Beyond digital: How smarter defence can overcome…

For centuries, defence and security organisations have pioneered innovative solutions to keep nations safe and secure. But the sheer speed of technological evolution – and adversaries’ ability to exploit it – has forced a shift of gears. Quantum, AI, and mixed reality have broadened the threat and opportunity landscape. To take advantage of new technologies while protecting against nuanced cyber threats, defence organisations need to become intelligent enterprises.

Digital, data, and AI capabilities underpin the rapid development of new capabilities, with time-to-battlefield now counted in hours, not weeks. These capabilities lead to more efficient use of operational time, ensuring decision-making teams can access the information they need in seconds.

Yet, in March 2025, NDC, a major US defence manufacturer, was targeted by sophisticated cyber criminals. The attack leaked 4.2 terabytes of sensitive data including internal communications and procurement documents, highlighting the destructive potential of targeted threats on high-value defence assets.

In this challenging environment, UK defence organisations need to be more than digital. They need to become intelligent enterprises, shedding legacy processes and using AI, cloud, and data insights to operate in entirely new ways. But leaders are cautious. They’re unsure of how to turn aspiration into action, and join up efforts across departments. The issue isn’t technology – it’s traction.

Rather than digitising around the edges of their existing model, how can defence organisations become truly intelligent enterprises with a digital and data mindset? And what opportunities will moving away from legacy methods unlock to keep the UK safe and secure?

From sentiment to strategy

Advanced tech is already helping defence organisations to finetune operational plans and improve supply chain management. The MOD’s Defence AI Playbook outlines specific applications for agentic AI, including object detection in satellite imagery and radio frequency signal analysis. Other use cases for agentic AI include predicting attack vectors, and autonomously patching vulnerabilities in systems.

Despite these benefits, not all organisations have developed holistic, organisation-wide transformation strategy. The result? Fragmentation, with some departments and teams left behind.

What’s needed is an overarching blueprint that supports transformation by identifying high-value use cases for advanced tech, and setting out steps to make them real. With the right strategy and justified investment, organisations can augment products and services and channel investment into improved capabilities and decision-making. This helps to futureproof the organisation while supporting the UK’s national security posture.

From cautious to confident

Bringing advanced tech solutions into operations can aid agility and efficiency, providing the flexibility to improve the quality, speed, and accuracy of decisions. And all of this saves on costs, too. But which tech should be used? Which use cases are the most realistic, and which will deliver the most value?

Working with a national law enforcement agency, we used a combination of AI and quantum solutions to address disconnects, build technical and operational capability, and share capabilities across government – all helping to disrupt serious crime in a more efficient, joined-up way. Often, however, the solution is to rethink operating models, such as in our work with the UK Home Office to join up cross-border law enforcement on an international scale.

Whatever tech stack is chosen, it needs to be secure by default. Cyber security needs to be built into the use of cloud, quantum, DevOps, and infrastructure. By their nature, defence and security organisations are more switched on to security best practice, but breaches like the NDC attack underscore the importance of continual security evolution.

From fear to familiarity

People make or break digital transformations. In-house upskilling is fundamental – any organisation that doesn’t have a tech-focused upskilling programme is missing the boat. In addition, outside-in perspectives can refine digital transformation strategies, help to manage tech adoption programmes, or streamline the development of tailored apps.

Importantly, employees need to trust that transformation will bring significant benefits for them personally, and for the nation’s broader safety. If they’re comfortable with advanced tech – AI or otherwise – they’ll learn to use it effectively, and create the headspace for human imagination. These new ideas can then feed better strategic decisions.

Another less obvious benefit to transformation is improving the sector’s attractiveness to fresh talent. Bright minds lean towards roles in the tech sector, swayed by the opportunity to work with groundbreaking tools. By becoming intelligent enterprises, defence organisations can showcase its adoption of advanced tech in aid of a higher purpose: keeping people safe.

From stagnation to scale

The right strategy, the right tech stack, and a skilled, capable, diverse delivery team are the key ingredients of moving from digital to intelligent. But, even with these foundational building blocks in place, success isn’t guaranteed. Even the best initiatives can get stuck at pilot stage. These experiments need to fuel development, not stay stuck in siloes.

For example, working with the RAF, we co-developed their in-house software development capability – born from a proof-of-concept single application for RAF Cadets. Appivate is now delivering software, data, and AI capabilities and simultaneously training RAF military and civilian personnel as software engineers, designers and digital delivery leads. Appivate is now among the leading military digital and data capabilities in NATO and sits at the forefront of work to implement critical Strategic Defence Review recommendations including the establishment of the Digital Warfighter group. The Appivate team is also at the heart of the work to design and implementing the RAF’s five-year digital strategy to provide dedicated digital capability to senior leaders.

From digital ambition to intelligent action

Threats are evolving, technology is advancing, and the imperative to act is clear. But becoming an intelligent enterprise isn’t just about adopting new tools. It’s about strategy, confidence, familiarity, and the ability to scale. By aligning strategy, capability, and culture, defence organisations can move from digital ambition to intelligent action, protecting the UK with speed, precision, and purpose.