DEFENSE CLOUD

1
Contents

3 Introduction

4 Modernize infrastructure with a defense cloud

7 0Gain a strategic edge with software

7 Analytics

8 Artificial intelligence

8 Readiness modelling and resource allocation

9 Cognitive services

9 Predictive maintenance

10 Logistics

10 Cybersecurity

11 Conclusion

2
Introduction

T
he application of technology and the cultivation of innovation have
long been strategic for defense and intelligence agencies throughout
history. The advancement of hyper-scale cloud computing has now
provided a new catalyst for innovation in the vital mission of deterring
conflicts and protecting the security of a nation.

During times of budget constraint and an increasing focus on resiliency, security risks
and vulnerabilities, the cloud is becoming a preferred route for the transformation of
antiquated and hard–to-defend IT. Cloud computing, in all its forms, now provides a
critical platform for defense IT modernization to deliver an efficient, flexible and security
enhanced enterprise environment on which to build strategic advantage. Sentiment is
changing from caution to preference for defense agencies.

However, the value of digital transformation of defense goes beyond cloud infrastructure
and platform models and the economic and efficiency gains of modernization. A defense
cloud can multiply the value of siloed legacy systems and data through the application
of intelligent services such as advanced analytics, cognitive services, artificial intelligence
(AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). And with the addition of cloud capabilities such as
predictive maintenance and new intelligent approaches to cybersecurity, a defense cloud
can enable a strategic edge in operational readiness and mission achievement.

This ebook will provide insights into the digital transformation of defense enabled by
Microsoft Azure cloud-based technologies and partnerships with expert service and
solution providers.

3
Modernize with a defense cloud

F
or many years, defense departments and forces built their own stand-
alone systems to increase operational resiliency and security. However,
the use of these multiple legacy applications often forced the use of
different operating platforms, devices, display technologies and reporting
systems to build a complete operational picture.

This also created challenges when employing a variety of architectures, networks and
communications protocols, particularly when needing to collaborate and cooperate on
joint missions within and between forces and nations.

This legacy of siloed development has created considerable cost and complexity in the
process of modernizing defense IT to meet the needs of a more integrated modern data-
driven fighting force. Increasing budget constraints, the need for improved efficiency and
the inability of procurement and acquisition processes to keep pace with advantageous
technology innovation, have exacerbated these challenges. Cloud computing now
provides the opportunity for defense agencies to optimize, modernize and transform
their IT landscape. A defense cloud provides the capabilities for improved flexibility and
scalability while helping to ensure the appropriate level of mandated security discipline.

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 Defense cloud computing can deliver a cost-efficient, enterprise environment that can
readily and flexibly adapt to a department’s ongoing and dynamic operational and
logistical needs. The choice of cloud model can become a differentiator and advantage,
providing agencies with options for cloud deployment models to host data and run
applications that increase efficiency and enhance security.

By deploying a defense cloud, military leaders now have practical options when making
decisions regarding data sovereignty and security. Data and information can be governed
and classified for the optimal platform with a choice of cloud in your terms, especially in
the areas of day-to-day operations and defense readiness and logistics platforms.

The flexible, agile and dynamic provisioning of IT capabilities provided by the defense
cloud offers an optimized delivery model with potential for increased operational and
financial flexibility and reduced maintenance and support.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) felt that the only appropriate place to host data was in the
UK so they adopted the Microsoft Cloud, as well as Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection and
Customer Lockbox from a Microsoft UK data center.

“The MOD chose Microsoft cloud technologies to support our transition to a more cost-effective,
modern and agile organization. Microsoft offers the security, privacy, control and transparency
that meets our stringent criteria for cloud services - all available from data centres in the
U.K. Additional cloud-based services such as Advanced Threat Protection provide us with
complementary capabilities to keep our employees productive and our network secure.” -
Mike Stone, Chief digital and information officer, UK Ministry of Defence.

Microsoft is also working with governments around the world to deliver security enhanced
in-country sovereign cloud environments to meet the data sovereignty and high levels
of protection and data governance required by some government departments. These
security investments and working partnerships have already enabled Microsoft to
offer Azure Government in the United States. Azure Government is a dedicated cloud
exclusively for the use of U.S. government entities and their partners with services certified
to meet FedRAMP High requirements. Department of Defense customers can take
advantage of two dedicated datacenters offering infrastructure, platform, and productivity
services certified for DoD Impact Level 5. Azure is generally available in 36 regions around
the world and most recently Microsoft announced new regions in Canberra, Australia,
designed to be capable of handling protected data for the Australian Government.

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With a defense cloud solution, agencies can deploy systems between their own onsite
datacenters and a security enhanced cloud to create a seamless enterprise environment to
meet their specific needs. Microsoft can also offer defense agencies a choice as to where
to locate these different services according to their sovereignty, security classification,
demand, sensitivity and other requirements.

A defense cloud from Microsoft can help defense agencies and departments to:

• Improve cost-efficiency and reduce the dependency on legacy infrastructure.

• Store, process, and analyze the rapidly growing volumes of information that defense
organizations produce to gain strategic or tactical insight.
• Be more efficient with always available and dynamically provisioned hyper-scalable
storage and compute power, allowing agencies to use processing power while
addressing security and privacy concerns.
• Increase IT operational efficiency, network security and agility while addressing data
security and utilizing identity control.
• Improve interoperability with mission partners and enable organizations to adopt
practical innovations, faster and at lower cost.
• Transition to cloud-based solutions and services to successfully provide the robust
network necessary for troops and commanders anytime, anywhere.

The differentiating advantages of a Microsoft defense cloud extend beyond the core cloud
computing benefits derived from the modernization of legacy defense infrastructures.
It’s the advanced capabilities within the cloud that deliver strategic opportunities to the
implementation of a technology offset strategy. In short, it’s the software in the cloud that
delivers the edge.

6
Gain advantage with software

T
he ability of the cloud to rapidly provision increased storage and
compute capacity while utilizing the appropriate infrastructure model is
a distinct advantage for operational flexibility and efficiency.

However, it’s the rapid advancements in cloud-based software capability and a new
and growing range of intelligent applications and digital service innovations that can
deliver additional potential gains. A defense cloud solution can provide the advanced
technologies, software and services that enable defense agencies to modernize their IT
and move forward with initiatives that provide strategic advantage in areas such as:

Analytics
The ability to make better informed decisions through enhanced analytics and accessing
reports and information on secure mobile platforms and devices, opens up new
possibilities for defense and intelligence organizations. Modern business intelligence
(BI) solutions and tools can be deployed on those devices to display information in a
variety of formats and enable drill-down via custom views and dashboards. By analyzing
high-volume, multi-format data from existing operational systems and arrays of sensors
in real-time, commanders can gain better insight and situational awareness to improve
operational and in-theatre decision making.

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Artificial intelligence
Artificial Intelligence techniques are another example of defense cloud technology
capability that helps deliver a competitive edge. Microsoft cloud-based machine learning
technologies can help data scientists and developers to quickly build, test and experiment
with data models to enable quality, high-confidence decision making wherever it’s
needed. These AI applications can be deployed as required to intelligently sense, process
and act on information to forecast the outcome and consequences of decisions, while
data is protected with enterprise-grade security. AI cloud technologies can also renew
and enhance the value of legacy data, learning patterns and outcomes from historic data
to inform predictive decision models that help improve readiness and better forecast
outcomes.

Readiness modelling and resource allocation

On-demand cloud storage capacity combined with analytics and machine learning
can be applied to the essential process of military readiness and capability assessment.
Mission essential task data within Defense Readiness Reporting Systems (DRRS) can be
combined with other related data sources to better analyze force readiness information
and understand the key risks in executing missions. Similar analysis and data modelling
can also be used to review the available mission resources helping commanders make
informed decisions on where investment may be needed to mitigate risks and achieve
mission objectives.

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Cognitive services
With the explosion of multi-format data volumes comes an increasing need to integrate,
analyze, interpret and build knowledge from this content. The ability of the Microsoft
cloud to provide massive storage capacity for any type of unstructured data - images,
videos, audio, documents, and more - combined with cognitive services, delivers
valuable potential gains for defense agencies. Microsoft cognitive services in the cloud
provide intelligent tools, software and algorithms that allow systems to see, hear, speak,
understand and interpret these data types and natural methods of communication.

For example, cognitive services can enable systems to classify, categorize and process
visual data such as reconnaissance images or training video, identifying image
types, reading captured text, adding descriptions and redacting sensitive content.
Communication can be simplified by translating and converting real-time speech to text
and back again to understand meaning and intent. Identities and sources can be indexed
and verified. And by applying intelligent search to the outputs, information queries can be
applied to huge volumes of information and resolved faster while similar content can be
suggested for further analysis.

Predictive maintenance
The defense cloud delivers significant opportunities to improve mission readiness
through the application of ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) technologies and analytics for
predictive maintenance. With massive inventories of physical assets and equipment,
defense agencies can gain an operational advantage by foreseeing asset breakdowns
and failures so that action can be taken before an issue impacts mission capability.
Volumes of equipment sensor data can be live-streamed to the cloud so that machine
learning algorithms can analyze and detect the symptoms of a failure. Sensor data can
be continuously analyzed and compared to patterns of data to provide early warning and
the timely scheduling of maintenance or corrective servicing to prevent costly downtime.
In addition, predictive maintenance data can be applied to the supply chain so that spare
parts are ordered in time and service personnel are made available, optimizing time and
resources and keeping assets at peak performance.

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Logistics
Defence organizations are highly reliant on effective and efficient supply chains and
logistics as strategic assets to operations and mission readiness. However, due to the vast
scale of assets with multiple suppliers and contracts, plus the complexities of procurement,
logistics and warehousing, supply chain excellence is essential. Logistics and supply chain
systems can generate vast volumes of continuous information in the process of operating
huge and complex supply networks and processes. Cloud technologies, advanced
analytics, business intelligence tools and enterprise application software such as
Dynamics 365, can provide the capabilities defense agencies need including; cost
and inventory planning, procurement and sourcing, and warehouse and distribution
management. And with a Microsoft cloud this can be achieved while keeping vital data in
a cloud model appropriate to data governance policy.

Cybersecurity
A defense cloud solution helps address the cybersecurity gaps that threaten confidential
mission critical information and operational effectiveness. Microsoft has implemented
advanced cloud security capabilities that help protect against the constantly evolving
cybersecurity threats. Microsoft cloud products and services can help defense
organizations better protect endpoints and access devices, move faster to detect potential
threats and quickly respond and to and mitigate any detected security breaches. Microsoft
is also working with governments around the world to deliver security enhanced
in-country cloud environments to meet the data sovereignty and high levels of protection
and data governance required by defense and intelligence agencies.

10
Conclusion

G
overnments around the world are rapidly moving towards cloud
computing. Procurement policies and directives are encouraging
agencies to consider the cloud as a first option when acquiring
IT products and services as part of national strategies to build modern,
resilient and secure IT foundations for the future.

At the same time, the cloud is increasingly becoming a strategic option for defense
agencies seeking to gain advantage in their missions while overcoming the modern
constraints on budgets and concerns about data residency and impact level security.
However, it’s not just the choice of cloud models to suit the data residency and security
requirements of defense that provides tangible benefits, it’s the choice of capable,
intelligent, software, services and applications within the cloud that provides the strategic
differentiator.

Microsoft cloud technologies, innovative solutions and defense industry expertize all
combine to provide new opportunities for defense and intelligence organizations to
optimize their operations and modernize their IT assets and infrastructure.

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The Microsoft focus on reinventing productivity and building the intelligent, trustworthy
cloud, supported by a vast network of technology partners, all empower defense and
intelligence agencies and leaders to do more and achieve more for the nations and
citizens they serve.

Learn more about Microsoft in Government

microsoft.com/government

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