MoD and Oracle forge closer ties as IT modernization accelerates
The UK’s defence ministry will move legacy systems to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure as part of the expanded agreement
Oracle has announced an expansion of a deal with the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the government department ramps up IT modernization efforts.
As part of the expansion, a new cloud agreement will enable the MoD to move legacy tech systems to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (ICO), underpinning its ongoing modernization goals.
The agreement will also support adoption of new AI tools, according to the MoD, and streamline data access and security.
“The OCI agreement strengthens the long standing strategic relationship between MoD and Oracle, and reflects the MoDs multi-vendor strategy to leverage the best available technologies to deliver operational outcomes and greater efficiency,” said Victoria Cope, commercial director for the MoD.
According to Cope, the new agreement also includes commitments to support digital skills development at the MoD, supporting the “wider defence and UK government agenda to build a digitally skilled workforce”.
Oracle doubling down on defence ties
This latest agreement for Oracle builds on long-standing ties with the UK government and broader public sector, including deals with the Cabinet Office and Crown Commercial Service (CCS).
The MoD itself is undergoing significant IT modernization in a bid to enhance operational efficiency, deliver improvements to decision making, and to bolster cybersecurity capabilities.
Overhauling legacy systems has been a long-running challenge for the department, with a 2022 report from the National Audit Office (NAO) warning the MoD had neither the appropriate IT infrastructure nor workforce digital skills capabilities to meet long-term modernization goals.
With the advent of generative AI, the MoD has set a goal to become an “AI-ready organization”, Oracle noted, and one that treats data as a “strategic asset”.
“The UK MoD is moving quickly to use data and AI in far more sophisticated ways to strengthen national security for UK citizens,” said Jason Rees, SVP for technology engineers at Oracle EMEA.
“Migrating workloads to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will allow it to do this rapidly and at scale, without complicated and costly rewrites. The MoD will benefit from OCI’s in-built security and AI solutions, providing a resilient foundation for faster innovation, improved decision making and mission ready capabilities.”
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