Amongst the many announcements to come out of this week’s NATO Summit in Ankara, the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) has revealed they’ve signed a contract with Accenture – for their Protected Business Network (PBN). The contract marks a key step in delivering NATO’s secure, cloud-enabled digital enterprise.
The PBN establishes the foundation for classified digital operations across the NATO Enterprise, ensuring decision makers and military personnel across domains can communicate, coordinate, and access critical data in a modern standardised and scalable cloud environment that is more resilient to external attack and disruption.
The PBN program replaces legacy approaches and strengthen the agility and security of the NATO digital infrastructure by introducing a common cloud operating model, standardised engineering practices and a secure environment in which new digital services can be developed, deployed and maintained more rapidly, providing the foundation for future capabilities.
Accenture will now work with Leonardo to design, implement and operate the core PBN platform across a multi-cloud environment provided by NCIA, supporting the progressive deployment and long-term adoption of secure cloud services to approximately 29,000 users across the Alliance. The estimated value of the contract is approximately 200 million euros over the next seven years.
Cyber & Digital Transformation
“Today’s contract is a step change in NATO’s continuing digital transformation,” said Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Cyber and Digital Transformation.
He continued: “Our new, robust, interoperable transatlantic cloud architecture allows Allies to take decisions and operate together more quickly and more securely than ever.”
“With this contract, we are delivering on the Alliance’s commitment to innovation, digital transformation, and collective investment in our technological future. Under the Protected Business Network, NATO is taking a key step to modernize its digital infrastructure and enable a more connected, data-driven enterprise, ensuring we deliver digital capabilities at speed and scale.” said NCI Agency General Manager Dr Dylan Browne.
Mauro Macchi, CEO for EMEA at Accenture said: “NATO’s ambition to become a digitally enabled Alliance is one of the most consequential transformation programs of our time, and reinvention at this scale requires a trusted partner willing to take accountability for outcomes. Together with Leonardo, we are bringing the cloud and security capabilities needed to help (NCI Agency) build a digital backbone that is resilient, interoperable and ready for the future, while strengthening the Alliance’s own ability to operate and lead.”
Operational Readiness
Lorenzo Mariani, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo, said: “In the current geopolitical landscape, this project represents a significant milestone to boost NATO’s operational readiness, interoperability, and mission continuity. Leonardo, with the (PBN) Program, consolidates its leadership in trusted cyber security for mission critical organisations.”
Approved by the North Atlantic Council as a NATO-wide capability program, the PBN supports the Alliance’s ambition to accelerate NATO’s Digital Transformation and ensure the Alliance can exploit emerging technologies while maintaining its technological edge. The contract establishes the long-term partnership that will deliver that vision.
