Australian Department of Defence selects Microsoft Azure for new ERP platform

The Australian Department of Defence will be using Azure to host SAP/4HANA, the foundations of its new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform.

The department has securely connected their Protected Network to Azure AU Central, which is hosting SAP/4HANA to develop and deploy the new ERP, Microsoft says.

The Azure-based ERP solution will be accessed by Defence personnel based in Australia and deployed overseas. Once in production, the ERP will support some 85,000 users.

With Azure as its underlying platform for the ERP transformation, Defence will be able to cost effectively scale and continuously adopt new functionality as it becomes available. It will also have access to a growing array of trusted Azure services.

"The Department of Defence is a significant user of Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics 365 clouds. We are very proud to have been selected to provide the cloud foundations for this nationally important transformation that will provide a near real-time view of critical information across Defence to better inform decision making," says Steven Worrall, managing director Microsoft Australia.

"ERP will modernise, integrate and transform Defence's approach to managing its finances, human resources, logistics, engineering, maintenance and estate with Azure delivering the performance, security and resilience which is essential for such a critical application.

"Using SAP/4HANA and trusted cloud capabilities, Defence ERP will enable the resilience, security and performance the department requires now and into the future."

Defence's ERP modernisation program will see improved financial reporting capabilities deployed this year followed by a larger logistics and maintenance capability in 2022. It signals a key Defence wide transformation enabled by modern and secure technology, which integrates and streamlines critical Defence work processes.

"In a modern environment, information management is essential to enable decision superiority and ensuring a competitive advantage across all aspects of operation," Microsoft says.

"This platform will deliver a near real-time, integrated view of critical information, enabling Defence users to make better informed decisions and deliver optimal support for operations."

Defence requires a Protected cloud infrastructure to host its ERP development and production environments, and a provider able to support its security certification and accreditation requirements.

Damien Bueno, president and managing director, SAP Australia and New Zealand, adds, "SAP S/4HANA is the first significant workload that Defence has migrated to the cloud and continues the Australian Federal Government's commitment to best-in-class digital infrastructure and operations.

"The combination of SAP S/4HANA and Azure ensures the security, performance and scale that Defence needs for such a mission critical system," he says.

"We have deployed SAP's next generation Model Defence Organisation solution that brings together best practice digital processes covering logistics, finance, engineering and maintenance for Defence forces. The Department of Defence will be the first organisation globally to use the next-generation Model Defence solution, which will deliver significant efficiencies, flexibility and resilience.

"We are delighted to be working with Microsoft and the systems integrator, IBM, on this nationally important initiative.