Technology Insertion

Within the defence industry, Advansys Solutions are a leading supplier and advisor on replacement of bespoke hardware and software components with Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) products. Systems with a high bespoke content tend to be closed monolithic systems where there is a high degree of inter-dependency between components. Modification and management of obsolescence in this type of system is expensive and the end user generally has to rely upon a single supplier for modifications an maintenance.

Replacement of bespoke with COTS components results in systems that conform to widely used standards and contain components from different suppliers who tend to have a large user base. The benefit of COTS insertion is a highly flexible system architecture where the cost of maintenance and modification is significantly reduced.

Advansys Solutions specialise in planning, developing and implementing technology insertion solutions into defence equipment. A prime example of this activity is the technology refresh of the Land Systems Reference Centre (LSRC).

The LSRC provides a simulation and stimulation environment to test equipment to be used by Land Forces. The facility is located at Blandford Camp which is the home of the Royal School of Signals. The LSRC was built in the late 1990s and has been operational for nearly 10 years.

The simulation and stimulation equipment was custom developed over 10 years ago.

Advansys Solutions initially conducted a Concept Definition Study to investigate obsolescence issues within the current equipment. This investigation considered both software and hardware, taking commercial considerations including the contractual support arrangements and intellectual property rights.

As a result of this initial study, Advansys has proposed a series of transition steps which will allow the customer to renew and refresh the equipment at relatively low risk in line with the customer's affordability constraints.

By taking an independent approach, Advansys was able to present the customer with an objective assessment of the obsolescence risks and propose a new architectural solution which maximised the use of widely used commercial off the shelf solutions and minimised the amount of bespoke software.

We are now in the process of implementing the transition plan.