Posts Ecosystem orchestration: Why fragmented platforms hold your organisation back

Ecosystem orchestration: Why fragmented platforms hold your organisation back

In this Article

“Our digital transformation is failing because it is fragmenting”. This was the defining statement from a recent roundtable with C-suite leaders from global enterprise organisations, met with nods and echoes of agreement across the room.  

Many of these leaders went through mergers and acquisitions, regional expansion and business proposition changes. The end result was the same: hundreds of disconnected tools and platforms, masses of digital sprawl, rising inefficiencies, disjointed customer experiences and a tangled web of overlapping technologies.  

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Over 40% of organisations now operate four or more separate systems, and while multiple platforms can signal maturity, the lack of integration between them often introduces operational friction—slowing delivery, increasing costs, limiting personalisation and constraining AI adoption.  

This is where ecosystem orchestration becomes strategically imperative in designing how your entire digital ecosystem works together. 

What is ecosystem orchestration?

Ecosystem orchestration is the discipline of designing, connecting and governing all digital platforms, experiences and data as a unified system rather than a disparate collection of isolated tools and journeys. It defines how these technologies should work together to deliver efficient operations, connected customer experiences and AI-ready foundations. 

For most organisations, this ecosystem spans experiences, content, data and their supporting platforms. 

Ecosystem orchestration focuses on: 

  • How data flows across your CRM, CDP, CMS, analytics and personalisation 
  • How experiences are assembled across channels, regions and brands to make them seamless 
  • How your platforms integrate, scale and evolve alongside your organisation  
  • How governance, security and performance are embedded by design. 

What is digital fragmentation? 

Fragmentation rarely appears as a single problem. Instead, it develops gradually as new platforms, regions and business needs are layered on existing digital estates. If one layer is weakened, it reduces the effectiveness of the entire structure and ultimately damages both your business outcomes and perceived value to your customers. This inefficiency prevents your organisation from reaching its potential.

Fragmentation tax: The unwanted cost of disconnected systems

When digital ecosystems grow without orchestration, the impact compounds over time. You may start to see: 

Operational inefficiencies rise 

When your teams jump between multiple systems, duplication and manual work skyrocket. Delivery slows and administrative load increases. 

Maintenance outweighing innovation 

Technology teams spend more time maintaining integrations, bug fixing and patching software than building new value-generating features. 

Data reporting inconsistencies

Inaccurate data creates reporting inconsistencies and data teams spend more time reconciling data than generating insights.  

Personalisation becoming impossible

Disconnected CMS, CRM and data platforms mean your organisation does not have a single customer view. This leads to segmentation being non-existent or superficial. 

AI-readiness severely constrained

AI requires unified data, modern architecture and consistent governance. Poor data hygiene and siloed insights create unstable foundations for predictive modelling and limit automation at scale. 

Brand and experience consistency breaking down

Multiple regions and brands lead to inconsistent UX, duplicated content and disconnected customer journeys. 

Costs quietly increasing

Duplicated platforms, unnecessary licences, security vulnerabilities and inefficient workflows inflate spend. 

Leadership is struggling to make data-driven decisions

Fragmented data erodes trust, making it harder for leaders to drive strategy or prove ROI. 

What ecosystem orchestration will enable

Fragmented digital estates can derail even the most ambitious digital transformation plans. Ecosystem orchestration is the solution to ensuring your business is future-ready, laying the foundation for scalable experiences, operational efficiency and AI-ready growth. 

If the challenges described here feel familiar—from disconnected journeys to rising operational effort—it may be time to reassess how your ecosystem is designed to work together.  Speak to our team about simplifying your digital ecosystem. 

Is your marketing platform still fit for purpose?

In this Article

Dissatisfaction with a marketing platform rarely arrives suddenly. It tends to build gradually through small frustrations, workarounds and compromises that feel manageable on their own, but increasingly costly when they accumulate. 

Enterprise marketing platforms have not necessarily become weaker. In many cases, they are more powerful than ever. What has changed is how you are expected to operate as a marketing leader:  the speed at which you must respond, the need for technology to directly translate into measurable outcomes and the pressure to do more with less. 

This shift has prompted many senior leaders to ask a different question. Instead of “Is our platform capable?” it has become “Is it still fit for how we need to operate today?”  

In this blog, we uncover the driving factors to that question, from cost and operational complexity to real-time capability and drag, and why many organisations are revisiting their platform architecture.

Why enterprise marketing platforms are being re-evaluated now

Several pressures are converging at once: customer expectations continue to rise, particularly around relevance, timing and the consistency of communications across channels. At the same time, teams are being asked to move faster, demonstrate clearer value and operate with leaner resources. Against this backdrop, platforms designed for a previous era of marketing are being stretched in new ways, particularly as you try to support real-time journeys, unified customer data and faster campaign development. Data ingestion is increasingly event- and profile-based, enabling real-time digital conversations. 

These tensions are most obviously felt during moments of operational change: renewal cycles, organisational shifts or attempts to introduce new real-time use cases. What may once have been accepted as the cost of scale can start to feel like complexity rather than capability. 

When cost becomes a strategic question

Rising costs are rarely the starting problem. The pressure tends to surface around licence renewals, expanding data volumes or the addition of new modules that promise incremental capability. Over time, the cost of operating and maintaining the platform can begin to grow faster than the value it delivers.  

Many enterprise marketing platforms were originally adopted on the promise of breadth, future-proofing and long-term stability. Licensing models expanded over time, new modules were introduced and capabilities were layered in to support growth. That made sense when scale and consolidation were the priority. Today, however, operations are expected to have faster cycles and leaner teams, where value is judged less by the number of features available and more by how quickly features translate into outcomes. You may still be using the platform extensively, but usage alone is no longer enough. 

The harder question is whether that usage is translating into impactful outcomes: faster speed to market, more relevant experiences and the ability to respond while customer intent is still live. When incremental gains demand disproportionate effort or when specialist skills and parallel tools are required to unlock value, cost pressure becomes a strategic signal rather than a purely financial one.

The hidden weight of operational complexity 

As platforms grow in scope, complexity often follows. What may have started as a powerful central system can become a heavyweight environment that requires specialist expertise to operate effectively. While advanced querying, scripting and complex journey logic offer flexibility, they can also introduce dependency and bottlenecks, particularly if your teams are expected to move quickly. 

This operational overhead rarely appears in executive reporting, but it is felt day to day. Longer lead times, reliance on a small group of experts and limited ability for marketers to test and iterate independently all begin to slow momentum. Over time, the platform can feel like something your teams work around rather than something that actively enables them. 

When ‘fast enough’ is no longer fast enough

Speed has always mattered in marketing, but the threshold for what is considered acceptable has changed. 

In an environment shaped by real-time signals and event-driven interactions, delays of hours or even minutes can mean missed opportunities. Despite this, many marketing environments still rely heavily on batch processing, scheduled workflows and manual handovers between systems. 

When insight takes too long to become action, you are pushed into more reactive ways of working. Campaigns must be planned further in advance, personalisation lags behind behaviour and responsiveness becomes constrained by technology rather than strategy. 

Data fragmentation and orchestration limits

As your digital estate expands, data rarely lives in one place. Transactional systems, analytics platforms and engagement tools all play a role, but unifying them cleanly remains challenging. 

Many marketing platforms were never designed to act as the primary data layer. As a result, you may rely on connectors, middleware or separate data foundations to bridge the gaps. While workable, these approaches often introduce latency, instability and added complexity, particularly at scale. 

The impact is most visible in orchestration. When data is fragmented, journeys tend to become channel-led rather than customer-led, limiting your ability to deliver coherent experiences across touchpoints.

When friction becomes systemic 

Individually, none of these challenges are unusual. What matters is when they coexist. 

Cost pressure, operational complexity, slow execution and fragmented data tend to reinforce one another. As environments become harder to manage, extracting value becomes more difficult. As value becomes harder to demonstrate, scrutiny increases. Over time, you may find your teams becoming less able and less willing to push the platform in new directions. 

This is often the point at which conversations shift from optimisation to re-evaluation. 

A changing view of platform architecture

In response, many organisations are reassessing the role their marketing platform plays within the wider ecosystem. Rather than expecting a single system to do everything, there is growing interest in more modular, composable approaches that separate data, decisioning, orchestration and activation. 

This shift is not about chasing trends. It reflects a desire to align technology more closely with how you currently operate and how you expect to evolve over time. 

How CACI can help you optimise your marketing platform

The most productive platform conversations do not start with vendors or features. They start with clarity. 

If you are questioning whether your current platform still supports how your teams work, it may be time for a more structured conversation about fit, value and operational friction. 

To support this, we have created a short Marketing Platform Health Check to help you sense-check whether your current setup still fits how you operate today. It highlights common friction points and provides a structured way to assess where further investigation may be valuable.

Case study

How CACI and Adobe helped Skipton Building Society transform their marketing platform

Summary

In today’s hyper-connected, data-driven world, marketing teams are under more pressure than ever to deliver personalised, timely and measurable campaigns. Legacy systems, fragmented data and unsupported platforms can quickly become roadblocks to innovation, however.


For Skipton Building Society, a long-standing client of CACI, the need to upgrade their Adobe Campaign platform was not just about compliance, but unlocking the full potential of their marketing strategy. With Adobe sunsetting support for their existing platform, Skipton seized the opportunity to reimagine their marketing infrastructure for the future.

Company size

2,500+

Industry

Financial services

Partners used

Challenge

Skipton Building Society faced a number of common challenges that we are seeing across the market: 

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A legacy data model that restricted campaign agility 

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A data solution that did not enable Skipton to be customer-centric

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Missed data during daily processing, impacting decision-making

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A looming deadline with Adobe’s end of support

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The need to coordinate across multiple stakeholders and systems.

Solution

The timing of this project was critical, and strategic. 

  • Adobe product sunsetting: With Adobe confirming that support for Skipton’s existing Campaign platform would end after 2024, the risk of operational disruption and compliance issues was growing. 
  • Rising customer expectations: Customers now expect seamless, personalised experiences. Skipton’s legacy data model was limiting their ability to deliver on this, and competitors were already moving ahead. 
  • Data as a differentiator: In a world where data drives marketing performance, Skipton needed a platform that could process, transform and activate data in real time. 
  • Cloud momentum: The broader shift to cloud-based marketing platforms is accelerating. By acting now, Skipton avoided the pitfalls of rushed migrations and positioned themselves ahead of the curve. 

This was not just a technical upgrade, it was a strategic transformation, taken at exactly the right moment. 

This transformation was not delivered in isolation. It was the result of a close, collaborative partnership between CACI, Adobe and Skipton, each bringing unique strengths to the table. From the outset, the project was shaped by a shared vision and a deep commitment to joint success. 

CACI led the programme of work, particularly in the design and architecture of the solution, by creating a design that delivered Skipton’s requirements and providing the personnel that could deliver that plan. Adobe played a central role as a strategic partner, offering platform expertise, innovation and direct support throughout the journey. Skipton brought critical insight, ambition and a clear understanding of their organisational needs and goals. 

Together, this tri-party team operated as a single, integrated unit. Our four-phase approach was co-developed and co-delivered, ensuring the transformation was not only smooth and secure, but designed to scale and evolve with the organisation’s needs. 

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1. Discovery

In-depth analysis of Skipton’s SQL Server and Adobe Campaign setup

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2. Design

A reimagined architecture tailored to modern marketing needs

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3. Implementation

Rebuild of the data platform to create a customer centric solution, enabling better personalisation

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4. Migration

Seamless transition of workflows and data to the cloud

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5. Testing & handover

Rigorous Q&A and collaborative enablement.

Outcomes

  • Full re-implementation of Adobe Campaign v8 on Adobe Cloud Managed Services 
  • Legacy components eliminated, streamlining operations 
  • New data staging and transformation processes to overcome Helix migration issues 
  • Helix is Skipton Building Society’s cloud-based data platform designed to centralise, govern and orchestrate marketing and customer data across the organisation. It plays a foundational role in enabling the migration to Adobe Campaign v8 in the Cloud and supports the broader digital transformation strategy. 
  • Delivered on time and within budget, a rare feat in complex migrations. 

With their new platform, Skipton is now positioned to: 

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Launch campaigns faster and with greater precision

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Leverage real-time data for personalisation

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Scale marketing operations without infrastructure or data constraints

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Have a future-proof solution designed for future business needs

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Stay ahead of compliance and vendor support timelines.

What is Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)? A practical explainer for modern engineering

What is Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)? A practical explainer for modern engineering 

Engineering domains like defence, automotive, manufacturing and critical infrastructure have always dealt with complexity. But today that reality is compounded by volatility. One seemingly small change can ripple across an entire architecture: a single component going end of life forces updates to requirements, interfaces and test plans or single regulatory change means revisiting assumptions and evidence across multiple teams.  

Traditional, document heavy engineering methods simply weren’t designed for this pace, scale and level of interdependence. Big static specifications, linear stage gated processes and manual drafting and review cycles are slow, siloed and paperwork driven; they just can’t keep up with environments that depend on fast iteration, shared data, and real-time collaboration. 

Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) offers a more coherent way forward. It makes models, rather than documents, the primary way of understanding how a system is put together and how it behaves under change. And while it’s often discussed in abstract terms, its value is practical: clearer decisions, fewer surprises and systems that can evolve with the world around them. 

Understanding Model Based Systems Engineering 

Traditional systems engineering spreads knowledge across separate artefacts: requirements lists, design specifications, interface control documents, test plans and more. Each serves a real purpose, but together they create a fragmented picture that engineers must mentally stitch together. 

MBSE brings this information into a single system model. Instead of navigating isolated, and typically manual, documents, engineers work with a visual, traceable representation of requirements, behaviours, structures and constraints across the system’s lifecycle: from concept and design through to operation and decommissioning. 

This connected view enables teams to: 

  • Simulate and validate designs before physical implementation 
  • Understand the implications of a change across the whole system or system-of-systems 
  • Maintain traceability between requirements, design and testing as the system evolves 
  • Accommodate iterative and Agile delivery without losing architectural coherence 
  • Establish a strong foundation for digital twins and digital continuity 

In short, MBSE replaces a fragmented understanding with a coherent one. By shifting the focus from assembling information to analysing the system as a dynamic whole, it makes decisions clearer and enables swifter action. 

MBSE vs. Enterprise Architecture – what’s the difference? 

As an approach, MBSE is often mentioned alongside or confused with Enterprise Architecture (EA) because both use models to bring structure to a changing, interconnected world. They sit on a continuum, but they don’t do the same job. 

Enterprise Architecture works at the organisational level, the so-called ‘30,000ft view’. It defines the capabilities the business needs, the processes that support them, the information that flows between them and the technology principles that keep everything aligned. EA sets the strategic intent and the architectural constraints within which engineered systems must operate. 

Model Based Systems Engineering works at the system level and, critically, does so visually. It uses graphical models to capture requirements, behaviour, structure and constraints so engineers can see how a system works, how its parts interact and how changes flow across the architecture. MBSE can represent a single engineered system or a “system of systems”, depending on the scale of the environment.  

In plain engineering terms: 

  • EA defines the environment: capabilities, context, constraints.
  • MBSE defines the system: behaviour, architecture, verification.

EA sets the intent; MBSE delivers the model‑based technical design that realises that intent. So, even when a “system of systems” MBSE model approaches EA in scope, it’s still serving a different purpose. Both disciplines tackle the same operational pressures but address them from different vantage points. 

Model Based Systems Engineering in practice 

In practice, MBSE means working from a dynamic system model that brings together the elements that matter most in complex engineering environments. Typically visualised in a dashboard, it provides a traceable, queryable representation of the system as a single point of truth, containing: 

  • Requirements
  • Behaviours and interactions
  • System structure and architecture
  • Constraints and dependencies
  • Lifecycle considerations from concept to decommissioning

The shift from documents to models isn’t cosmetic. Documents age; models evolve. Documents sit in silos; models connect disciplines. Documents tell you what the system was; models show you what the system is — and what it could be as it adapts to new constraints, technologies or missions. 

Most organisations use modelling languages such as SysML and tools like Cameo, Rhapsody or Enterprise Architect. SysML remains the most widely used, giving teams a standardised way to express structure, behaviour and constraints across complex systems. But the tools are only the enablers. The real value lies in the clarity, consistency and shared understanding that modelling brings. 

The operational benefits – why MBSE matters in modern engineering

 MBSE gives teams a coherent view of how a system behaves and how change in one area affects others and, fundamentally, a more honest representation of how systems behave in the real world. That shift enables: 

  • Earlier validation and simulation
  • Clearer communication across disciplines
  • Faster impact analysis
  • Stronger traceability between requirements, design and testing
  • Enhanced collaboration across teams and suppliers
  • Scalability for managing large, multicomponent or “system of systems” architectures

This is why MBSE has become particularly relevant in sectors where systems are large, long-lived and safety or mission critical.  

In defence and aerospace, it supports mission level traceability, interoperability across suppliers and stronger evidence for certification. In automotive, it helps integrate mechanical, electrical and software design in increasingly software defined vehicles. And in digital and critical infrastructure, it provides a way to map dependencies, model resilience and design for long-term adaptability. The common theme being MBSE provides the clarity needed to make confident decisions. 

What good MBSE delivery looks like in practice 

Successful MBSE programmes have less to do with tools and more to do with delivery behaviours. The organisations that get the most value tend to share a few consistent patterns: 

  • Models are treated as living artefacts. They evolve as understanding deepens, rather than being produced once and filed away. 
  • Iteration is normal. Teams model early, test assumptions quickly and refine as they learn, instead of waiting for a single ‘big reveal’. 
  • Commercial and governance frameworks allow change. MBSE only works when contracts, schedules and decision gates accept that things will evolve. 
  • Practitioners lead the work. Systems engineers, architects and domain specialists shape the model, ensuring it reflects real world behaviour rather than abstract theory. 
  • Collaboration is built in. Modelling becomes a shared activity across disciplines, not something done in isolation by a single specialist. 

These principles also shape how CACI deliver MBSE.  

Our teams work iteratively, use models to drive shared understanding and keep architectures traceable as requirements evolve. We focus on the behaviours that make MBSE effective, clarity, adaptability and practitioner led modelling – because these consistently help programmes navigate complexity and make better decisions. 

Why MBSE is becoming essential 

 Recent research finds the number and intensity of system level dependencies is rising across every major engineering domain, increasing the likelihood that local failures propagate far beyond their point of origin. The PanIberian blackout in April 2025 made this clear: the energy disturbance cascaded across two national grids, disrupting transport, healthcare and communications within minutes.  

In this context, MBSE becomes a core competency rather than a niche specialism. But its value depends on how it is delivered, and by who.  

A strong MBSE approach provides clarity, traceability and better decisions. It reduces risk. It helps engineering systems evolve with the environment. And in sectors where the stakes are high like defence, automotive, aerospace and critical infrastructure, that combination is not optional, it’s foundational — and increasingly essential if organisations are to stay ahead of the rising fragility built into the systems they depend on. 

To find out how CACI can help your organisation build the resilience needed to operate effectively in an increasingly volatile, interconnected engineering environment, get in touch with our experts today. 

FAQs about Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)

What does “model-based” actually mean in Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)?

In Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), “model-based” means that system information is stored in a structured, machine-readable model rather than free-text documents. This allows relationships, dependencies and constraints to be queried, analysed and validated automatically instead of being inferred manually.

Is Model Based Systems Engineering only suitable for large or complex systems?

No. While MBSE is most visible in large, complex programmes, it can also be valuable for smaller systems where change is frequent or assurance requirements are high. Even lightweight models can reduce ambiguity, improve communication and prevent rework as designs evolve.

How does MBSE support verification and validation activities?

MBSE enables verification and validation by explicitly linking system behaviours and constraints to verification criteria within the model. This allows teams to assess test coverage, identify gaps early and maintain alignment between design intent and evidence as the system changes.

What skills are required to work effectively with Model Based Systems Engineering?

Effective MBSE requires a combination of systems thinking, domain expertise and modelling literacy. While familiarity with languages such as SysML is useful, the most important skills are the ability to reason about system behaviour, understand trade-offs and communicate across disciplines using models as a shared reference.

How does Model Based Systems Engineering improve decision-making?

MBSE improves decision-making by making assumptions, dependencies and impacts explicit. Engineers and stakeholders can explore “what-if” scenarios, assess trade-offs and understand consequences before changes are committed, reducing the risk of late-stage surprises.

Can Model Based Systems Engineering be applied to legacy systems?

Yes. MBSE can be introduced incrementally to legacy environments by modelling critical parts of an existing system rather than attempting a full re-engineering effort. This approach helps organisations gain insight into dependencies, constraints and risks without disrupting ongoing operations.

How does MBSE fit with safety, regulatory and assurance frameworks?

MBSE supports safety and regulatory assurance by providing a structured way to demonstrate traceability from requirements through design to verification evidence. This can simplify audits, improve confidence in compliance claims and reduce the effort required to respond to regulatory change.

What are common misconceptions about Model Based Systems Engineering?

A common misconception is that MBSE is primarily a tooling or documentation exercise. In practice, its effectiveness depends on how models are used to support collaboration, learning and decision-making — not on the level of detail or the sophistication of the tools alone. 

Case study

How personalisation enabled easyJet to reduce the cost of disruption & increase retention & revenue

Summary

In the airline industry, where customer experiences can be impacted by factors outside of the airline’s control, communication is crucial to maintain satisfaction and loyalty, especially during operational disruptions. In fact, the impact of disruption to annual global air passengers will increase to 7.3 billion by 2034, more than double the 3.5 billion passengers that will travel this year.

Disruption management is therefore becoming increasingly important, demanding greater investment in the cost-to-serve and improved collaboration to enhance the industry’s ability to respond effectively. The topic must be considered with the commercial realities of improving sales and seasonal offers through marketing, however, which was a key component of CACI’s project with easyJet.

The business case centred on reducing the cost of disruption, improving retention and increasing revenue through personalisation. With disruption estimated to cost airlines up to 8% of annual revenue due to refund requests, brand damage and customer churn, investing in a unified customer communications platform would help easyJet dramatically reduce these losses.

Company size

17,000+

Industry

Travel

Challenge

Operating in an extraordinarily complex and competitive category, easyJet was experiencing a significant reduction in customer satisfaction and was losing customers and shares to competitors. EasyJet’s own analysis showed CAST (Customer Satisfaction Score) scores declining significantly within only minutes of a disruption event, and the first hour is key to securing satisfaction.

While the airline understood that reversing this trend and mitigating losses would only be possible by overhauling their customer communications, they needed help prioritising and executing this transformation. The most significant challenges were improving the consistency of information between customer communication channels, targeting communication more effectively and quickly, improving accuracy through automation and enhancing their MarTech stack and data strategy.

Solution

EasyJet endeavoured to address critical gaps in the consistency, personalisation and timeliness of customer communications across all stages of the travel journey, along with the following KPIs:

  • CAST score increasing to 13% over the next three years
  • Reducing the amount of refund requests through better communications (50% of easyJet claims for refunds being rejected). 
  • Improving communications as 37% passengers are reportedly unhappy during disruption events.

At the heart of this initiative was a holistic service design methodology that fused MarTech, a data strategy and operational transformation into one cohesive solution. To make such changes, CACI helped develop and implement easyJet’s customer-facing strategy, with three primary goals: 

  • MarTech implementation:Identify, assess and implement the MarTech solution to enable customer-centric communications including marketing, service and disruption.
  • Customer-led campaign optimisation: Improving marketing campaign targeting and messaging, reducing email volume and ensuring sales and disruption messages do not overlap.
  • Disruption management: Developing a strategy to improve and unify communication around flight disruptions across multiple channels (from email to airports).

Alongside this, CACI had to consider the operational service and business plan to ensure that processes, back-office systems and staff could deliver the new ‘to-be’ strategy while considering stakeholders’ vision and real user data based on interviews and surveys.

CACI’s approach was to run the following series of connected workstreams:

  • MarTech & customer strategy audit: Unpack challenges and limitations across the existing landscape, identifying areas of improvement and streamlining across data and tech, customer comms strategy and operating model, during which 17 workshops with easyJet stakeholders took place.
  • Customer data foundations strategy: Defining the aspirational architecture to resolve data challenges and enhance data processing, management and communications.
  • Customer marketing contact strategy: By delving into a range of behavioural, attitudinal and demographic data that had rarely been used for customer insight and targeting, CACI could identify and quantify the value of multiple cross-sell and upsell opportunities.
  • Operational & disruption customer journey: Designing the blueprint of the easyJet end-to-end customer journey to understand expectations, performance analysis and opportunities for experience optimisation. CACI also developed an aspirational customer journey, showing an improved, consistent, multi-touch experience for disrupted travellers as they prepare for their flights. 
  • MarTech implementation: CACI helped easyJet select new MarTech platforms (mParticle and Braze) and implement the new solutions, including campaign migration and activation. Working collaboratively with MarTech partners, CACI and easyJet stakeholders defined requirements that would help power personalised customer communications.
  • Operational & disruption contact strategy: Leveraging new MarTech and customer journeys, designing contact strategies to increase relevancy and accuracy through personalised messaging. 
  • Operational change: Understanding the current design and team structures across the marketing function, identifying challenges and bottlenecks in processes, skills gaps and capabilities, leading to a defined operating model that would enable easyJet to fully leverage the new capabilities, redirect core skills to higher-value activities and create efficiencies by redefining roles and responsibilities across core teams. 

Results

This initiative has already delivered measurable commercial and experiential impact, helping easyJet become more resilient, customer-centric and operationally efficient.

Through the setup and implementation of the new MarTech stack, CACI enabled a real-time customer communications platform for easyJet that moved away from legacy systems and technical debt, including:

  • 10+ data and system integrations, with web, warehouse, analytics and automated GDPR management
  • 200+ customer and behavioural events/data points that can be used for targeting and personalisation
  • Migrating over 40 million customer profiles, taking them through a process of IP warming to ensure campaign deliverability
  • Deploying 500+ campaigns, including real-time behavioural triggers and data processing campaigns
  • Training and support for easyJet development and communications teams.

CACI was also tasked with proving the value of a customer-first communications approach against the existing trade-led strategy. The team designed multiple contact strategies around different audiences to bring the new strategies to life while utilising easyJet’s price-led messaging. The resulting Winter Sale Campaign delivered:

  • 57% fewer emails sent (but more personalised)
  • 5% increase in email open rate
  • 21% increase in click through rate
  • >2x revenue generated per email sent.

Furthermore, CACI developed a comprehensive toolkit that, when implemented, will enable easyJet to lead the category in disruption management. Complete with 203 data-driven, actionable recommendations, the airline can significantly improve passenger experiences during disruption events across three distinct categories of opportunities. These either directly depend on or enable communication management capabilities in the near-mid-term.

These results demonstrate how strategic transformation, when paired with service design and data-driven insight, delivers value at scale. EasyJet is now positioned not only to weather disruption but win customer loyalty.

Breaking down data silos in analytics

In this Article

In today’s experience-driven world, customer journeys are anything but linear. They begin on mobile, pause on desktop, skip to in-store, loop through social media—and often, they leave behind a trail of fragmented data that brands struggle to unify. This in turn leads to frustration and a poor customer experience.

Data silos in marketing analytics often arise from disconnected systems, departmental boundaries, and legacy technologies that don’t communicate with each other. These silos prevent a unified view of the customer, making it difficult to deliver consistent, personalised experiences across channels.

At CACI, we see this disconnected data challenge as a pivotal opportunity. We support brands in breaking down data silos and rebuilding customer understanding with clarity, purpose, and precision.

CACI’s approach: connecting the disconnected

We enable brands to identify, intercept and connect fragmented users and journeys across their entire online and offline estates.

Here’s how:

  • Unified customer view: Our data solutions stitch together disparate identifiers and touchpoints to create a single, accurate view of each customer. One profile, all channels.
  • Journey analytics: We map real customer journeys—not just clicks or page views. Our insights reveal where users drop off, what triggers conversion, and where friction hides.
  • Omni-channel attribution: Our Commercial Mix Modelling solution allows brands to understand what truly influences customer decisions, from ATL and OOH sighting through to more targeted, 1-2-1 channels. We help brands attribute value accurately and make smarter decisions about where to place marketing spend – with a channel, segment and customer lens.
  • Real-time interception: Powered by advanced analytics, we empower brands to recognise a fragmented user in the moment and serve the right message, at the right time, in the right place.

Transforming data into decisions

Disconnected data isn’t just a technical problem—it’s a customer experience problem. When brands can’t “see” their customers clearly, the customer feels it. Poor targeting. Broken journeys. Irrelevant messaging.

At CACI, we see data as the fuel for transformative brand experiences. By helping brands unify, enrich, and activate their data, we unlock meaningful personalisation, higher ROI, and lasting loyalty.

Ready to connect the dots?

Whether you’re just starting to tackle data silos or reassessing your current approach, CACI can help you turn data into decisions. Let’s start the conversation.

How to use GenAI to ask better questions & improve results

In this Article

GenAI has forced its way into many peoples’ minds over the past few years, partly due to its incredible ability to answer natural language questions, ease of use and quality of replies. However, it’s still a tool that’s limited by the person using it and needs care in use. I’ve chosen a light-hearted example to examine how simply improving prompt engineering can yield better results.

Impact of using GenAI to ask the right questions

It’s five years now since lockdown hit and it seemed quizzes became a key (and sometimes only) part of peoples’ social lives. I remember being part of at least three weekly quizzes during those spring lockdown months as everyone stepped up their efforts to see each other on their laptop screens and scrabbled around to find someone with a good enough Zoom licence to allow longer than 20 minutes per call. They were a great way to have fun while staying isolated, but there was always the dread when it was your week to write the quiz and you had to research questions that weren’t too easy or too difficult. How much better would it have been if we had the likes of ChatGPT and CoPilot for our quarantine quizzes? Just how good are these exciting new tools at writing a perfect pub quiz?

Discussions about what makes a perfect quiz could take as long as a quiz itself, so for the purposes of this blog, I’ll stick to a simple and achievable definition. Across the 20 questions I’m going to ask for, there should be a mix of subjects and a range of difficulties. For subject range, I’ll categorise each question into its closest Trivial Pursuit category (Geography, Entertainment, History, Art & Literature, Science & Nature, and Sports & Leisure). I’ll also classify each question into a difficulty category based on how hard it is for a pub quiz environment– while not an exact science, it’ll be a good estimate of how hard the quiz is.

“Can you write me a pub quiz of twenty questions on a range of general knowledge topics please?”

Firstly, I ask ChatGPT to write me a twenty-question quiz. It came up with the following range of questions:

A good first attempt, but not particularly varied in category of question or difficulty. A wrong answer is also a blot for this first attempt. Many questions are geography based, three of which are linked to Japan. I’ve also had a lot of these in pub quizzes I’ve attended in the last year so I would suspect that this is drawn from a relatively small pool of questions for a basic request.

A perfect pub quiz needs more variation than this.

“Can you make it a bit more difficult and split into these 6 topics: Science & Nature; Arts & Literature; Geography; History; Entertainment; Sports & Games”

This is a much harder quiz, perhaps with too many tricky questions to make an engaging and entertaining evening in a pub. Some of the answers are wrong, or at least contestable enough based on different online sources to be the sort that a diligent question-master would want to avoid. It also hasn’t stuck to the original twenty question prompt. Let’s have one more try:

“Some of these are a bit too tricky. I’d like the quiz to be entertaining and engaging without being too easy or difficult. Can you try another set of twenty questions please, still split by the same categories?”

This is much better and a great framework for a quiz. While this seems like a trivial (pun-intended) and light-hearted exercise, it acts as a great example of GenAI and how best to use it.

Outcomes that businesses incorporating GenAI can expect

AI is a tool that can save huge amounts of time and effort and quickly expand the potential of its user. However, it’s still a tool that needs human input to get the best results. There’s a risk of getting the same results as everyone else, where sometimes more nuance and differentiation is needed. Every business offers a different proposition every customer presents a different need and it’s important to pick up on that subtlety. Effective and intelligent prompt engineering gives back much more effective and intelligent answers.

The thing that makes a great quiz evening is not the presence of questions, but how they’re delivered and how entertaining and how varied they are. GenAI rids us of the tedious work of researching the questions, but it still needs a careful, experienced hand to optimise the solution it delivers.

How CACI can help

If GenAI has created more headache than help for you or your business, CACI can support your understanding of it and ensure it is used in the most effective way. To learn more about how we can support you, contact us today.

Three ways digital twins can transform small airports

In this Article

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.

Solutions

Architecting for AI 

Unlock the power of AI with expertly architected data solutions.

When data isn’t properly architected, AI systems struggle with inefficiency, inaccuracies, and missed opportunities. We design, structure, and optimise your data to fuel smart, scalable AI solutions that drive business innovation and success 

Concerned about data silos and fragmentation? 

To harness the power of data, consolidation is crucial for AI. 

Worried about scalability challenges?

Speak to our architects to ensure that your current architecture does not result in slow processing times and bottlenecks in AI model training. 

Unsure how to support AI initiatives? 

We design AI-ready infrastructures, from vector databases to high-availability integrations, to meet your AI requirement.

Did you know?

70%

of top-performing organisations experienced difficulties integrating data into their AI models.

Source: McKinsey

5x

Companies that properly structure and manage their data are five times more likely to achieve a significant return on investment from AI initiatives, emphasising the critical role of well-organised data in AI success.

Source: McKinseyShape

The benefits of design and architecture

Set your AI projects up for success with value-driven solution designs

Real-time data integration 

We streamline the integration of real-time data from multiple sources, ensuring seamless flow and timely access to the information needed for AI-driven insights and decision-making. 

Data structuring for AI readiness 

We help organise, clean, and structure your data in ways that make it easily accessible and actionable for AI systems, eliminating silos and creating a strong foundation for machine learning. 

End-to-end data governance

We implement robust data governance strategies to ensure your data is secure, compliant, and consistently high quality, maximising trust and efficiency for AI applications. 

Scalable data infrastructure 

We design scalable architectures that grow with your data needs, ensuring your infrastructure can handle increased data volume, complexity, and AI workload demands without performance degradation. 

AI Model training and optimisation 

We work closely with your teams to continuously monitor and optimise your AI models, making sure they stay accurate, adaptive, and aligned with evolving business needs.

Advanced analytics integration 

We integrate advanced analytics capabilities into your AI framework, enabling predictive and prescriptive insights that drive smarter business strategies and faster decision-making. 

Experts in design and architecture 

Leading companies choose us for a reason

Expertise in scalable data architectures

CACI has a strong track record in building large-scale data architectures for complex, data-driven environments. Clients can rely on us to design AI systems that are not only high-performing but also scalable, ensuring that their AI initiatives can evolve as data volumes grow and business needs change. 

Tailored AI solutions for diverse industries 

With experience across multiple sectors, including defense, government, and commercial industries, we bring deep domain expertise to the table. This means they can craft AI solutions specifically tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities in each client’s industry, ensuring more relevant and impactful outcomes. 

End-to-end support 

CACI offers a comprehensive approach to AI, providing everything from data integration and governance to model optimisation and real-time analytics. Clients will benefit from a seamless experience as we guide them through every stage of AI implementation, from initial architecture design to ongoing optimisation, ensuring long-term success and ROI. 
 

Speak to one of our design and architecture experts

We are a trusted end-to-end digital transformation partner, focused on driving early value realisation through data-driven strategies and seamless execution. If you’re looking for a demo, want to book a consultation, or both – we’re ready to help you cut the complexity out of digital transformation.

FAQs

Answers to common questions about architecting for AI. 

Design & AI Architecture is crucial for your business because it helps de-risk the implementation process and ensures that your technology solutions are scalable and adaptable to future needs. By making the right design decisions from the outset, you can avoid failed implementations, high costs, and ongoing issues, ultimately maximising the value of your technology investments.

Design & AI Architecture supports AI initiatives by creating AI-ready infrastructures. This includes designing vector databases, high-availability integrations, and ensuring that AI systems have immediate access to the best data available. These infrastructures enable your AI applications to perform efficiently and effectively, driving better business outcomes. 

Design & AI Architecture helps future-proof your business by creating solutions that scale with your needs and adapt to new challenges. By focusing on flexible and scalable designs, you can ensure that your technology infrastructure remains relevant and effective as your business evolves. This approach minimises the need for costly upgrades and re-implementations. 

Case study

How CACI enabled strategic IT management for a central government department

Summary

Our customer, a central government department, operates with a diverse and complex array of technology solutions consisting of hundreds of systems, applications and services that support its operations.

The Chief Technology Officer (CTO) identified a significant gap in management information regarding IT and its alignment with broader business objectives. This gap has hindered the leadership team’s ability to make informed strategic and investment decisions.

IT services are provided by commercial suppliers, other government departments and internal development teams, often leading to disparate data, duplication, technical debt and therefore waste.

The department has a strategy to drive change and ensure operational effectiveness and efficiency for taxpayers’ benefit. The CTO is responsible for IT day-to-day operations and makes decisions on investments to innovate, grow, maintain and retire systems within the IT estate, ensuring alignment with the departmental strategy.

Industry

Consulting & Tech Services

Services used

Products Used

Challenge

The CTO faced challenges in driving this strategy due to a lack of knowledge about the state and interdependencies of systems within the IT estate, complicating evidence-based investment decision-making. The necessary information was not readily available, often leading to lengthy, one-off investigations to surface the necessary data.

To address this issue, the CTO initiated the establishment of Enterprise, Business and Solution Architecture practices. These practices will create architectures to be stored in a single repository, providing a cohesive link from strategy through business and applications to the underlying technology.

A key requirement for the architecture was that it would be a live digital resource actively used and maintained by a wide community across the organisation. If this is not achieved, the architecture risks becoming outdated and unable to provide the answers it was designed to address.

Issues driving strategy due to a lack of understanding

Difficulty making evidence-based investment decisions

Information not readily available, manual process to surface data required

Solution

CACI was engaged to scope and define the architecture to be captured and provide assurance that it would be sustainable and fit for purpose. CACI collaborated with the customer to agree the activities required to achieve the goal: 

  • Discovering the questions the architecture needed to answer. This activity augmented findings from earlier work, as well as further consultation with stakeholders. 
  • Defining a meta-model that can capture the architecture that will answer these questions, such as which business capabilities would be affected by the degradation or loss of an IT system.
  • Estimating the volume of elements and relationships within the model and the amount of effort to maintain it.
  • Demonstrate that the meta-model is sufficient to accommodate and assist with an inflight initiative (Move to Product) to reorganise IT product management (e.g. progress on understanding product and system life cycle and interdependencies). 
  • Demonstrate that, when populated, the architecture repository will support other initiatives such as (Move to Cloud) migrating IT from on-premises into cloud services, ultimately future-proofing the practice.

Results

The project produced the following results: 

  • CACI helped the department achieve a sufficient level of maturity in its architecture practices, along with artefacts and skills, to continue the journey to a fully mature capability. 
  • The department is reusing and building on the architecture captured to date to continuously monitor progress and alignment with strategic goals. 
  • The artefacts generated by the Move to Product initiative are being used to populate the repository, enabling IT to be aligned with value and strategic goals through a baselined Business Capability Model (BCM).
  • This, in turn, is being integrated with other corporate data sources to produce dashboards for decision-making at board meetings.

The department has adopted the solution and, unaided, its architects are now populating the repository. Having started small, there is now an appetite to extend the reach of the architecture captured to cover other aspects of concern to the CTO (e.g. security and information flows). CACI aims to assist the department in achieving these goals through several targeted assignments over the next financial year.

Case study

How CACI provided MoD a Compass Audit Solution for the Submarine Delivery Agency

Submarine Delivery Agency logo

Summary

The Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) is a part of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) that procures and project manages the construction of future Royal Navy submarines. It also supports those in service working with Navy Command and the Defence Nuclear Organisation (DNO).

Within the SDA is the In-Service Management Team (ISM), handling quality assurance and performing periodic engineering audits to ensure processes are correctly followed when delivering equipment parts. During these audits, non-conformances may be identified which require attention, resulting in actions which must be tracked to completion.

ISM required a new capability to automate the management of this work and improve governance.

Company size

1,000 – 5,000

Industry

Defence, National Security

Products used

Challenge

ISM wanted a tool that would secure the audit process and better support operations by decreasing the probability of actions being missed or delayed. Easy access to previous audit outcomes would help preserve team knowledge.

Equipment failure could occur with associated potential safety issues due to the inability to track non-conformance actions.

Experience was being lost as staff are normally moved to new posts every two years.

Lessons from previous audits were not always applied due to limited information accessibility.

Efficiency needed improvement. Previous tools used to manage audit work (e.g. Excel and SharePoint) required significant overheads to track and manage the audit calendar.

Solution

The solution needed to be self-sufficient in that all details of the item being audited could be input to the tool and the audit team assigned. In addition, ISM looked for a significant reduction in elapsed time to complete each audit.

The SDA chose CACI’s Mood software to underpin their solution because of how well it lends itself to extending capabilities through the addition of new modules. COMPASS Submarines was initially developed to manage documented business processes and CACI could weave in a new audit module that would avoid users needing to log into separate software tools.

The new tool digitises the recording of audit details such as non-conformance findings and related actions. This is underpinned by a workflow with alert emails triggered by activities like adding or updating audits or a non-conformance needed to be acted upon.

Scheduled emails act as reminders, such as when an audit is due. This is a successful instance of Mood software’s ability to be customised using JavaScript to deliver extra functionality to the end solution.

Results

Efficiency is improved through system-driven working rather than relying on personnel knowledge and human driven processes, leading to: 

  • Strengthened governance resulting from auditable evidence of findings being captured and tracked. 
  • Reduced likelihood of recurring issues.
  • Management overhead surrounding audits have been significantly lowered, allowing a reduction in FTE dedicated to the tasks.
  • Improved knowledge retention, as outcomes of latest and previous audits are readily available.

The audit module is available to other parts of Defence, however, its value as an engineering audit compliance tool isn’t limited to a Defence context. We’ll be exploring new uses and are actively looking at extending the solution design to be relevant to other types of audits such as the complete range of ISO standards. 

Case study

How Air Inform operationally supports the Royal Air Force

Summary

RAF Digital supports the Royal Air Force Air Command through the provision of operational and capability analysis. The scope of this support encompasses air missions, people, goods, reconnaissance, surveillance, air transport, refuelling and air interdiction.

In such a complex organisation that is at the heart of British Defence, some decisions made can be of national criticality. The RAF must be confident that all relevant information is available without delay to decision makers, at any location, at any time.

This intelligence is also vital in planning change. For instance, if an airframe is being considered for retirement, what impact will that have on other equipment and services, and what altered support arrangements will follow?

With this in mind, the RAF needed a Digital Twin to be able to view the connected operational landscape and make informed plans, reliably and efficiently. This is where CACI’s support came in.

Company size

10,000+

Industry

Defence / National Security

Products used

Challenge

Defining these information services and understanding their complexities was the first challenge.

Air HQ Commands a complex range of mission capabilities and activities, which are dependent upon information delivery across a large portfolio of information systems and services.

Designing a solution that would ensure the data collected would be to the right level of detail.

While all relevant intelligence was already in existence, it was in silos—geographically dispersed and in the heads of SMEs, on spreadsheets and other documents in differing formats. In many instances, the amount of detail presented a “wood for the trees” problem, and many sources were not easily understandable. A lack of any unifying information system meant that in a typical situation, decision makers would have to telephone SMEs and others in multiple locations to gather information and make significant efforts to assimilate that information into a usable format that could inform decision making.

SMEs, along with most other personnel, move post every two years, meaning that expert knowledge is lost.

Solution

At a top level, the requirement was to help RAF Digital drive mission-focused information system transformation across all Air domain Mission Vignettes. 

Core to the requirement was to deliver knowledge of what equipment is in place, and where, so that operations such as air missions can successfully proceed. This requires a single view across 25 platforms, 4500 information services and 120 mission vignettes. 

RAF Digital sought a service that could assemble data in consistent formats from multiple sources, relating to a variety of equipment and services. The solution needed to: 

  • Be interrogatable using many filters. 
  • Produce reports both in tabular and highly visual styles to aid understanding.
  • Be consistent in presentation of data despite inconsistent input sources.
  • Maintain up-to-date information through an ongoing managed service with CACI to continue to deploy our skilled business analysts.

This is where Air Inform came to be. It is a software tool that enables a user to see how the RAF is organised in terms of information flows, modelled in terms of aircraft and operational capabilities. 

Critically, it enables RAF decision-makers to understand the data exchanges required to support a mission, including pre-flight, during flight and post-flight phases, and the systems required to support these exchanges. Hence, these decisionmakers can easily answer questions such as what systems are required to support a deployment and what operational capability a system underpins and, thus, identify vulnerabilities and redundancy and inform replacement programmes. 

At the heart of Air Inform is a complex operational architecture. A workshop process was key to eliciting the information, understanding connections and establishing the optimum depth of detail. During this initial phase of joint application development, both CACI analysts, SMEs and other stakeholders created an effective working partnership. 

Following the architecture’s development, CACI created a system for intelligence collection and analysis and overlaid it with visual models to present actionable intelligence from multiple perspectives to end users. Key features include scenario modelling and inter-dependency visualisations by mission as well as platform and information systems (Ground, Air & Space). 

Security was also important: the system can be air-gapped, and a version classified as “secret” is available. 

In terms of technical capabilities, Mood software was used as an object-oriented approach for the visualisation of components to create metamodels and define the relationships between features in a solution architecture.

Results

Air Inform is now embedded within the organisation and is effectively supporting decision makers which not only saves time, but improves the quality and speed of their decisions. Several benefits have already been recognised, including: 

  • RAF Digital can now plan effectively for replacement of airframes. 
  • Interdependencies are now better understood, meaning that changes can be made without unexpected gaps in service provision that could affect the RAF’s ability to deliver its commitments. 
  • Financial management is now supported, helping to avoid over, or premature, spend. 
  • Intelligence is no longer bleeding out as people move on, thus maintaining the integrity of the knowledge base. 
  • New personnel can now quickly understand their working landscape.
  • Security is now protected through more secure data transfers.
  • Data architecture now identifies inefficiencies and drives improvements.

If Air Inform was removed, more personnel would have to be deployed back to managing and analysing data, with a less accurate and speedy outcome. Flt Lt Connor Maguire MEng RAF, elaborated on the vital role that CACI’s support has played in achieving their goals. 

The architecture-based structure of the solution means that going forward, extensions to functionality can be identified and planned for with confidence. Several opportunities are now under consideration, including the ability to view and act upon equipment obsolescence or end of life data.

Case study

Digitisation of Joint Service Manuals (JSM) for defence equipment and support

Summary

Digitisation of Joint Service Manuals (JSM) for Defence Equipment and Support Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) are the procurement arm of the UK Ministry of Defence. They have a pivotal role in fulfilling equipment requests from across the Front-Line Commands, Executive Agencies and At Arm’s Length Bodies such as the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA). Their remit ranges from straightforward equipment procurement to the development of new technologies and ensuring the UK Armed Forces can maintain availability and readiness for a fleet of over 400 different platforms.

DE&S summarised the overall task as “to develop the Joint Service Manual (JSM) concept and codify the Receipt, Inspection, Issue, Storage & Maintenance (RIISM) Service Category”. CACI’s main task was to digitise the JSM by bringing them into the “COMPASS for Land” digitised group of capabilities. In fact, CACI were able to go beyond digital transformation of the RIISM manual by adding 3 other important manuals.

DE&S prioritised a solution that not only digitised JSMs but also facilitated improved compliance and included interactive features to enhance suppliers’ understanding of and adherence to JSMs, making the process easier for them.

Company size

10,000+

Industry

Defence, National Security

Products used

Challenge

The commercial documentation is complex, lengthy, and sometimes didn’t keep pace with the evolution of processes over time. Because of this:

Compliance wasn’t high enough.

Interpretations of the commercial documentation sometimes resulted in incorrect actions.

DE&S needed a better way to support all actors in the procurement processes to save time, reduce individual differing interpretations, and improve compliance overall.

Solution

CACI created digitised JSMs with a flexible search facility, explanations of roles and responsibilities, and relevant dependencies involved in delivering items for DE&S.

The solution enables searching across multiple JSMs, for instance a search for “quality” can be set to bring back all quality references in all JSMs. A user can bookmark favourite sections for repeat reference and can make suggestions in the solution for future enhancements of the functionality.

CACI’s large-scale data visualisation and digital twin modelling platform Mood was employed for the document digitisation aspect of the project. From a delivery perspective, this was an example of the CACI Mood team working alongside colleagues from other suppliers and within the Defence industry in a single delivery team under the overall management of Equinox, DE&S’s private sector programme delivery partner. This type of “Rainbow Team” approach worked well. Not only is Mood easy to integrate within a wider process that uses other software tools, but bringing different suppliers together into one team with a single leadership reduces barriers in communications and speeds up delivery.

Bringing the JSMs into the overall Mood Compass for Land* solution brought extra benefits of a pre-existing sign-in apparatus, admin functions and feedback loops.

Results

Users report: 

  • It’s much easier to find the instructions they need. 
  • They have confidence that these are up to date. 
  • Fewer issues relating to process are arising. 
  • Efficiency is increasing. 
  • Communications between parties in an end-to-end process have been improved. 
  • Agreement is reached on actions faster, and with less debate. 

In addition to the day-to-day operational benefits, the new digitised JSMs are supporting highly beneficial business analysis and root cause identification of areas for improvement. 

CACI will continue to digitise JSMs as and when they are prioritised for action and will continue to make enhancements as required. Although this case study focuses on a Defence context, the challenges outlined in this case study will be replicated across multiple industries and operations where adherence to instructions is critical, sometimes even for the preservation of life and limb, but the quantity, complexity and changing nature of those instructions mitigate against compliance. 

*Compass for Land is a Mood software solution that digitised the Common Support Model 

Case study

A powerful architecture tool available via an enterprise-wide MOD support contract

Ministry of Defence

Summary

Defence Digital is the digital lynchpin in the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) operations, supplying global personnel across the MOD with core IT services vital to their role. Many teams from all commands across the MOD, as well as industry partners, must create architectural models of operations and processes or create interactive solutions to encourage coordinated, efficient and safe working. These needs can be short- or long-term, planned well in advance or be unplanned urgent requirements, and could be for one person or over a thousand users. 

As such, Defence Digital needed a software product and dedicated support that would be flexible enough to meet these multiple requirements, was scalable and instantly available without commercial delays or constraints. 

Company Size

5,000 – 10,000

Industry

Defence, National security

Products Used

Challenge

A solution was required that could be easily learned, deployed swiftly, that enabled rapid building of models and operational solutions, but would be technically sophisticated enough to tackle a wide range of tasks.

Icon - Illustrative workflow

The MOD required a service that would deliver:

  • Flexible functionality in a single platform. 
  • Speed in deployment and training of users.
  • A responsive support function.
  • The opportunity to influence the future development of the software in partnership with the supplier.
  • Build and maintenance of the IT infrastructure to support the software platform.
Icon - Cog with a magnifying glass in the middle

The software platform needed to:

  • Be a no-code/low-code software platform. 
  • Give the ability to build architectures from which stakeholders could gain business insights. 
  • Be architecture framework-agnostic. 
  • Deliver the ability to create digitised operating frameworks. 
  • Enable analysis and presentation. 

Solution

CACI and Defence Digital agreed upon an enterprise licensing approach, enabling anyone in the MOD to request a Mood license and access a new Mood repository the same day. This, paired with training provided on request, is all that is needed to start working productively with the large-scale data visualisation platform. 

Our support service guides users to maximise Mood benefits, and CACI runs regular user forums to enhance the MOD Mood user community’s knowledge sharing. Many users have now become expert Mood material creators, and due to the excellence of the presentation layer, several solutions built with it have hundreds of regular users who view and work with outcomes rather than building in Mood. 

Mood Business Architect (MBA) software also provides a no-code/low-code Enterprise Architecture tool for developing and maintaining models. The product is extremely flexible and allows users to define data structures and relationships as required to model their problem space. The software utilises an SQL Server database, and network hosting ensures multiple architects can access and contribute to the model. A powerful permissions model with the MBA tool also enables administrators to protect and restrict access as applicable. 

Once developed, models can be shared with a wider stakeholder base via Mood Active Enterprise (MAE). Models are presented in a web browser and tools are available to make the user experience fully interactive.

Results

There are between 60-100 individual repositories built in Mood at any one time, all supported through the Managed Service. A few of these are: 

GEAR, the Guide to Engineering Activities and Reviews:
A mandated source of guidance for the defence engineering community. Built originally by contractors and now maintained by the MOD personnel using Mood software, it replaces an unwieldy set of previous materials with fully digitised guidance, with unlimited user access at around 22,000 logins per year. 

DLF, the Defence Logistics Framework: A one-stop shop for defence logistics policy, digitising for the first time a comprehensive set of documents, and supporting re-authoring. DLF has over 52,000 logins a year. 

Maritime, Air and Land Defence Frameworks: As Mood-based, high-level capability models of the domains, these provide a vital overview and breakdown of defence capabilities in their respective domains. The reference frameworks save staff officers new in post considerable time and maintain consistency within the FLCs. 

Support Chain Information Service Architectural Repository (Formerly LNECA: Logistics Net Enabled Capability Architecture): In operation since 2008, it holds information on all logistics systems, is continuously updated and is the intelligence source for briefings to senior managers. If deleted, it would have to be re-built as it is vital to strategic and operational thinking.