Defence is set to pilot ways to modernise its “workplace environmment”, which could be indicative of a broader review of aspects of the department’s protected-level M365-based collaboration environment.
The department last week signed on to use software from archTIS, Microsoft and other undisclosed third-party tools to “evaluate productivity, compliance and security gains for the Defence office environment and its users”.
archTIS said its part of the project is worth $4.06 million and involves demonstrating how its NC Protect tool, which is used to “secure sensitive information … across M365, SharePoint on-premises and file share environments”, may be more broadly used across Defence.
It’s unclear exactly what other tools that Defence has bought access to as part of the project, but it is clear the project has a broader workplace productivity lens.
archTIS managing director Daniel Lai noted in a statement that “the need to increase productivity, security and speed across Defence has been identified in the [recently] released Defence Strategic Review.”
“This initiative is a small but important part of that cultural change,” Lai said.
iTnews understands that the program of work will particularly examine future records- and information-management capabilities, with the intent to ensure Defence personnel have the continued ability to securely access, share and collaborate on records and information across a range of legacy and emerging technologies.
To what extent that touches VERA – Defence’s virtual environment for remote access – remains unclear, and could not be established.
VERA was stood up in eleven weeks in 2020 to support work-from-home conditions; it allows users to access, update and send classified information without using the Defence Remote Electronic Access Management System.
The technology recommendations made by April’s Defence Strategic Review included transitioning to more open architecture approaches to software and hardware and adopting a cyber framework that is more consistent and centralised across domains.
In September last year, Defence expanded NC Protect from its ‘deployed information environment’ to its on-premises SharePoint environment.
The deployed information environment provides information services via secure and deployable local area networking systems to enable command and control, logistics, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, targeting, and geospatial services support.
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