrella of the CALS initiative, successes were achieved in the transition from paper-intensive business processes to more integrated modes of operation across the enterprise. The operative term for CALS proliferation is "create data once, use it many times." In October 1998 the ISG was restructured as an association focused on Enterprise Integration.

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