Author: Dylan Griffiths

Characteristics leading to successful change management

Posted on: 14 July 2025

Successful change management goes beyond strategising, requiring clear characteristics to be outlined to ensure long-term transformation. In the first of this two-part blog series, we explored common pitfalls arising in change management and how Mood can help mitigate them. Today, we highlight the characteristics that make for successful change management and how Mood can help your change management efforts succeed. 

What are the characteristics of successful change management?

A successful transformational change is characterised by several key elements that ensure the change is not only implemented, but embraced, sustained and delivers long-term value. Incorporating these characteristics would increase the likelihood of transformational change being successful for organisations that pursue it, driving long-term growth and resilience. With this in mind, organisations should consider the following core characteristics for successful change management:  

A clear vision and strategic alignment 

  • Transformation must be driven by a well-defined purpose and objectives that align with the organisation’s long-term strategy. Doing so requires leadership to clearly and consistently articulate why the change is necessary, what success should look like and the overall vision across all levels of the organisation.  

Strong leadership and sponsorship  

  • Senior leadership must actively champion the change and visibly commit to its success. To do this, change sponsors should be delegated to provide the necessary resources and authority to drive the initiative forward. Since leaders model the desired behaviours, they will set the tone for the organisation.  

Employee engagement and inclusive involvement

  • Employees at all levels must be involved in shaping the change rather than just being passive recipients. Two-way communication channels, for example, would allow employees to voice concerns, ask questions and contribute ideas. This would foster a culture of trust and transparency, reducing resistance.  

An effective communication strategy 

  • Messages about the change should be tailored for different audiences within the organisation. Communication must be continuous, addressing uncertainties and reinforcing the benefits of change. Storytelling and real-life examples must also be used to create emotional connections with the transformation.  

An agile and adaptive approach

  • Flexibility must be embraced by the organisation, allowing room for adjustments based on feedback and changing circumstances. Pilot programmes or phased rollouts should be conducted to help test and refine the approach before a full-scale implementation. Continuous learning and improvement mechanisms should also be considered to keep the change relevant and effective.  

A strong change management framework 

  • A structured methodology (such as Kotter’s 8-Step Change Model, ADKAR or Lewin’s Change Model) would help guide the process. Clear milestones and metrics would help track progress and demonstrate quick wins. Furthermore, change champions and influencers could help embed new ways of working within teams.  

A cultural and behavioural shift 

  • The transformation must be supported by a culture that embraces change, learning, and innovation. Employees must also be encouraged to adopt new mindsets and behaviours that align with the change. Recognition and reward systems, for example, can help reinforce these desired actions and attitudes.  

Strong governance and compliance 

  • Governance structures ensure accountability, decision-making, and compliance with regulations. Risks must be proactively identified and mitigated to prevent disruption. Data-driven insights should also be used, balancing qualitative and quantitative data to guide decision-making throughout the transformation.  

Investment in skills and capabilities

  • Training and development programmes would equip employees with the skills needed for the new way of working. Organisations can further invest in their employees by providing knowledge-sharing opportunities and mentoring support in adapting to change. Digital tools and automation should also be leveraged where possible to facilitate new processes and efficiencies.  

Sustainable change and long-term commitment

  • The transformation should not be treated as a one-off project, but as a continuous journey. Mechanisms must be established to embed changes into everyday operations and ensure they are sustained. Regular reviews should also be undertaken to assess whether the transformation is delivering the intended benefits and make necessary adjustments. 

How Mood supports effective change management

Failure to effectively manage change can lead to wasted resources, employee disengagement and missed opportunities. Mood can counter this by ensuring change initiatives are not only well-planned, but actively supported through collaboration, visibility and governance. 

Through Mood, the necessary structure and flexibility to manage complexity, mitigate risks and achieve successful transformation in the form of a comprehensive platform is provided by addressing these key challenges:  

  1. Enabling holistic change planning: Mood allows organisations to break down complexity and structure change initiatives in meaningful ways. By providing a visual and interactive representation of business challenges, it helps organisations scenario-plan solutions, provide insights into organisational structures and understand dependencies.
  2. Driving collaboration across the organisation: Mood facilitates engagement from all stakeholders, encouraging different departments and teams to contribute to change initiatives. By providing a shared platform for input and iteration, alignment and transparency are promoted while resistance is reduced.
  3. Providing real-time visibility: Decision-makers can access a centralised, always-up-to-date view of change initiatives. This visibility ensures potential risks and opportunities are identified early and acted upon accordingly.
  4. Maintaining compliance and governance: With security, governance and auditability, Mood provides the necessary controls to maintain compliance with industry regulations and organisational policies.
  5. Supporting continuous improvement: Unlike traditional rigid change management approaches, Mood is flexible and scalable, enabling organisations to iterate and refine their strategies as they gather new insights, ensuring change initiatives remain relevant and effective. 

To learn more about how Mood can support your organisation’s change initiatives, contact us today. 

How CACI helped Network Rail develop & manage an open data service

Posted on: 10 July 2025
How CACI helped Network Rail develop & manage an open data service

Background

National Rail Open Data (NROD) provides the public with access to a large number of operational data feeds to encourage both greater interest in rail and the development of innovative products that are of use to passengers and the rail industry. CACI processes and manages the NROD platform with the aim of providing continual and easy access to users.

Challenge

Network Rail provides a variety of data in different formats from XML, JSON and rail proprietary data structures. These are received with varying levels of frequency from static data to real-time data updated at up to 100 messages per second during peak hours.

Our instruction from Network Rail was for the data to be made available with no obfuscation or filtering applied to make it as accessible and easy to use as possible.

Solution

To achieve this, we offered options for users by providing some conversions (such as to JSON) and enriching data with metadata. We also used AWS infrastructure and highly available components like AWS ECS (Elastic Compute Service) and S3 (Simple Scalable Storage) to improve access and availability.

Users were provided a portal for account management, allowing them to change details such as their username and password and access links to documentation and endpoint information for the data to aid their use and interpretation. A separate portal manages access for industry clients invited by Network Rail, allowing them to connect to a more stable platform for use in industry applications.

Results

NROD is now used by an engaged, passionate community of over 600 registered users who apply the data in a variety of ways. Since the data was first made available, a range of websites and apps have been created, including Open Train Times, which provides real-time arrival and departure information for each train company and helps passengers plan their journeys, along with Recent Train Times, demonstrating individual trains’ performance and helping users assess the punctuality of different train services to plan their journeys accordingly.

CACI has been collaborating with industry clients and representatives of the broader public client community in a working group to give updates and receive feedback on how best the community can be served. We also discuss enhancements and how to collaborate to address users’ needs at quarterly meetings.

A Grafana dashboard has been developed to keep users informed on the system’s status, including message rates, message latency of the main feeds and an update field showing system downtime updates.

To ensure NROD is accessible to as many audiences as possible, we have worked with Network Rail to provide the same data within the Rail Data Marketplace (RDM), adding to the 100+ other rail data products now available on this platform.

Testimonials

Network Rail’s Open Data is essential to supporting the development of new applications and services in rail. CACI’s expertise in large scale infrastructure, complex datasets and real-time feeds is key to this, ensuring that the user community of developers and rail professionals always has access to the data and that it is easy to use. By directly engaging with users, CACI continually improves the service, further enabling innovation in rail.

–  Chris Stanley, Head of Asset Data at Network Rail

 

Understanding pitfalls & employee psyche amidst change management

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Understanding pitfalls & employee psyche amidst change management

Change is a constant in modern organisations, yet successful change management remains a significant challenge. Many transformation initiatives fail due to poor planning, lack of cross-organisational collaboration, and insufficient control and governance. In this first blog of our two-part series, we uncover the common pitfalls in change management and demonstrate how Mood can provide a structured, collaborative and controlled approach to ensure success. 

What are the pitfalls of change management?

Despite the best intentions, managing large-scale change can cause organisations to encounter challenges from siloed planning and a lack of engagement to poor visibility and a slow adaptation to evolving needs. 

The rigidity of traditional change management approaches may restrict continuous iterations or improvements, creating missed opportunities for value realisation. Due to typically isolated and misaligned departments and teams, unidentified risks and inefficiencies can arise. Resistance and a lack of buy-in may also come from stakeholders not actively involved in decision-making, and without a centralised view, the impact of changes across the organisation may not be understood by decision-makers. Furthermore, inadequate control over change processes can lead to non-compliance and operational risks.  

Mood can help organisations alleviate the challenges associated with change management by offering the opportunity to revise change initiatives in ways that are both meaningful and comprehensible for stakeholders across the business. Its visual and interactive capabilities enable organisations to devise solutions and gain insight into organisational structures to better understand dependencies. Continuous improvement is also supported through Mood’s scalability and flexibility, allowing organisations to continuously refine their change management strategies for ongoing relevance and effectiveness.  

Understanding employee psyche during workplace transformation   

At CACI, we have seen the aftermath and consequential damage of failed change initiatives on employees, with the root cause always being a lack of thought for those who were affected by decisions made without their input.  

For employees, large-scale organisational change can be an unsettling and complex experience. The transformation process often triggers a range of emotional and psychological responses, which, if not properly managed, can hinder the success of the initiative. For example, employees may worry about their job security, altered roles with the expectation of the need to learn new skills and take on extra responsibility or changes in their daily routines. A lack of clear communication can amplify these fears, leading to resistance. Sudden changes may also cause a sense of a loss of control, making employees feel powerless. When employees are not involved in shaping the transformation, they may become disengaged or even obstructive.  

Uncertainty and increased workloads during a transition can also create stress, affecting employee wellbeing and productivity. Furthermore, if previous change initiatives have failed or lacked transparency, employees may view new transformations with suspicion. 

Despite any resistance met towards change, it is imperative for organisations to view this as an opportunity for growth, innovation and career development. Providing clear pathways for upskilling and involvement is one vital way to foster a more positive response.  

Understanding these psychological dynamics is crucial for change leaders. By addressing employee concerns through transparent communication, inclusive decision-making and continuous support, organisations can enhance engagement and reduce resistance. Mood boosts employee morale by encouraging cross-departmental contribution and collaboration around change management initiatives. As a shared platform, its alignment and transparency reduce resistance. 

How Mood supports effective change management

Organisations that fail to manage change effectively risk wasted resources, employee disengagement and missed opportunities. By leveraging Mood’s capabilities, businesses can ensure that change initiatives are not only well-planned, but actively supported through collaboration, visibility and governance. 

Mood provides the necessary structure and flexibility to manage complexity, mitigate risks and achieve successful transformation in the form of a comprehensive platform by addressing these key challenges:  

  1. Enabling holistic change planning: Mood allows organisations to break down complexity and structure change initiatives in meaningful ways. By providing a visual and interactive representation of business challenges, it helps organisations scenario-plan solutions, provide insights into organisational structures and understand dependencies.  
  2. Driving collaboration across the organisation: Mood facilitates engagement from all stakeholders, encouraging different departments and teams to contribute to change initiatives. By providing a shared platform for input and iteration, alignment and transparency are promoted while resistance is reduced.  
  3. Providing real-time visibility: Decision-makers can access a centralised, always-up-to-date view of change initiatives. This visibility ensures potential risks and opportunities are identified early and acted upon accordingly.  
  4. Maintaining compliance and governance: With security, governance and auditability, Mood provides the necessary controls to maintain compliance with industry regulations and organisational policies.  
  5. Supporting continuous improvement: Unlike traditional rigid change management approaches, Mood is flexible and scalable, enabling organisations to iterate and refine their strategies as they gather new insights, ensuring change initiatives remain relevant and effective. 

To learn more about how Mood can support your organisation’s change initiatives, contact us today, or you can download the full change management whitepaper here.

Five strategic steps to optimise vendor consolidation

Posted on: 13 May 2025
Five strategic steps to optimise vendor consolidation

Managing multiple vendors has become a logistical nightmare for many businesses as the tech landscape evolves. Between ballooning vendor lists, overlapping services and spiralling costs, the need for effective vendor consolidation has become greater than ever. 

Vendor consolidation isn’t just a trend, it’s a strategic move that empowers businesses to optimise their systems, reduce operational inefficiencies and drive meaningful cost savings. If your business is looking to achieve cost optimisation and streamline operations, this blog outlines the five key steps CACI recommends taking to successfully execute vendor consolidation. 

What is vendor consolidation and why does it matter? 

Over the past decade, IT innovation has led to an explosion of niche solution providers with expert capabilities. With the number of tech vendors increasing tenfold from 2012 to 2023, multi-vendor models that have worked in the past now introduce complexities, redundancies and inflated management costs. By consolidating vendors, businesses can: 

  • Simplify vendor relationships 
  • Improve service integration 
  • Strengthen security postures 
  • Reduce shadow IT risks 
  • Achieve significant cost efficiencies. 

However, rushing into consolidation without a thoughtful approach can create more problems than it solves, which is why a strategic framework is essential. 

CACI’s five key steps to perfecting a vendor consolidation strategy 

Define your vendor consolidation goals 

The first step to successfully consolidating is clearly defining what the goals and desired outcomes are. 

Are you aiming to: 

  • Lower operating costs?
  • Streamline vendor management?
  • Reduce security vulnerabilities?
  • Improve service quality? 

Before taking action, identify your pain points, consider future growth strategies, assess regulatory compliance requirements and prioritise your goals. Your consolidation efforts must align with broader business strategies, not just short-term savings. These factors will then guide the entire process and help measure success once the consolidation is complete. 

A clear vision will provide a roadmap to measure success once the transition is complete. CACI works across multiple verticals and is well placed to advise on and provide industry best practise. We can complete a requirements assessment to support this step to align with a business’ goals and provide a strong foundational step for consolidation. 

Assess your current vendor landscape 

Before you optimise, you must diagnose. 

Large and varied vendor estates often result from aggressive growth periods, prioritising expansion over efficiency. This leads to underutilised software, overlapping services and unmanaged contracts, complicating the accurate measurement of the value being brought to the business. 

A strategy must therefore begin with assembling a detailed inventory of: 

  • Vendors 
  • Products/services 
  • Service-level agreements (SLAs) 
  • Contract expiration dates 
  • Internal stakeholders. 

Once the full landscape has been mapped, a deep analysis of how each product is performing should be completed and each vendor should be evaluated through both objective and subjective lenses: 

Objective evaluation: 

  • SLA performance 
  • Incident history 
  • Service costs versus delivered value 
  • Service duplication across vendors 
  • ROI and proven cost savings to date. 

Subjective evaluation: 

  • Strategic importance to your business 
  • User experience and training support 
  • Vendor flexibility, transparency, and reputation. 

Gathering this information and conducting interviews with key users will help build a holistic vendor profile. Knowing who truly delivers value and who doesn’t will guide strategic decisions. Considering security architecture will further impact strategic decision-making. Firewalls, for example, are vital as the first line of defence against cyber threats. However, businesses can often manage a diverse array of firewalls from multiple vendors. This flexibility can complicate security and compliance due to organic security policy growth from new applications and services, rapid deployment of policy changes to meet project deadlines, temporary fixes to address immediate issues which are not revisited and more.  

To remedy this, CACI’s network automation experts have developed a Firewall Optimisation Assessment to generate actionable insights, analysis and remediation suggestions for network security appliance configuration. With over 20 years of operational experience in network security engineering across many businesses, we undertake assessments across leading security device vendors including Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco and Checkpoint.

Are you confident that your firewall configurations are consistent and easy to manage? That there are no security weaknesses such as overly permissive policies or insecure protocols? That the rulebase is necessary and not leftover from testing? That the policies are configured according to industry best practice? If not, CACI can help.

Our Firewall Optimisation Assessment offers many benefits, including:

  • Identification of security weaknesses
  • Increasing operational efficiency
  • Eliminating the need for reworking firewall RFC change requests
  • Scaling your firewall for security posture
  • Validating your security posture against known assessment criteria
  • Progressing towards implementing governance-as-code.

Communicate your goals and priorities to vendors 

Transparency with current vendors is crucial. By communicating goals, priorities and current challenges to vendors, more information can be gathered on the full capabilities of what each product and service can offer. Through this, opportunities for expanded partnerships or service integrations can also arise. Key areas to examine include: 

  • Managed services experience 
  • Industry expertise 
  • Service range and frameworks 
  • Innovation capacity 
  • Governance standards 
  • Global and local resource presence. 

Often, a single vendor may offer additional services you currently purchase from others. At CACI, we regularly uncover these overlaps, offering clients enhanced solutions across network services, logistics, and mar-tech platforms. 

Tip: Use third-party analyst reports like Gartner Magic Quadrants to benchmark vendor capabilities against the broader market. 

Develop and implement a transition plan 

With insights in hand, it’s time to build your strategy. 

Prioritise vendors that: 

  • Can cover multiple service areas 
  • Maintain high standards of quality, security, and support 
  • Offer strategic partnerships, not just transactional relationships. 

At this stage, address critical risk factors: 

  • Contractual obligations and penalties 
  • Regulatory and compliance impacts 
  • Potential downtime risks. 

Perform a thorough ROI analysis, weighing financial metrics alongside strategic benefits like increased agility, improved compliance posture, and enhanced integration. This risk assessment will significantly improve the efficacy of the transition plan and prevent new challenges from emerging during the consolidation process. 

Best practice: Phase your transition for minimal disruption. Pilot smaller changes before scaling consolidation efforts across the business. 

Continuously monitor and optimise 

Vendor consolidation isn’t a “set it and forget it” process. Ongoing monitoring and tracking is key. 

Establishing clear KPIs and SLA benchmarks to measure vendor performance will contribute hugely to the successful management of ongoing, optimal operations. Conduct annual evaluations to: 

  • Identify new consolidation opportunities 
  • Validate vendor alignment with business goals 
  • Maintain cost and performance optimisation. 

Regular reviews foster a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring your vendor strategy evolves alongside your business.
CACI offers both shared and dedicated managed services which can provide 24/7 monitoring, helping businesses continuously improve, develop and innovate to achieve optimisation goals. 

Common pitfalls to avoid during vendor consolidation 

While consolidation offers powerful benefits, be mindful of these common mistakes: 

  • Over-consolidating: Diversification can mitigate risk. Avoid relying solely on one provider for critical systems. 
  • Underestimating transition complexity: Budget time and resources for integration, training and risk mitigation. 
  • Ignoring stakeholder input: Early engagement with users ensures buy-in and identifies potential friction points. 
  • Focusing only on cost: Strategic value, security posture and service quality must weigh heavily in decisions. 

By navigating these challenges thoughtfully, you can realise maximum benefits without unintended setbacks. 

How CACI can help you master vendor consolidation 

At CACI, we understand that vendor consolidation is more than an operational exercise — it’s a strategic transformation. Our team partners with businesses to: 

  • Map vendor ecosystems 
  • Identify strategic partners 
  • Design transition roadmaps 
  • Mitigate consolidation risks 
  • Drive operational efficiencies.

Ultimately, any consolidation exercise needs to enhance a business’ capabilities, increase efficiencies and drive agility. If, based on these considerations, your business is ready to move forward with strategic vendor consolidation, CACI is working with multiple clients to explore and implement strategies to optimise their systems, improve operational inefficiencies and drive cost-effectiveness. Ready to elevate your vendor consolidation game? 

Contact CACI today to learn more about our tailored vendor consolidation strategies and how they can help you streamline operations, enhance resilience and position your business for future growth. 

Three ways digital twins can transform small airports

Posted on: 17 April 2025
Three ways digital twins can transform small airports

When people talk about digital twins, they often picture a virtual representation of a physical thing such as an airplane, allowing simulation of changes to design and measuring against different variables to see the impact of those changes. This leads to innovative designs, because the risk of R&D is greatly reduced when able to test hypotheses in the safe space of the virtual world.  

The beneficial impact of digital twins doesn’t end with physical assets, however. The same principles can be applied to whole systems, be it the communications system used on board that plane or the whole ecosystem required to get the plane safely off the ground, with the right passengers, the right baggage, the right fuel and the right flight plan. 

Whether a sprawling international hub with thousands of flights per day or a smaller airport like the one we visited in Staverton, digital twins can enable rapid optimisation and growth and great reductions in waste and errors. So, what are three pivotal ways in which digital twins can make a difference? 

A Digital Twin — a virtual replica of a physical asset or a system capable of revolutionising how regional airports manage their resources, optimise operations and plan for the future. Gloucestershire Airport, servicing private aircraft, helicopters and even emergency landings, is the perfect example of where this innovation could have a real, immediate impact. 

1. Fuel Management: beyond just “how much?”  

Fuel is the lifeblood of an airport’s operations, and in smaller airports, every litre counts. By deploying sensors on refuelling tanks and storage facilities, airports can continuously monitor both the quantity and quality of fuel in real time. Moisture ratings, contaminant detection and temperature controls would ensure fuel meets strict aviation standards, minimising the risk of supply issues or quality failures. 

Using historical demand patterns combined with predictive analytics, a digital twin could forecast fuel usage trends, allowing smarter resupply scheduling. Not only would this optimise operational costs, but it could also reduce the carbon footprint associated with frequent, unnecessary fuel deliveries. 

2. Full operational visibility: from touchdown to take-off 

Imagine a live, data-driven view of the entire airport, from a helicopter’s landing and its passengers’ disembarkation to baggage handling efficiency. A digital twin could integrate sensor data, RFID tracking, business systems and operational logs to create a single pane of glass for airport managers. 

Delays in passenger flow? The system would spot them instantly. Baggage bottlenecks? Highlighted before they become a passenger satisfaction issue. Even emergency landings could be better coordinated with real-time scenario simulations. 

3. Learning from the past and testing the future 

One of the most powerful advantages of a digital twin is its ability to simulate “what if” scenarios without touching the real-world setup. 

  • Historical analysis: Why did baggage handling slow down during the last peak season? Where could staffing have been more efficient? 
  • Virtual experimentation: What happens if a new refuelling procedure is trialled? What’s the impact of changing the location of helicopter landing pads? 

By creating a safe environment to design and test improvements virtually, smaller airports could avoid costly, disruptive errors and implement proven optimisations with confidence. 

How CACI can help you reap the benefits of digital twins

Digital twins aren’t reserved for the world’s largest airports or organisations. They offer just as much— if not more— value to smaller, agile organisations where every efficiency gain translates to a significant operational advantage. 

The future of aviation infrastructure isn’t just about scaling up. It’s about scaling smart, starting with embracing the power of a digital twin. 

Discover more about Mood’s cutting-edge advancements in digital twins with our latest video, created in collaboration with CyNam. We delve into real-world applications of digital twins, offering insights into how these virtual replicas can address challenges and drive innovation.

Can integrated Clear and Dark Web data revolutionise intelligence investigations?

Posted on: 14 March 2025
Can integrated Clear and Dark Web data revolutionise intelligence investigations?

The world of intelligence gathering has evolved dramatically. While infiltrating clandestine meetings in darkened rooms still has its place, today, a wealth of information resides online waiting to be unearthed and analysed. This blog post explores how investigators can leverage Clear and Dark Web data holistically together to gain critical insights and solve complex cases. 

A Familiar Landscape: Clear Web Investigations 

The Clear Web, the internet known to most that’s neatly indexed by standard search engines, is a treasure trove of publicly available, readily accessible information. Easy for investigators to search through, the Clear Web is a great starting point for building a comprehensive picture of a subject or situation for several critical intelligence investigation use cases: 

  • Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) collects and analyses information from search engines, social media platforms, news sites, public records, and company websites to identify assets and connections between individuals, track movements, and establish timelines. 
  • Social Media Analysis unlocks goldmines of personal information using social profiles, posts, photos, and connections to understand subjects’ interests, relationships, activities, and sentiment and help identify potential threats, track individuals, and understand group dynamics. 
  • Media Monitoring helps track public sentiment and potential threats by looking at news articles, blog posts, and forum discussions to provide context and insights into events, individuals, organisations and cultural trends.  
  • Background Checks to verify identities, uncover criminal histories, and identify financial connections using public records such as court records, property records, and business registrations for risk assessment and due diligence. 

The Deep and Dark Web: the hidden depths of the Internet 

This Clear Web, however, represents a tiny fraction of the Internet’s information. Over 95% of this content resides below the surface of the Clear Web, in what’s known as the Deep Web. At its most basic, anything behind a subscription, encryption or password, counts within this.  

For investigators needing deeper insights for more complex investigations, a sub-section of the Deep Web, the Dark Web, is a far more valuable, albeit challenging, information landscape.  

The Dark Web is a hidden part of the internet, accessible only via specialised browsers, often TOR (The Onion Router) browser, a modified, open-source version of Firefox. TOR anonymises web traffic using an encryption technique originally developed by the US Navy. It hides IP addresses and browsing activity by routing traffic through multiple nodes. This layered encryption ensures strong anonymity, protecting user privacy even if individual nodes are compromised. 

Most people perceive the Dark Web to be a place synonymous with illicit activities. And it’s true that illegal marketplaces and forums for drugs, weapons, stolen data, illegal pornography, counterfeits, Malware and other criminal activities exist there –c.57% of its activities according to 2020 research.  

However, the Dark Web also serves as a platform for secure communication and legal cryptocurrency trading, attracting whistleblowers, activists, and individuals seeking privacy, including those living under regimes with limited freedom of speech. The BBC, CIA and Facebook all have TOR sites on the Dark Web for this reason. Ultimately, the Dark Web’s anonymity, while exploited by criminals, makes it a valuable source of intelligence. 

A complex shifting world: the challenge of Dark Web Investigations 

The Dark Web is volatile in nature, with sites popping up and disappearing in rapid succession, making it difficult to get a precise view of how many sites there are and – due to the levels of anonymity – how many users there are too. Currently, it’s estimated there are over 2.7 million active daily Dark Web users  and it’s a mature and resilient space that continually adapts to site closures. 

To effectively use the Dark Web for intelligence, investigators need specialised tools, in-depth knowledge, refined techniques, and a keen awareness of ethical implications for these critical use cases. 

  • Tracking Criminal Activity by monitoring illegal marketplaces to identify sellers, buyers, and track the flow of illegal goods. This is where effective Dark Web analysis tools are vital to help deanonymise individuals and generate intelligence to disrupt criminal networks.  
  • Identifying Cyber Threats: Cybercriminals often discuss vulnerabilities and sell stolen data on Dark Web forums. Monitoring and carefully engaging in these forums can help investigators identify threats and prevent attacks. 
  • Investigating Financial Crimes: Cryptocurrency transactions used in Dark Web marketplaces for legal and illegal trading – the most famous Bitcoin – can be difficult to trace. Investigators use specialised tools and techniques for blockchain data analysis to identify criminal individuals. 
  • Uncovering Insider Threats: The Dark Web’s anonymity can embolden individuals to leak sensitive information. Investigators can monitor forums for leaked data and identify potential insider threats within organisations. 
  • Sourcing Human Intelligence (HUMINT): While challenging, Intelligence investigators can establish contact with individuals who possess valuable information. Particularly useful for organised crime, terrorism, or other sensitive investigations. 

Challenges and Ethical Considerations in Clear and Dark Web investigations 

The Clear and Dark Web present both unique and shared investigation challenges requiring specialised skills, tools, and strategies: 

  • Sheer volume of data on the Web makes it difficult to pinpoint relevant information. 
  • Encryption of communications and transactions further complicates access to crucial evidence.  
  • Crimes often span multiple jurisdictions, requiring national and international cooperation and collaboration. 
  • Data fragmentation across various platforms and databases also requires extensive effort to piece together information.  
  • Privacy laws and regulations add more complexity to obtaining data. Investigators must always operate within the bounds of the law, ensuring any intelligence collected can be used as admissible evidence in court.

The Dark Web has its own particular challenges: 

  • Anonymity is the single most challenging factor which prevents linkages to real-world identities 
  • Heavy encryption of transactions and communications further hinder interception and decoding of information, requiring specialist tool proficiency, cryptography and blockchain capabilities. 
  • Human Analysis: while the sheer volume of Dark Web data necessitates using sophisticated tools to cut through the noise, careful analysis is vital to avoid false attributions. 

 Trends in the Evolving Investigation Landscape 

The world of online intelligence gathering is constantly evolving, requiring investigators to adapt their techniques accordingly: 

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning technologies are both a challenge and opportunity to investigators. AI deepfake imagery, voice and video, AI-generated illicit content, cryptocurrency laundering and AI-automated cyberattacks, phishing and chatbots will require investigators to constantly adapt their techniques.  

On the flip side, AI can help automate the collection and analysis of vast amounts of data in forums and social channels, quickly identify patterns and anomalies, and predict future behaviour. AI facial recognition tooling was used to solve a recent joint Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) and UK police child exploitation case and in an HSI exploitation cold case review, resulting in hundreds of identifications of victims and perpetrators. 

  • Big Data Analytics tools can process and analyse the exponentially growing large volumes of data, revealing hidden connections and potential insights about complex criminal networks or individuals’ motivations that would be impossible to detect manually. 
  • Blockchain Analysis will be an even more critical skill for investigators given the growth of new cryptocurrencies like Monero (XMR) with highly advanced cryptographic techniques that mask transactions and dynamically change IP addresses, even as Bitcoin can now be ‘cracked’. With central banks also integrating cryptocurrency into operations, it’s clear its continuing adoption and acceptance for both legitimate and illicit transactions will remain a focus. 
  • Decentralised Web (Web3), while slower to develop than predicted, just like AI presents both opportunities and challenges for investigators. Web3’s decentralisation, blockchain technology, and token-based economics, will require new tools and techniques to effectively investigate its platforms. 
  • Focus on Privacy and Data Protection is an increasing challenge for investigators. New regulation like the UK’s incoming Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, Brazil’s General Personal Data Protection Act (LGPD) and India’s Personal Data Protection Bill mean investigators must be mindful of the latest legal and ethical frameworks they are operating under. Investigators must always adhere to such regulation and obtain proper warrants and authorisations before accessing sensitive information. 

The Integrated Approach: Combining Clear Web and Dark Web Intelligence 

The Clear Web and the Dark Web are both valuable sources of intelligence for investigators. The Clear Web offers a wealth of publicly available information, the Dark Web provides access to hidden data and insights that can be crucial to solve complex cases. By effectively combining intelligence from both realms and adapting to the increasingly complex technological landscape, investigators can gain a significant advantage in their pursuit of truth and justice.  

For example, several notable hackers and cyber-criminals have been arrested and subsequently jailed through integrating data from Clear and Deep web platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, Discord and Telegram with intelligence gathering on the Dark Web.  

This integrated Clear, Deep and Dark Web approach provides investigators with a broader, more nuanced understanding, yet the sheer volume, fragmentation and type of data means it’s a significant technical and practical challenge to navigate. It typically requires using multiple specialist tools and robust investigator skills, set against the dynamic nature of the Web itself. 

DarkBlue: a user-friendly platform for integrated Web intelligence investigations 

This fundamental challenge of scale, scope and complexity was the reason behind CACI developing our DarkBlue Intelligence suite.  

DarkBlue offers investigators a user-friendly, single OSINT platform to undertake holistic, complex investigations on the Clear, Deep and Dark Web efficiently, ethically and safely. 

DarkBlue leverages the intelligence that CACI has been scraping from across the Web including Tor, I2P, ZeroNet, OpenBazaar and Freenet for over 10 years, amassing billion of pages of data and capturing sites long since deleted.  

Included in the suite is DarkPursuit tool, which provides the user with a safe, anonymous browsing environment that obfuscates technical details that could be used for attribution or tracking. DarkPursuit integrates multiple specialist tools and allows investigators to seamlessly transition between search findings, multiple live environments and analysis.  

DarkPursuit’s new CluesAI feature helps investigators deanonymise individuals and entities on the Dark Web more efficiently, helping tackle its biggest – and growing – intelligence investigation challenge.  

CluesAI automatically gathers potentially identifying information like email addresses, cryptocurrency wallet details, and port scans from the Dark Web. It cross-references this information against DarkBlue’s extensive database and uses generative AI to identify connections and patterns. It then generates reports that summarise and highlight potentially deanonymising information, providing investigators with actionable leads in one click.  

As the Web in all its forms grows in complexity and size – particularly with the growth of Web3 and cryptocurrency, it’s vital that investigators can stay ahead of emerging threats to help protect national security and combat criminal activity.  

DarkBlue – and CACI’s OSINT as a Service offering – provides investigators with the critical tools and support from experienced intelligence experts to support your critical mission.

Contact us today to discuss how we can supercharge your investigations. 

Introducing Mood’s unique approach: Agile digital twins

Posted on: 30 January 2025
Introducing Mood’s unique approach: Agile digital twins

In our previous blog in this series, we uncovered the key characteristics of digital twins, their advantages and challenges and what organisations that adopt a digital twin can expect to gain from it. Today, we’ll examine Mood’s unique approach to constructing digital twins and how it can support organisations. 

What is Mood and what approach does it take with digital twins? 

Mood’s platform addresses the challenges of creating digital twins by offering a highly flexible and customisable solution that caters to specific organisational domains. Mood’s approach is centred on three key pillars:   

Agility and flexibility   

Mood enables the creation of agile digital twins that can be rapidly adapted to an organisation’s unique requirements. Whether it’s a specific industry, business model or operational process, Mood’s platform provides the tools needed to build a digital twin that accurately represents the organisation’s domain in the virtual world.   

Integrated data and consistency  

Mood’s platform integrates data from multiple sources, ensuring that the digital twin is truly reflective of the real-world state. This integration is key to maintaining clarity and consistency across the organisation, allowing for more accurate analysis and decision-making.   

Rapid deployment and optimisation 

Mood offers services that accelerate the deployment of digital twins, allowing organisations to start benefiting from their virtual models in a shorter timeframe. Its continuous monitoring and real-time analysis capabilities also enable rapid optimisation of operations, providing a significant competitive advantage.   

Common questions about digital twins 

1. How is a digital twin different from a simulation or a 3D model?  

While simulations and 3D models are static representations often used for specific scenarios or time points, a digital twin is a living, dynamic model that continuously updates based on real-time data. Digital twins provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of the current state of a system and allow for ongoing monitoring, predictive analysis and decision-making, far beyond what static models or simulations offer.  

2. Do digital twins require IoT (Internet of Things) technology?  

While IoT technology is a common and effective way to gather real-time data for digital twins, it is not strictly required. Digital twins can also be built using other data sources, such as enterprise systems, manual inputs and historical data. However, IoT devices enhance the digital twin’s ability to reflect real-time changes where physical assets are critical, making them particularly valuable in dynamic environments.  

3. Are digital twins only applicable to manufacturing and physical assets?  

No, digital twins are not limited to manufacturing or physical assets. They can be applied across a range of industries and domains, including healthcare (e.g., patient monitoring), urban planning (e.g., smart cities), logistics (e.g., supply chain management) and even service-oriented sectors. Any process or system that can benefit from real-time data integration and analysis can potentially utilise a digital twin.  

4.How difficult is it to create and maintain a digital twin?  

The difficulty of creating and maintaining a digital twin depends on the complexity of the system being modelled, the availability and quality of data and the technology stack used. While some digital twins can be complex and resource-intensive to develop, there are also more straightforward and scalable solutions available. With Mood, your digital twin can start small, returning instant value and iteratively scaled based on priority.  Maintaining a digital twin requires ongoing data integration, model updates and regular performance evaluations to ensure it remains accurate and relevant, so a single platform acting as the lynchpin can be hugely beneficial.   

How Mood can help 

Mood’s platform and professional services offer a unique solution by providing the flexibility, integration and agility needed to develop and maintain effective digital twins. By leveraging Mood’s capabilities, organisations can achieve a new level of operational clarity and efficiency, ensuring they remain resilient and competitive in the face of ongoing challenges.  

For organisations lacking the confidence to build their own digital twin from scratch, our consultants work directly with our customers to help them, ensuring they have the skills they need moving forward. Contact Mood today to begin your journey towards an agile, data-driven future.  

 

CACI is listed on the G-cloud 14 framework

Posted on: 29 January 2025
CACI is listed on the G-cloud 14 framework

Since October 2024, CACI has featured on G-Cloud 14 – the framework run by the Crown Commercial Service which allows public sector organisation to find cloud-based computing services across a number of ‘Lots’ including cloud hosting, cloud software and cloud support. This framework is run as an “online catalogue” found on the Crown Commercial Service website.

We secured over 120* service offerings across all three Lots, meaning that public sector buyers can easily chose to use us over the next 15 months.

What’s more, for the first time, CACI were also successful in securing a place on the additional 4th lot of the G Cloud framework. This Lot is designed for public sector buyers who have more complex cloud support requirements. Our capabilities across Lot 4 include: 

  • Cloud migration planning 
  • Set up and migration 
  • Security services 
  • Quality assurance and performance testing 
  • Training 
  • Ongoing support 

We were one of only 43 suppliers who successfully secured a place on Lot 4 and are included next to the likes of Deloitte, Ernst & Young & Capgemini. Opportunities through this Lot will be procured by the customer via a further competition exercise.  

Find out more about our cloud infrastructure capabilities and how we work with the public sector.

 

*54 of the offerings are listed under ‘Rowe IT’ which is owned by CACI Ltd. 

Understanding the key characteristics & outcomes of a digital twin

Posted on: 27 January 2025
Understanding the key characteristics & outcomes of a digital twin

Digital Twin

In our previous blog in this series, we examined a real-life example of where a digital twin helped drive outcomes for an organisation and the overarching importance of digital twins amidst the ever-changing technological landscape. Today, we’ll explore the characteristics comprising digital twins, including their advantages, challenges and what organisations can expect from them. 

What are the key characteristics of a digital twin? 

A digital twin, in its most basic form, is a virtual representation of a physical entity or group of entities, such as the machines and their systems on a manufacturing shop floor. However, in the context of organisations, digital twins go beyond simply replicating physical assets. They represent the entire organisational structure, including processes, workflows, systems and even human behaviours. Some of the key characteristics of a digital twin include: 

Real-time data integration (H3) 

  • Dynamic and continuous synchronisation: A digital twin constantly updates its virtual model based on data from its physical counterpart or the processes it represents. This real-time integration allows the twin to accurately reflect the current state of the system, asset or organisation it models.   
  • Data sources: It incorporates data from various sources, including IoT sensors, enterprise systems, operational data stores and external data feeds, ensuring a comprehensive and up-to-date virtual representation.   

High fidelity and accuracy

  • Detailed and precise representation: A digital twin provides a high-fidelity model that captures the complexities and nuances of its subject. This includes both physical characteristics (e.g. dimensions and materials) and operational parameters (e.g. performance metrics and environmental conditions).   
  • Scalability: The accuracy of a digital twin can scale from a single asset (e.g. a machine) to complex systems (e.g. an entire manufacturing plant or organisational process, including its external factors).   

Two-way interaction 

  • Bidirectional communication: A digital twin supports two-way communication, allowing not only the updating of the virtual model based on physical world changes, but also enabling the virtual model to influence its real-world counterpart. For instance, adjustments made in the virtual model can be implemented in the real-world system.   
  • Predictive and prescriptive capabilities: Beyond mere replication, a digital twin can predict future states and prescribe actions based on simulations, scenario analysis or machine learning algorithms.   

Comprehensive lifecycle representation

  • Lifecycle coverage: A digital twin spans the entire lifecycle of the system, organisation or asset it represents, from design and development through to operation, maintenance and even decommissioning. This ensures that insights can be derived at any stage, supporting continuous improvement and adaptation.   
  • Change management: It adapts to changes in the physical environment, evolving over time as the real-world counterpart undergoes modifications, whether in design, operation or environment.   

Simulation and scenario analysis 

  • What-if scenarios: A digital twin enables the simulation of various scenarios and potential changes before they are implemented in the physical world. This includes testing new designs, operational strategies or responses to hypothetical events, all within a risk-free virtual environment.   
  • Optimisation: By analysing different scenarios, the digital twin helps in optimising performance, reducing costs, improving efficiency and enhancing risk mitigation.   

Advanced analytics and machine learning  

  • Data-driven insights: A digital twin leverages advanced analytics, including predictive modelling, machine learning and AI to extract meaningful insights from the vast amounts of data it processes. This allows organisations to predict outcomes, prevent failures and optimise operations.     
  • Learning capability: The digital twin can “learn” from the data it receives, continuously improving its accuracy and predictive capabilities over time.   

It’s important to note, however, a digital twin can still function effectively and add value without ML and AI, instead relying on real-time data integration, simulation and rule-based systems, until enough data is generated to create ML models.   

Contextual awareness 

  • Environment and ecosystem awareness: A digital twin understands the context in which the physical asset, organisation or process operates, including its environment, external influences and interdependencies with other systems, enhancing the relevance and precision of the insights generated.   

Interoperability and integration 

  • Seamless integration: Digital twins are designed to integrate seamlessly with other digital systems, tools and platforms within an organisation. This interoperability ensures that the digital twin can act as a central hub for data and insights, interacting with various enterprise systems like ERP, CRM and PLM.   
  • Modularity and scalability: The architecture of a digital twin should allow it to be modular, enabling different components to be updated, replaced or scaled independently, which is critical for adapting to evolving organisational needs.   

Visualisation and user interaction 

  • User-friendly interface: A digital twin often includes advanced visualisation tools such as 2D & 3D models, dashboards or even augmented reality (AR) interfaces, simplifying users’ interactions and interpretations of the virtual model. The use of these depends on the need, however.   
  • Interactive decision support: Users can interact with the digital twin to perform analyses, run simulations and explore different operational strategies, all through an intuitive and accessible interface.   

Security and compliance   

  • Data security: Given that a digital twin deals with real-time and potentially sensitive data, robust security measures are a fundamental characteristic. This includes data encryption, secure communication protocols and compliance with industry standards and regulations.   
  • Governance and compliance: Digital twins must adhere to governance frameworks and compliance requirements, ensuring that the data and operations they manage meet regulatory and ethical standards.   

What are the advantages of digital twins for organisations? 

Proactive maintenance  

The system sent automatic notifications when machines required attention, whether due to routine maintenance, in response to a negative trend or as a response to an unexpected incident. This minimised downtime and ensured continuous production with a higher utilisation rate. 

Trend analysis 

The digital model tracked stats over time, allowing for trend analysis. This feature was invaluable in predicting when a machine might require more significant intervention or identifying when a production line was consistently underperforming.  

Quality assurance  

By integrating the testing processes into the digital twin, the system provided real-time feedback on the quality of the fire detectors being produced. Engineers could react quickly to any deviations, ensuring that only high-quality products left the facility.    

Enhanced decision-making

Digital twins provide a comprehensive view of organisational operations, enabling decision-makers to visualise the impact of changes before they are implemented. This leads to more informed and strategic decisions, reducing risks and improving outcomes.   

Operational efficiency 

By simulating processes and workflows, organisations can identify inefficiencies and bottlenecks in real-time, allowing for continuous optimisation and therefore improved productivity, reduced costs and agility to change.   

Predictive maintenance and risk management  

Digital twins can predict potential failures or risks by analysing data trends and patterns, minimising downtime, preventing costly disruptions and enhancing resilience.   

Scalability and flexibility 

Organisations can use digital twins to model and test new business strategies, products or services without disrupting existing operations, enabling businesses to innovate and adapt to changing market conditions with minimal risk.   

Employee and resource optimisation  

By simulating human behaviours and interactions within the organisation, digital twins can optimise resource allocation, improve workforce planning and enhance employee engagement.   

What challenges arise when creating digital twins? 

Complexity and customisation  

Developing a digital twin for an organisation is inherently complex due to the need to capture and integrate diverse data sources, processes and systems. Additionally, each organisation has unique requirements, complicating the creation of a one-size-fits-all solution.   

Data integration and quality  

A digital twin’s accuracy and effectiveness depends on the quality and integration of data. Inconsistent, incomplete or siloed data can compromise its ability to provide reliable insights, leading to suboptimal decision-making.   

Scalability of platforms    

Most existing platforms for creating digital twins are rigid and domain-specific, limiting their applicability across different industries or organisational needs and potentially hindering organisations from fully leveraging the potential of digital twins.   

High development costs and time

The process of designing, developing and deploying a digital twin is often time-consuming and expensive. This can be a significant barrier for organisations, particularly those with limited resources.  

How Mood can help 

For organisations lacking the confidence to build their own digital twin from scratch, Mood consultants work directly with customers to equip them with the necessary skills to progress towards an agile, data-driven future. Contact Mood today to begin your journey. 

Stay tuned for the next blog in this three-part series, where we’ll explore the unique approach to digital twins offered by Mood and how organisations that leverage Mood’s capabilities can enhance their digital twin experience. 

 

How digital twins drive real-world outcomes for organisations

Posted on: 21 January 2025
How digital twins drive real-world outcomes for organisations

Digital twins have emerged as a transformative concept that offers unprecedented opportunities for organisations to monitor, analyse and optimise their operations. However, the term “digital twin” is often misunderstood or oversimplified, leading to confusion about its true value and application. In this blog series, we will demystify the concept of digital twins, particularly in the organisational context, explore their advantages and challenges, and assess Mood’s innovative approach to creating agile digital twins that enables organisations to achieve enhanced clarity, consistency and rapid optimisation.   

Real-life example: Creating an early digital twin of a manufacturing shop floor 

Early in my career, I embarked on a project that would essentially become a digital twin of a manufacturing shop floor and associated processes. This experience was a formative one, laying the groundwork for my current understanding of how digital representations can drive efficiency, insight and optimisation in real-world operations.   

The challenge: Optimising production, maintenance & testing processes 

The manufacturing facility I worked at produced fire detectors, and the shop floor was a bustling environment where efficiency and quality were paramount. However, managing the maintenance of machines and the rigorous testing of the manufactured products presented significant manual processes and thus challenges. The facility needed a system that could not only track and manage these processes but provide insights into potential issues before they became critical.   

The solution: A digital model using Microsoft Visio, SharePoint, InfoPath & Raspberry Pis 

Visualisation with Visio

To tackle these challenges, I created a visual model of the shop floor using Microsoft Visio. This model detailed the layout of the shop floor, with the various machines and their specific roles in the manufacturing process. The visual representation served as a foundation for what would later evolve into a more sophisticated digital twin.   

Data management with SharePoint 

To bring this model to life, I used Microsoft SharePoint to create data lists that held critical information about the machines, maintenance schedules and test results. These data lists became the backbone of the system, feeding data into the Visio model, allowing it to be more than just a static diagram.   

Interactive user interfaces with InfoPath

For the maintenance and test engineers, I developed user interfaces using Microsoft InfoPath. These interfaces enabled them to input data related to maintenance schedules, findings, test results and general information. Engineers could also report incidents such as unexpected machine downtimes directly into the system. This data entry was crucial, as it provided the real-time updates necessary for the model to reflect the current state of the shop floor accurately.   

Data capture with Raspberry Pis 

To further enhance the system’s capabilities, data collected directly from the machines using Raspberry Pis, such as throughput rates, machine performance metrics and any deviations from expected operation was fed into the SharePoint lists via CSV files periodically. This integration of what was essentially an early form of IoT devices was a critical step towards creating a more responsive and accurate digital representation of the shop floor.   

The outcome: A digital twin of the shop floor processes 

What emerged from these efforts was, in essence, a digital twin of the manufacturing shop floor. This system provided near-real time dashboards that displayed the status of the machines and their key metrics. Engineers could gauge which machines were approaching tolerance levels for throughput or which production lines were close to failing quality tests.    

Reflection: Realising the concept of a digital twin 

By visualising the shop floor, integrating near-real time data and enabling interactive user interfaces, I was able to create a system that mirrored the physical world and provided actionable insights to improve efficiency, quality and maintenance in the form of what is now known to be a digital twin. This early project taught me the importance of digital representation in driving real-world outcomes and laid the foundation for my ongoing work in developing and advocating for a flexible, agile platform that can be adapted to any organisational domain and enable rapid turnaround without the need to cobble together several tools.  

How Mood can help 

For organisations lacking the confidence to build their own digital twin from scratch, Mood consultants work directly with customers to equip them with the necessary skills to progress towards an agile, data-driven future. For further insights, download our full whitepaper “Understanding Digital Twins” or Contact Mood today to find out more.

Stay tuned for the next blog in this three-part series, where we’ll dive into the characteristics of digital twins including their advantages, challenges and what organisations can expect from them.