Minister for Defence industry Christopher Pyne (front) and Accenture staff at the opening of the Defence Innovation Hub in Canberra. (Minister Pyne)

Accenture’s new Defence Innovation Hub was opened by Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne in Canberra  on August 1.

The facility is designed to provide defence and national security organisations in Australia and New Zealand with access to the latest technology innovations and digital solutions to help them innovate and stay ahead of an evolving threat landscape.

Designed with a human-centric focus, the company describes the hub as “a vibrant collaborative environment that encourages co-creation and breakthrough thinking between employees, defence and security agencies, and other digital innovators. Focusing on new technologies including blockchain, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cyber, robotics and advanced analytics, the hub will help clients stay ahead of adversaries through technology innovation.”

“Defence organisations need to increase their resilience to emerging threats and require secure, innovative and flexible delivery capabilities, often on tight turnaround,” Accenture’s defence & national security lead in Australia and New Zealand, Matt Gollings said in a statement.

“Through on-site demonstrations of how innovative and often disruptive digital technologies can enhance mission readiness, deliver better operational outcomes and ultimately help deliver mission success, our innovation hub addresses this need while maximising innovation and delivering the defence agency of the future.”

In a separate statement, Minister Pyne said, “The Government welcomes Accenture’s investment in building a local ICT capability, which will help foster ongoing innovation and allow projects to transition into business operations quickly and seamlessly. Defence is proud to have a long standing partnership with Accenture, having collaborated on the update and support of Defence human resource and air safety systems, as well as the delivery of ICT infrastructure modernisation projects.”