NATO has selected IBM to participate in a strategic technology project aimed at improving data center efficiency and optimizing information sharing between its 28 member nations.
The initiative will allow NATO to explore and demonstrate a new Cloud computing paradigm that could be used to consolidate and integrate technology capabilities for critical Command and Control (C&C) programs.
The project – which supports NATO’s efforts to meet 21st century technology challenges – will be managed by IBM at the Headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT) in Norfolk, Virginia.
According to IBM spokesperson Anne Altman, the on-premise Cloud will test and develop network solutions for command, control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance projects.
The new system is also expected to demonstrate how Cloud computing can reduce ramp-up time for enhanced technology capabilities, while improving important operational functions, such as increasing situational awareness and faster decision-making.
“IBM will develop the computing environment to share a common operating environment across many mission processes, allowing the environment to be built in a way that is more secure, scalable and robust than the many disparate operating environments that have been used in the past,” Altman explained.
“By aggregating and sharing disparate computing resources, from networks to servers to storage, a cloud computing model will help the Alliance deploy IT capabilities more broadly, quickly and cost effectively.”
