Today, standard e-mail and instant messaging are unable to fulfil a number of key military requirements for sending information. IRIS Organisational Messaging (IOM) solves this problem by offering a solution which builds on a familiar interface – Microsoft Outlook – and includes the concept of messages being sent between organisations and roles rather than individuals, as well as the automatic processing of messages.

Instead of sending messages between individuals as regular e-mails, IOM sends messages between organisational units, for example a Joint HQ and a Component Command. Within the organisation the messages are automatically forwarded to an appropriate role, according to local delivery rules, such as an Operations Officer or Security Officer.


Figure 1: IOM consolidated view for multiple roles

Because IOM is built on Microsoft Outlook users will be able to work with personal e-mails as well as organisational messages simultaneously. The organisational messages can be either free text or structured information and are automatically opened in the IOM Message Manager.


Figure 2: IOM Message Manager

The IOM Profiler automatically filters and distributes incoming messages into organisational mailboxes. Distribution is based on attributes in the message header (precedence, SIC, date/time, etc.) and the message body (structured information values, key words in the text, etc.).

The IOM profiler is configured to deliver messages automatically to the appropriate organisational roles or external addressees. It also seamlessly integrates with IRIS IMT, enabling the automatic update of application databases.

All the powerful features of Microsoft Outlook are available for managing organisational messages, such as the customisation of inbox window, advanced searches, sorting, and so on. Furthermore, IOM provides a consolidated view of several inboxes, enabling an easy overview of messages to be handled.

Official operating procedures usually govern the drafting, staffing and release process for military messages. Perhaps a number of specific co-ordinating roles need to review a message before it can be sent by an authorised releasing officer. With IOM, messages can be staffed in a number of ways, and the set-up is highly configurable, with the administrator responsible for the set-up able to grant or deny workflow action privileges to different roles in the system.

• High Productivity - with powerful role based collaboration
• Easier staff rotation - familiarity with Microsoft products speeds up the learning curve
• Reduced operations & maintenance costs - maximised use of standard Microsoft products
• Reduced development costs - COTS military messaging solution
• Increased functionality - seamlessly integrating the IRIS product suite

With its powerful profiling and workflow engines, IOM understands many types of structured information content, e.g. XML or Military Message Text Formats. When used with the additional IRIS Forms and IRIS IMT products, it provides an intelligent end-to-end solution integrating message delivery facilities with the ability to transmit and process structured information between command & control applications.