IRM is divided into two constituent groups, Operations (OPS) and Business, Planning, and Customer Service (BPC). Among the tasks assigned IRM's branches and divisions are deployment and maintenance of a global network supporting more than 250 overseas diplomatic missions sending nearly six million official messages (sometimes called cables in reference to the long-employed telegraphic means of transmission). IRM staffers also support desktop users, code software, assure the security of information resources, and develop long-term strategic plans for the use of information technologies in the mission of diplomacy.