The recipient must be assured of authenticity and confidentiality. Due to vulnerabilities in war time, the architecture must allow for sufficient redundancy. Another concern is the interoperability between end user applications. Not only are different nations using different communication systems that need to be connected, but they also are using different applications that are required to exchange information. This has in the past worked well at the message text level, but with message attachments and file transfer, there is a requirement for data interchange standards.
Security is a concern that needs special attention as it permeates all other applications.
Not only should the architecture safeguard against unauthorised access to resources or information, but also prevent virus attacks. This will require a strict adherence to standards for interoperability and openness of the platform to allow applications to be portable between the different implementations. Overall integration of the different COTS components is felt to be a major concern. Also the keeping in sync of COTS component versions from different vendors during the maintenance phase is a problem that requires careful attention. Two types of users are identified.