Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon
Christopher Pyne MP opened the new Accenture Innovation Hub for Defence and
National Security in Canberra, describing it as a significant investment
towards building the local ICT capabilities.
According to the announcement
made by the Department
of Defence, the hub will provide a dedicated space for Defence and
National Security projects.
The hub in Canberra will be able to provide
Defence and national security organisations in Australia and New Zealand with
access to technology innovations and digital solutions.
Minister Pyne shared that the Government
welcomed the company’s investment in building a local ICT capability, which
will help foster ongoing innovation. It will also allow projects to transition
into business operations quickly and seamlessly.
Having been designed with a human-centric
focus, the hub encourages an environment where employees can collaborate with defence and security agencies, and other digital innovators on breakthroughs
and co-creation.
The Department is proud to have a long
standing partnership with the company. Previous collaborations include the
update and support of defence human resource and air safety systems. Both have
worked together on the delivery of ICT infrastructure modernisation projects.
He attributed the delivery of the core
technology upgrade that will lay the foundation for future enhancements to
Defence’s Digital Identity capability to their company. The upgrade that they
will provide will integrate into the Defence’s complex and secure information
technology environment.
Minister Pyne added that the development of
this new fantastic facility will be added to the growing list of significant
collaborative achievements they have with the Department.
The hub will be focusing on new
technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, internet of things,
cyber, robotics and advanced analytics. These will help clients to stay ahead
of their adversaries through technology innovation.
According to Mr Matt Gollings, Accenture’s
defence and national security lead in Australia and New Zealand, defence
organisations need to increase their resilience to emerging threats and require
secure, innovative and flexible delivery capabilities, often on tight
turnaround.
He added that the innovation hub will
address this need by on-site demonstrations of how innovative and often
disruptive digital technologies can enhance mission readiness, deliver better
operational outcomes and ultimately deliver mission success.
Moreover, the hub will also serve as the
company’s local defence and national security-related corporate citizenship
initiatives. The Prime Minister’s Veteran Employment Program, for instance,
which the company had contributed to, along with providing a forum for
collaboration among industry, academia and research organisations.
In Australia, the company currently employs
over 4,000 professionals working across a broad range of industries, including
the public sector and defence.
