Why agile procurement matters for Defence

Agile procurement is not a new concept and has long been employed in the commercial sector, with industries modernising their processes, cultures, and mindsets to ensure they keep pace with competitors.

The traditional “Big Banks” are a prime example. Almost a decade ago, they faced a perfect storm: their reputations were still recovering from the 2008 financial crash; they were experiencing increased scrutiny from regulators, the media, and customers; and critically, the threat of redundancy loomed, with a wave of digital challenger banks snapping at their once impenetrable heels. The British Armed Forces must now navigate their own perfect storm, and they are faced with the challenge of identifying, procuring, and fielding technologies that are developing at an unprecedented speed or else risk losing their advantage in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.

AI: augmenting human capability

This scenario may appear melodramatic, but those of us working at the cutting edge of AI have seen first-hand its capacity to augment human capabilities and enable personnel to operate at a pace and scale previously unknown. Analysts using our Vantage software, for example, have noted how it acts as a “force multiplier” and has enabled them to “save days of effort in seconds” and “achieve in less than one hour what would have ordinarily taken an analyst over 28 days”.

Fundamentally, the ability for technology to transform how conflict is fought and won is already here. The challenge is not a technological one, or a lack of innovation coming from British companies or indeed other allied countries. The challenge lies in the ability to test, adopt, and deploy this technology at the speed of relevance.

Understanding agile from a Defence perspective

The first step to modernising procurement practices is recognising the need to do so. And this is of course being recognised. There is no doubt Defence can procure rapidly in times of need – the urgent operational requirements that met the demands of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the ongoing support to Ukraine evidence that. However, speed is only one aspect of agile procurement and rapid procurement is far from a consistent experience. To risk waiting until conflict is imminent, and to then hope that speed alone will solve all challenges, is to risk our capabilities becoming redundant before our eyes.

The second step is to understand what agile procurement means in the context of the armed forces. From an AI perspective, its meaning must be driven by at least three core factors: the unprecedented pace of technological advancement; the absolute fact that no one person or organisation can deliver all future needs; and the danger that lurks behind prematurely defining solutions.

Unpicking these factors, the first and second are obvious but nonetheless critical. The success of any modern software application, Adarga’s included, is dependent on multiple underlying factors. This type of technology can only be effectively applied if the armed forces have the right foundations on which to adopt it. These range from obtaining appropriate data for analysis; having scalable, reliable, and secure infrastructure; a seamless integration of capabilities with end devices; and of course, a culture that champions digitisation and invests in understanding how it can procure software in a way that it can be applied to mission-critical challenges at pace. Put simply, it is senseless having the best technology if users cannot effectively use it. These first two factors mean technology acquisitions cannot be treated as isolated, one-off events. They must be viewed for what they are: continually evolving capabilities that exist in a supporting ecosystem. If they are procured in a segregated and singular manner, the capability purchased may quickly become outdated and its full potential never realised.

Turning to the third factor, the armed forces will not always know the solution needed to overcome a challenge or exploit an opportunity. Nor should they. If they attempt to rigidly predefine solutions, they risk stifling innovation or overlooking pre-existing solutions. Suppliers will inevitably focus on responding to pre-determined lists of technical requirements, rather than offering creative or off-the-shelf solutions.

The solution: ETPs

These three driving factors all overwhelmingly highlight the need for the armed forces and industry to work collaboratively. They expound the need for early industry engagement in procurement, for practices that prioritise value over static and pre-determined metrics, and for processes that enable continuous innovation. They advocate the need for what I have called “ETPs”. Ecosystems fuelled by trust and driven by purpose. By ecosystems I mean diverse teams of experts, consisting of a blend of Defence and multiple suppliers who can be stood up rapidly. These ecosystems should be engaged in a problem early on, given the opportunity to empathise with the challenge at hand, and empowered to shape potential solutions. They must also be given appropriate boundaries within which they can safely and freely innovate. All of which generates trust. Finally, they are guided and united by a common purpose, the desire to ensure our armed forces maintain a capability advantage.

Ecosystems are already happening within Defence, but largely in spite of existing processes, rather than as a result of them. The Royal Navy’s Stormcloud is a leading example. Three high level use cases, unbounded by restrictive requirements or specific deliverables, were jointly identified and a mixed team of suppliers, led by Adarga, worked to ideate, iterate, and deliver innovative prototypes. This resulted in a significant increase in prototype development speed, acceleration in experimentation times (software and data services set up in days, not months), and a 300% increase in speed of procurement when compared with normal timetables. Another example is the work of the Accelerated Capability Framework, which has spearheaded an ecosystem approach to help solve complex national security problems.

It is of course easy to suggest ETPs as a solution. The real challenge will be in establishing accessible, yet risk appropriate, mechanisms that can create and sustain them. What is not needed, and must be avoided at all costs, is more frameworks or complicated Defence Conditions (DEFCONs). The armed forces and industry’s focus must be on streamlining processes, pairing back unnecessary governance, proportionate contract terms, and above all, building mutually beneficial and trusting relationships.

Change is not easy, particularly when it comes to long established ways of working, much of which will have originated for good reason or with positive intent. Inaction, however, is much riskier. To maintain current practices is to allow potential adversaries more time to exploit emerging technology to their advantage. It is to freely give our adversaries the opportunity to define the future shape of conflict. Ecosystems fueled by trust and driven by purpose, such as those already underway within Defence, offer an alternative. Now, the challenge is to make them the norm where it matters, rather than the exception. Agile procurement, ETPs, will of course not be needed for all programmes, but where they are, they could transform capabilities. Working in concert, in diverse and flexible ecosystems, we have a narrowing window of opportunity to ensure our armed forces maintain the edge they need to fight and win any war that comes their way.