The MDI route to building national advantage: Collaboration is the key

Multi-domain integration (MDI) isn’t just a technical model. It is a communications model – a means for the MOD and industry to speak the same language, to then push towards greater connectivity of solutions and data across domains, together. 

This requires a collective focus on several key pillars. Bringing together collective knowledge, upskilling personnel, and encouraging development of technologies that champion MDI will make us a united Whole Force in a complex and increasingly cyber-dependent battlespace.

Igniting confidence within industry

In the digital world, advantage will be largely determined by the application of a nation’s or coalition’s knowledge and skills. Engendering mechanisms that support collaborative behaviours and team dynamics will influence outcomes far more than commercial programme regulation. Traditional transactional relationships between MOD and industry in the digital domain will have an increasingly limited life. The digital capability uplifts required to compete with our adversaries will therefore rely on the utilisation of agile environments where all the national skills necessary to win are harnessed effectively. 

This might mean applying rapid in-service upgrades to cyber defensive and offensive capabilities, or better determining what is trusted intelligence and triaged courses of action. It includes providing the right technical support to the front line. Overall, it all calls for a more intertwined relationship that extends beyond typical transactional models.

As software product and support programmes transition to agile evolution programmes and hardware solutions increasingly support flexibility – meaning those who develop hardware products may not control downstream solutions – then industry needs to be given confidence to invest. This calls for an enhanced level of trust from both sides, with the MOD demonstrating that if industry applies the right skills and behaviours and continues to produce fit-for-purpose solutions, it will grow and provide shareholder return. 

Building on success stories with a rethought model

In many parts of government, there are excellent examples of such collaboration already bearing fruit. Despite priorities changing daily, products have been delivered to the front line in weeks or even days. Industry’s responsibility extends to providing the skills necessary, which it does by building and maintaining a wide ecosystem of suppliers – many of whom may otherwise be unable to participate in government projects due to various challenges. 

Skills programmes that develop members of industry alongside MOD personnel further showcase the benefits of working towards mutual goals. Bringing talent together in this way, helps to create a shared understanding of what’s important, and what each party can bring to deliver the best sustainable capability in the defence and security of the nation.

The natural consequence of this collective ecosystem is a range of tools that support an MDI mode of working and that strengthen industry’s influence. However, effectively facilitating the above extent of collaboration may require rethinking or updating the models that are currently in place. The goal must be to empower speed, agility and trust in a digital/cyber context.

Here, I suggest a concept of continuum, supporting very low-level competition to very high-level (all-out war) where different actors and tools – physical, virtual and cognitive – are selected, integrated and flexed optimally. This again requires government and industry to work closely in complete collaboration, driven by multi-disciplined teams providing close mission support. 

It’s vital that we look ahead, determining each party’s responsibilities by examining the current and future threat environment, public spirit and military ways of working. We need a model which can rapidly flex and we need to start thinking about mechanics such as career development paths that support that flexibility – building on mutual trust and learning together. 

A federated approach

At the core of everything is open communication. Harnessing MDI effectively depends on our ability to share information – within government, within industry, and between the two. If we can’t share it we can’t exploit it; we will remain silo-ed and progress will stall. Skills development and re-training, improvements in data exploitation, intelligence at the edge – all of these critical components will benefit from the experimentation afforded by the enablement of information sharing.

As such, we as an ecosystem should be embracing an interoperable, federated approach. This is what will allow Defence to scale, to be agile and to evolve at the required pace. This is also how we will ensure flexibility across different Defence domains. While the priorities for the Army may be different to those for the Navy, a united mindset will enable us to negate the concept of ‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions and instead work on a base set of standards that can be tailored to specific requirements.
And, with industry constantly evolving its own capabilities, this federated approach will make it easier for Defence to tap into innovation in order to deliver the competitive edge. A culture of embracing industry and leveraging the full potency of solutions through digital innovation delivered towards a common goal.

Defence and security is a national endeavour and with a greater dependency on digital in warfare against a backdrop of skills and budget shortages, a national re-think is warranted. This is what will enable us to keep our nation safe and help secure national advantage over the years to come – an obligation that touches us all.