Accenture has signed a multi-million euro contract with the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) to deliver the Protected Business Network (PBN) program, a critical initiative to modernize the Alliance's digital infrastructure. The agreement, valued at approximately 200 million euros over seven years, aims to establish a secure, cloud-enabled enterprise that enhances agility and resilience against external attacks. This program will support approximately 29,000 users across the NATO Enterprise, enabling decision-makers and military personnel to coordinate and access critical data in a standardized environment.

Accenture will work with Leonardo to deliver the contract over the next seven years. The PBN program is designed to replace legacy systems by introducing a common cloud operating model and standardized engineering practices. Accenture and Leonardo will design, implement, and operate the core PBN platform across a multi-cloud environment provided by NCIA. This infrastructure will allow for the rapid development, deployment, and maintenance of new digital services, ensuring the Alliance can exploit emerging technologies while maintaining its technological edge.

Contract Details and Implementation

The contract was signed by NCIA General Manager Dr Dylan Browne and Olivier Girard, EMEA Defense Industry lead at Accenture, at the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, Turkey. It launches the first implementation phase of one of NATO's most significant digital transformation programs. The project has been approved by the North Atlantic Council as a NATO-wide capability program.

Strategic Significance

Leonardo will implement a Zero Trust Architecture secured by its proprietary Global Cybersec Platform, an AI multi-agentic platform for cyber defense, to guarantee world-class resiliency. The partnership leverages recent acquisitions by Leonardo to strengthen the security framework. The program is intended to boost NATO’s operational readiness, interoperability, and mission continuity in the current geopolitical landscape.

NCIA General Manager Dr Dylan Browne stated that the contract delivers on the Alliance’s commitment to innovation and digital transformation. Mauro Macchi, CEO for EMEA at Accenture, emphasized that the project requires a trusted partner to build a digital backbone that is resilient and interoperable. Lorenzo Mariani, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo, highlighted that the project consolidates the company's leadership in trusted cyber security for mission-critical organizations.

Accenture, through its newly launched Accenture Edge business, and Google Cloud today announced a suite of agentic solutions to enable mid-market companies to drive technology and AI transformation. Accenture Edge will bring Accenture’s global strength and leadership position with Google Cloud to a new market segment providing pre-built solutions designed for the speed and scale mid-market organizations require. The collaboration aims to help these organizations move from AI pilots to production faster by leveraging pre-built, industry-specific agents. This initiative targets companies with annual revenues between $300 million and $3 billion, providing them with scalable solutions designed for speed and operational efficiency.

The offerings utilize Google Cloud as the technology foundation, integrating the Gemini Enterprise app, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and Agentic Data Cloud. These technologies, combined with Accenture’s forward deployed engineers (FDEs), provide the agentic intelligence, data infrastructure, and cloud-native architecture required to scale AI operations. Additionally, Google AI Threat Defense, including Gemini, Mandiant, and Wiz, is embedded to ensure enterprise-grade security and continuous monitoring.

Solution Areas

The collaboration spans six agentic solution areas purpose-built for mid-market needs:

Accenture Edge offerings are designed to allow mid-market organizations to deploy solutions in weeks and achieve measurable outcomes at the necessary scale and budget. The partnership brings the full power of Google Cloud’s portfolio, including enterprise AI and security tools, directly to this market segment.