MoD information infrastructure program on target to deliver direct financial savings in excess of 1,600m ($2,630M USD)

The ten-year HP-led outsourcing contract simply offered the best value for money to the MoD. Under this arrangement, we replaced systems operated and delivered by 1,600 crown servants under the supervision of eight one-star officers, with one system under the direction of a single one-star officer supported by 250 crown servants. HP delivers more consistent, high-quality IT services.
Brigadier Philip Davies, DII program director, UK MoD
HPcustomer case study HP Enterprise Services leads a major consortium providing the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) with a secure information infrastructure, enabling international collaboration and interoperability to support operational and corporate activities globally Industry Public sector Defense

Objective
Retire diverse and outdated legacy IT systems and replace with a single, robust and secure global information infrastructure, to enhance information sharing and collaboration internationally, and deliver significant operational and corporate benefits

Approach
Opted for an outsourced business model and considered proposals from major IT service providers with proven track records. Awarded the contract based on expertize, experience and value for money

IT improvements
Enable the retirement of 300 legacy systems Deliver a common pan-defense global information infrastructure and eliminate duplicate functionality to deliver robust performance 24/7 Deliver a secure and resilient network of approximately 140,000 computers across 2,000 sites worldwide, providing over 300,000 user accounts, enabling access to over 600 operational and corporate applications Facilitate enterprise-wide information sharing and collaboration, transforming processes, increasing interoperability, and enabling more effective decision-making The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is the United Kingdoms government department responsible for the development and implementation of UK Defence policy and directs the activity of the British Armed Forces. The objectives of the MoD are to defend the United Kingdom and its interests, and strengthen international peace and stability.

Disconnected information systems

As with many other government departments and major companies, the MoDs IT infrastructure had been developed piecemeal, resulting in a diverse array of approximately 300 IT systems across both the UK and overseas.

Business benefits
On track to deliver direct financial cost reductions in excess of 1,600M ($2,630M USD) over the current lifetime of the program (2005-15) Consolidate 500 diverse commercial arrangements into one, delivering more consistent IT services Provide operational and policy decision-makers access to mission-critical data at all classification levels, including TOP SECRET, to support UK and Allied military operations

Each of these systems had its own service support and help desk. Furthermore, there were different systems for handling the various levels of classified information the department holds. This fragmented architecture lacked coherence, performance and agility, and contained numerous duplicate functions that did not deliver optimal value for money. After the 1998 UK Strategic Defence Review identified the MoDs IT limitations, the Defence Procurement Agency launched a program to create a new secure global military network; this was taken forward as the Defence Information Infrastructure (DII).

The DII program

Providing a vital strategic presence internationally, the MoD must ensure the British Armed Forces respond rapidly and effectively to crises worldwide. The DII program enables greater interoperability and information sharing between the MoD and its allies, supporting more effective information gathering, assessment and propagation to allow fast, accurate and reliable decision-making to ensure military success in operations and peacekeeping operations. The MoDs vision involves rationalizing numerous legacy systems into a single converged infrastructure, consolidating 500 commercial arrangements into one system and migrating business applications onto the new network, explains Brigadier Philip Davies, UK MoD DII program director. This approach drives operational and administrative efficiencies while facilitating information sharing and collaboration across the defense organization. From inception, the DII program had to deliver both direct and indirect financial and operational benefits for the MoD. We generate direct savings by deploying a single large infrastructure and indirect savings by other programs exploiting the DII capability and not procuring their own computer infrastructures. The DII program is successfully replacing outdated legacy IT systems with a secure information infrastructure. The new infrastructure supports data centers, individual site infrastructures, operational and corporate business applications, manages user terminals 24/7, while minimizing total cost of ownership (delivering best value for money) and minimizing service disruption. DII is the largest defense IT program of its type in the world and it is not without its challenges. The primary challenge is to balance the affordability of providing over 300,000 user accounts across 2,000 locations worldwide on time, to budget and with minimal service disruption with a shared IT services operating model that must satisfy value for money targets, states Davies.

Each member has extensive experience with major technology implementation programs in the public and private sectors, supporting the MoD, and working collaboratively to deliver highly complex military projects. All partners have worked with the MoDs business and battlefield systems that will interface with the DII. The ten-year HP-led outsourcing contract simply offered the best value for money to the MoD, confirms Davies. Under this arrangement, we replaced systems operated and delivered by 1,600 crown servants under the supervision of eight one-star officers, with one system under the direction of a single one-star officer supported by 250 crown servants. HP delivers more consistent, high-quality IT services.

OVERTASK wins award

Contract flexibility came to the fore again when the MoD initiated Project OVERTASK to support the British Front Line in Afghanistan by providing improved communications and access to NATO systems and applications. Working in partnership with the MoD and NATO, the ATLAS Consortium rapidly deployed over 400 computers and associated servers against a demanding schedule. More recently, the consortium developed and deployed a highly-portable variant, which has become the commanders system of choice, as it mitigates the inherent challenges and risks associated with coalition working. Following full deployment, the prestigious US International Institute for Defense and Government Advancement Awards honored Project OVERTASK by categorizing it as an Outstanding Network Centric Program from a Coalition Partner.

ATLAS Consortium
Following a formal tender process involving several IT service providers, the MoD selected the ATLAS Consortium to design, deliver and manage its global enterprise IT and application transformation program. HP Enterprise Services leads the consortium, which also comprises Cassidian, Fujitsu and Logica.

Service excellence
Recent information1 released by the MoD confirms DII is on track to deliver direct financial benefits in excess of 1,600M ($2,630M) by 2015. DIIs support to the Joint Personnel Administration capability alone has already delivered financial savings of around 900M ($1,480M).

Capability is live in 20 countries and so far, during the DII programme roll out, the ATLAS Consortium has already deployed 135,000 computer terminals across 1,027 sites, supporting over 200,000 users and access to over 615 operational and business applications. To assess progress against several agreed key performance indicators, the consortium and the MoD launched two initiatives: Joint Areas of Improvement and a Service Management Programme. The first initiative supports a program of continuous improvement while the second initiative identifies and addresses ongoing issues at strategic, operational and tactical levels, via service improvement plans. A user satisfaction survey administered by a third-party confirmed service excellence. Moreover, the DII program and the ATLAS Consortium recently received Good Practice and Excellence Awards from the UK Council for Electronic Business for a DII Optimisation Programme, which was initiated mid-contract to affect more efficient delivery of the overall capability. HP (and the ATLAS partners) supported the MoD closely during this business transformation program by providing analysis and implementing a new, flexible delivery model that enables reduced technology costs, more efficient management of resources and improvements in productivity. Subsequently, the global recession prompted a UK cross-government cost review activity which, for the MoD took the form of a Strategic Defence and Security Review. ATLAS provided further input regarding the options available and enabled the MoD to successfully adapt the DII program to match the new economic environment.

Customer solution at a glance

Primary software Microsoft Office 2003 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 HP Services Application Services Application Management Services Application Portfolio Management Services IT Transformation Consulting Services Infrastructure Services Data Center Services Data Center Modernization Application hosting Server Management Storage Management Web hosting Enterprise Service Management Cross-functional services Multi-supplier Integration and Management Services Networking Services Network Application, Management, Security and Transformation Services Security, Compliance and Continuity Business Continuity and Recovery Services Data and Content Security Services Data Center Security Services End Point Security Services Identity and Access Management Services Risk Management and Compliance Services Security Operations Services Workplace Services Asset Management Services Collaboration Services Messaging Services Print Services Service desk Site Support Services Server Management Services Software Management Services Software Licensing and Management Solutions

The MoD has successfully managed this large and complex IT procurement by breaking it into increments, awarded on the basis of value for money and the performance of the delivery partner. The HP-led ATLAS consortium has to date successfully managed the legacy services, migrated users to DII on an industrial scale and helped us close aging and vulnerable systems and replace them with a common computer infrastructure that we can exploit to deliver operational and financial benefits to the MoD. Brigadier Philip Davies, DII program director, UK MoD

Greater interoperability and almost instant access

Not only was the hardware refreshed, but the replacement computers now run on a single enterprise system which will enable greater collaboration and improved security to meet information best practice, in line with The National Archives. Later this year we also will have an Electronic Document and Records Management (EDRM) system to meet the UK Government direction on improved information management in the public sector, adds Davies.

The DII program has allowed the MoDs forces deployed globally almost instant access to information, 24/7. This Information Optimization has transformed operational and business processes across the department, enhanced strategic and tactical decision-making and improved information-sharing between the four military headquarters and front-line forces. Moreover, it provides greater interoperability between the MoD and its allies by delivering more effective operational support. Forces personnel are reaping and exploiting the benefits too. Through greater automation and less complexity, pay, pensions and administration systems are more efficient and senior personnel and members of the intelligence community can access appropriately-classified information with ease over a common network.

Infrastructure optimization is about increasing our effectiveness and efficiency with fewer resources while delivering agility to meet the MoDs needs within budget. With HP and the other consortium members onboard, we are jointly delivering those needs via a good understanding of each others business and financial drivers, concludes Davies.
1

MoD statement dated 16 May 2011.

For more information

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PHASED DEPLOYMENT
HP has delivered, and continues to deliver, the DII program in several well coordinated and interlinked phases. This approach minimizes risk, provides flexibility to accommodate changing operational and business requirements, and offers opportunities to deliver best value for money. We procure large projects incrementally and we award new phases based on vendor performance and the value for money delivered by earlier increments, states Brigadier Philip Davies, UK MoD DII program director. The HP-led consortium has successfully brought innovation, thought leadership, new processes and technologies, with a high degree of collaboration and partnership, throughout the DII program. Increment 1 provided a common secure infrastructure that delivered over 750,000 hardware devices to MoD sites and connected them with over 30 million miles of network cabling. Designed to deliver office automation via Microsoft Office 2003, personal and group email, internet browsing, a file store and access to corporate applications, this initial increment included installing approximately 70,000 computers and creating 200,000 user accounts at 680 locations. This increment also consolidated IT support operations within the MoD to three sites. Under Increment 2a, ATLAS deployed additional computers and created additional user accounts to handle both unclassified and classified information. The following year, the MoD awarded Increment 2b to the consortium. This increment will deliver a secure and robust information infrastructure to handle classified information in operational environments. Contract flexibility proved beneficial as forces in Afghanistan urgently required several services including access to Joint Personnel Administration, says Davies. DII marches on Later, the MoD amended the contract again and engaged HP to deploy Increment 2c to manage its above-secret classified information; this capability will directly support the UK MoD, UK Intelligence Community and Allied Forces to communicate with one another effectively and efficiently. This increment will ultimately replace various legacy systems and form a vital component of our wider initiative to improve intelligence gathering and exploitation, supporting the Defence Intelligence Modernisation Programme, comments Davies. Later that year, the MoD awarded Increment 3a. This is the final component of the Fixed (permanent sites) part of DII and will support an additional 60,000 personnel, primarily within the Royal Air Force. Under this increment, HP will provide a further 42,000 computers operating in classified domains in the UK and overseas, again replacing outdated and expensive legacy systems. Concurrently, operational capability was being developed via the Alamein, Blenheim and Cambrai software releases. Alamein will transform how teams and individuals work together across geographical and organizational boundaries by delivering collaborative working and document management capabilities. HP has deployed a customized version of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) to drive this transformation program. Alamein also offers Enterprise Directory and Enterprise Search capabilities, asynchronous collaboration, web content, as well as electronic document and information management functionality. Blenheim is an on-going project producing additional capabilities including medium-grade messaging, public key infrastructure smartcards and Electronic Document and Record Management (EDRM). Later, the Cambrai project will further boost interoperability by enhancing international gateways, global disaster recovery, encryption services, desktop conferencing and service continuity.

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