What is IMCOM Enterprise Web?
The U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) Enterprise Web (IEW) is a unified web content management system (CMS) for communicating with the communities relying on Army installations for residence, recreation and employment.
We use a commercial off-the-shelf responsive (mobile friendly) CMS. Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs use the same software, creating opportunities for synergy among installation services. Together, IEW and armyMWR.com power Digital Garrison, the Army's mobile app for installations developed in partnership with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
We provide:
- Ease of use, allowing PAOs to focus on their communication mission
- Standardization across installations, benefitting our customers
MISSION STATEMENT: IMCOM Enterprise Web (IEW) will provide a unified public Web presence for the IMCOM enterprise, enabling cost savings, communication synchronization, and oversight through content management, common Army-branded look and feel, taxonomy and training.
Garrison PAOs had been asking for a CMS since IMCOM’s establishment. For more than 10 years, we told the garrisons to go out and buy their own bailing wire and duct tape. Though many were hosted by the NEC, there was no standard procedure.
Regulatory drivers: Army Directive 16-038 directed reduction of data centers and implementation of enterprise hosting solutions by September 2018. 7th Signal Command TASKORD 171223-098 required NECs to transition out of hosting public-facing web servers. That tasking directed them to transfer IMCOM sites to our CMS. IMCOM OPORD 17-069 instructs garrisons to transition to IMCOM Enterprise Web.
A new address: Sites have a uniform URL: https://home.army.mil/(garrison). Compared to legacy URLs, it’s easier to set up cybersecurity and protect a single system; it allows a “commercial” https certificate, preventing the security warning from appearing the first time a visitor comes to the site; and it enables economies of scale in development. And, of course, “We Are the Army’s Home.”
KEEP IN MIND, PAO IS DRIVING THIS CAR.
In the past, we could have bought tickets on a contractor’s cruise ship and had everything done for us. This isn’t the case now. Enterprise Web is like a cross-country trip in a good car. We are in the drivers’ seat and can take it where we want, but WE have to make it happen.
We – as in the IMCOM public affairs community – will be primarily responsible for operating and improving it. Communicators with web skills built the site and continue to guide its development. Garrison web managers make improvements available to the entire community. Some NECs and garrison CIO operations are supporting this effort, depending on the guidance of the garrison and senior commanders.
Support: Keeping the system up-and-running will be the responsibility of the host. Questions specific to the CMS will be handled first by a knowledge base maintained on home.army.mil, our community of users, and the IEW team. What can’t be answered by our own community will be elevated to experts in Concrete5.
Training will come through video tutorials available from Concrete5 augmented by material from IMCOM PAO and other members of the community. If you aren’t a developer, OUR CHOSEN SOFTWARE IS EASY compared to most CMSs. Members of the team will be available by phone. We offer periodic train-the-trainer workshops via teleconference.
Analytics: IEW will implement a single instance of Google analytics, to be built soon. Local garrisons are encouraged to use their own analytics.
Standardization: The sitemap, menu, and graphic design are set, as are the names and locations of your pages. In some cases we will mandate the inclusion of a page. In other cases, if you need a page on a subject, there’s an optional place in the hierarchy. Boilerplate (such as disclaimers) will be shared. Within those constraints, the layout is flexible enough to match your mission. We have a recommended content set for the body of the front page, but it is up to the garrison to determine what goes there.
Non-PAO content: The CMS will allow PAOs, at their option, to let garrison organizations edit their own pages (with PAO oversight and security training).
First:
We know you are going to need some help, so the web team will be here to help you build pages and answer your questions. we would like to get you into training as soon as possible. Contact us: the web team.
What you need:
A connection to the NIPRNET
At this time, all editing is done on the Army network. To work from home, you need an Army laptop or a VPN connection.
Training and tutorials
Concrete5 is easy. Even so, there are things you need to know to use your system. If you haven't used concrete5 at all, check out the video on the concrete5 website ⚠. Then look on our Tutorials and Documents page for hard-copy instructions and SOPs. Go to the Fort Stewart Web Team ⚠ for how-to videos. Also, the blue tab in the upper-right corner of the page when you are editing frequently offers in-context advice.
We offer frequent workshops designed to take you from zero to Minimum Viable Site in about a week. Custom, one-on-one instruction is always available. We are here for you. Contact IMCOM HQ PAO to find out more.
The Tiered Menu Layout
The guiding document for our websites is the Tiered Menu Layout -- it tells you where pages go and what they should be named.
OPSEC / Cybersecurity training
See Tutorial 7 for requirements
An account on your website
If your installation does not have a Site Manager account, contact IMCOM HQ PAO and we will arrange this for you.
A connection to the community
Sign up for the monthly teleconference and the IEW mailing list by contacting Neal (Snyder, Neely A in the global directory). And join the Facebook Forum.