SAS : IMPROVING THE BRITISH ARMY ’ S DECISION MAKING WITH DATA
Roderick Crawford , VP and Country GM , explains the important role that SAS is playing in the British Army ’ s digital transformation
Roderick Crawford , VP and Country GM for SAS UKI , states that the company ’ s thorough grasp of the defence sector makes it an ideal partner for the Army as it undergoes its own digital transformation . “ Major General Jon Cole told us that he wanted to enable better , faster decision-making in order to improve operational efficiency ,” he explains .
Therefore , SAS ’ task was to help the British Army realise the “ significant potential ” of data through the use of artificial intelligence ( AI ) to automate tasks and conduct complex analysis .
In 2020 , the Army invested in the SAS ‘ Viya platform ’. The goal was to deliver a new way of working that enabled agility , flexibility , faster deployment at reduced risk and cost .
Doing so facilitated “ connect [ ing ] the unconnected .” This means structuring data in a simultaneously secure and accessible manner for all skill levels , from business analysts to data engineers and military commanders . The result is analytics and decision-making that drives innovation and increases collaboration .
“ As warfare moves into what we might call ‘ the grey-zone ’, the need to understand , decide , and act on complex information streams and diverse sources has never been more important . AI , computer vision and natural language processing are technologies that we hope to exploit over the next three to five years in conjunction with the Army .”
Fundamentally , data analytics is a tool for gaining valuable insights and expediting the delivery of outcomes . The goal of the two parties ’ partnership , concludes Crawford , will be to reach the point where both access to data and decision-making can be performed qualitatively and in real-time .
“ SAS is absolutely delighted to have this relationship with the British Army , and with defence in general . It ’ s a great privilege to be part of the armed forces covenant .”