Niteworks 3: Enabling MOD to take advantage of the IT revolution: The Brockworks Programme
The Niteworks BROCKWORKS Programme enables the Ministry Of Defence (MOD) to take advantage of the IT revolution.
MOD Crown Copyright
Programme Overview
Alongside other work for Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Information Systems and Services, Niteworks has delivered a highly innovative programme that allows MOD to see and experience key commercial developments in Information Technology (IT) and understand their features and relevance to Defence’s information needs. Named ‘Brockworks’, the programme has been running since early 2013.
It has explored areas the following areas;
- cloud-based information sharing
- identity and access management
- multi-tenant and high threat gateways
- highly classified systems
- cloud-based workforce messaging
- software defined networks
Customer, Head CRM, Joint Forces Command (JFC) Information Support Services (ISS) Design:
Brockworks allows ISS to rapidly explore business challenges and technical solutions in an IP friendly environment. It also allows us to fail fast and early, de-risking downstream design and ensuring cost avoidance during procurement.
The Niteworks Approach
Using its unique industrial arrangements, Niteworks was able to pull together teams of experts drawn from across the partnership and use the very latest IT products and concepts without being tied to any particular suppliers. Each project was planned on a ‘Scope, Design, Built, Test, Iterate basis’ using commercial off the shelf products and, in most cases, the latest cloud services offerings from industry.
The rapid prototyping approach allowed MOD, with minimum outlay or risk, to explore concepts in a ‘fail fast and fail safe’ environment and, most importantly, ‘live’ through the design/build journey. This was on the basis that a detailed report is always useful, but a detailed report on top of seeing and feeling real, working capability, warts and all, is much more useful. In particular Brockworks concentrated on cyber and accreditation aspects of each project, developing the right balance between innovation and security.
Niteworks exploited its access to the partnership, and beyond, not only through its project team make-up, but through broad engagement and peer review during the projects themselves.
Programme Outcomes
The continuing Brockworks programme has delivered a wide range of specific benefits. MOD has taken the outputs of the projects and incorporated them into architectures, design patterns, requirements and assessment criteria as it contracts for real information capability under its Defence Information Strategy. It is able to do this from an intelligent customer perspective, with real knowledge and experience of the characteristics, opportunities and limitations associated with modern IT in MOD’s unique environment. Through Brockworks, MOD has direct access to a home team that can really innovate and ensure it gets the best from the information revolution.
Customer, Head CRM, JFC ISS Design:
The Niteworks approach provides industry with an understanding of MOD intention and implementation that ensures a pragmatic, well informed, and cost-effective approach to procurement whilst preserving competition.