Defence firm in secure cloud move

LEONARDO has become first major defence company in the UK to move to the secure cloud.

This move will allow the Bristolbased company to get high-tech new equipment into the hands of the UK Armed Forces and its allies faster.

The deployment of a cloudbased Azure platform across its UK business is a first in the industry, migrating key applications onto the secure cloud.

In collaboration with Microsoft and Accenture, the secure cloud will make it possible for Leonardo to use rapid cloud computing techniques for design, data storage and resources, with encryption offering an extra layer of security.

Gareth Hetheridge, director digital and IT, Leonardo UK said: “Unfolding global conflicts have created an urgent requirement for the defence industry to fast track design and delivery to tight timescales. With the introduction of a new Leonardo digital backbone, employees, partners and customers can now securely access relevant data and applications anytime, anywhere.

“This will be vital as industry moves to a model of defence contracting where companies and customers work more closely together than ever before, despite being physically located around the country and internationally.”

The company’s UK-based scientists and engineers will now have secure access to a remotelyaccessible ‘digital backbone’ that will speed up product research, cut development costs and enable closer collaboration with customers and other partners.

Leonardo, best known in the UK as the home of British helicopters and for its onshore production of advanced electronics for the Royal Air Force’s Typhoon fleet, is investing around £100m this year in the UK in its ongoing enablers strategy.