The Ministry of Defence (MoD) aims to develop its Defence Data Analytics Platform (DDAP) over the next three years, with IT services firm Kainos, in a contract worth £50m.
Kainos will provide support for users across the MoD, including the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force and other MoD support organisations, to change over to a developed version of the platform.
The DDAP is billed by the Defence Ministry as a secure data and analytics system, launched by Defence Digital, which is part of the MoD’s Strategic Command. Defence Digital’s chief information officer is Charlie Forte, and its budget is £2bn, with 2,400 personnel.
The MoD launched the DDAP in January 2023, with an £8.625m contract awarded to Cognizant.
The DDAP’s aim is to support the Data Strategy for Defence, as outlined under the prime ministership of Boris Johnson. The goals of that strategy included, by 2025, for data to be “curated, integrated, and human and machine-ready for exploitation” in the “battlespace” – and for it to be in second place only to Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel.
The platform is built on Amazon Web Services, and its stated aim is to democratise data access, standardise approaches and tooling, and encourage interoperability and sharing of best practice across the MoD.
“The MoD already holds excellent analytical minds and capabilities across defence,” said an MoD spokesperson, quoted by Kainos. “The evolution of DDAP will encourage minds to further unite under one true enterprise system, to help meet the ambitions of the Data Strategy for Defence for standardised, assured and efficient data analytics, as well as accelerate the delivery of new technology capabilities including AI innovation. Kainos brings the technical expertise to evolve the platform, as well as invaluable digital experience. As a partner, Kainos will help us create a data-first mindset and skills across UK defence.”
Kainos will provide platform management, maintenance and support for DDAP, and also be responsible for data integration across the MoD. A goal of the programme is to limit the duplication of analytics initiatives across the organisation.
On the people side, it has worked with the Defence Digital organisation to create, according to a Kainos statement, skilled data teams to design and roll out end user applications on DDAP to support analytics and bespoke use cases.
That activity continues under the new contract, and the vendor will liaise with end users on their specific data analytics requirements.
“It is a great privilege to expand our partnership with the MoD to drive forward an evolution of how data analytics is used across UK defence,” said Brendan Mooney, CEO of Kainos. “DDAP is a pioneering initiative which we will help to strengthen by introducing new approaches to data management, tooling and governance, and importantly by working closely with personnel across the MoD to understand their specific data needs.
“By continuously evolving the platform, DDAP remains at the forefront of data and AI analytics, maximising the value extracted from data assets, and supporting the overall digital vision of the MoD.”
Kainos has already started work with the MoD under the new contract, which ends on 6 January 2028.
