All industry proposals to the federal government after August 1990 for new advanced automated information systems or for major improvements requiring network services must use specified computer communications protocols. These protocols are in the government open system interconnection profile (GOSIP). This paper explains the scope of the GOSIP specification, outlines the financial advantage of using such a specification, describes the timeline for implementing the specification, and provides the DoD rationale for adopting GOSIP. The paper also explains the DoD strategy for transition from existing systems toward new systems that incorporate the open system interconnection protocols.
