AMC provides users new way to access data online

Published May 28, 2008
By Master Sgt. Melissa Phillips
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- In the near future, your supervisor might tell you to post a document on EIM, so your unit can access the information.

Enterprise Information Management, commonly called EIM, allows users to access and share information across the wing, command, and eventually the Air Force, in one common storage area online.

"Information is doubling every 12 to 15 months, so we need to get our arms around it now to manage it properly," said Master Sgt. Lisa Collins, EIM team superintendent from Air Mobility Command headquarters at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Sergeant Collins manages a six-person team that has been traveling to AMC bases to implement the program. EIM is a relatively new tool to AMC users, although it's been in the works since June 2006.

So far the program has been installed at Scott AFB; Grand Forks AFB, N.D.; Travis AFB, Calif.; and Dover AFB, Del.

In May, the team created more than 80 sites and trained approximately 60 site owners at Dover AFB. Site owners maintain an EIM site for their organization and set permissions to access the site.

Intensive administrative support
A long-time records manager, Tech. Sgt. Kelly Anderson, 436th Airlift Wing at Dover AFB, said she's supporting the program.

"It's a great tool, and I think it's where we need to go. I especially like that people will be able to grab readily information and the program provides intensive admin support," Sergeant Anderson said.

The AMC EIM team is scheduled to visit McConnell AFB, Kan., in June, Charleston AFB, S.C. in July; Fairchild AFB, Wash., in August; MacDill AFB, Fla., and Pope AFB, N.C., in September; Andrews AFB, Md., in October; and McChord AFB, Wash., in November.

"A lot of people think EIM is a 'Comm thing,'" said Staff Sgt. Rachel Davis, EIM content manager NCO in charge from AMC headquarters. "It's not. It's similar to using Explorer or Outlook. Everyone uses it."

Cutting down on electronic clutter
EIM is an online electronic storage area for shared professional documents used on a daily or frequent basis. It doesn't replace the base shared drive or eliminate the current records management system; however, it does help to clean up shared drives, which have earned the nickname 'digital landfills.'

With EIM, a user posts a source document for other users to access, instead of sending out the document via email, which can at times become clogged with large files. EIM also allows a source document to be changed, preventing multiple versions of documents littering the shared drive.

"It's a collaborative environment where users can post information and share it with other users. You don't need to be a web maintainer to use EIM. It's ideal for posting day-to-day documents," Sergeant Collins said.

Sergeant Collins points out that EIM can be a life-saver in today's fast-paced electronic information age.

"EIM allows us to streamline our processes so we can do business more efficiently," Sergeant Collins said.

A versatile tool
EIM essentially creates a virtual office where users can access work projects from any computer with their CAC card.

Plus, EIM is fast.

"Information posted can be made available as soon as they hit the refresh button," said Sergeant Collins. "There is no lag time."

Ultimately, EIM gives units and users more control over the information they own and definitive tools to organize and store that information.

EIM launches at Dover