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As-A-Service Technology Models Can Help the Military, U.K. Report Claims

Digital platforms give users access to advanced commercial computing tools, which can improve readiness.

Advanced digital tools, accessed through as-a-service models, offer benefits to the military, a study from Frost &Sullivan says. Credit: Shutterstock/Titina Ongkantong

The military and the government in the United Kingdom are employing cloud computing, big data, data analytics, Internet of Things devices, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and blockchain more often, according to recent study from London-based Frost & Sullivan, entitled Digitalization in Defense.

The result improves the continuity of operations and brings the military to a higher level of combat readiness, said Alix Leboulanger, senior industry analyst of defense at Frost & Sullivan.

In particular, as-a-service models, which allow users to access advanced software and hardware tools for a fee by a service provider, can help the military to adapt and thrive in a fast-evolving environment, the Frost & Sullivan report claimed. The military’s use of as-a-service models—also called XaaS or anything-as-a-service—including software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), “is blurring the lines of genuine and traditional ownership,” Leboulanger noted.

“The deployment of digital technologies improves legacy processes and enhances operation and mission efficiencies, which will, in turn, produce cost savings,” the report stated.

The move to advanced digital technologies is pulling in new players into the market and is improving competition, the report said. This includes non-traditional companies, which “are offering new business models and turnkey solutions to the military,” she noted.

Leboulanger also sees “a shift in customers increasingly looking for a total solution to solve one need and face one prime contractor, instead of handling a chain of contracts and multiple third parties.”

The senior industry analyst cautioned that while the tools will help the military create a ubiquitous operating environment, which provides greater operational benefits, data processes remain a bottleneck. “Handling and managing data remain a key concern, from data security to data spillover and theft,” she said. “Adoption is further hampered by high security standards, data sovereignty and ownership concerns, silos and disparate sources of data from legacy platforms.”