Polymorph and the Royal Navy have shared the honours in an award given for shared services in fighting piracy off the Somalia Coast
Polymorph and the Royal Navy-led EU NAVFOR have been named as finalists in the Excellence in Shared Services category in this year's e-Government National Awards. This follows the development by Polymorph of Operation Atalanta's collaborative communication tool that allows international military vessels, including ships from the EU and NATO, to exchange vital information securely, in real-time and without political agreements. As a result, they can now react rapidly to acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia.Here Stephen Harris, Managing Director of Polymorph, comments on the importance of the initiative and why it's being recognised by the Cabinet Office's Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) and Society of IT Management (SOCITM): 'Operation Atalanta has some two dozen ships from EU nations – including Britain, France, Germany and Italy – patrolling an area of about two million square miles off the Horn of Africa. The requirement from EU NAVFOR was for a system to be developed in just three weeks that would enable military vessels from all nations involved in counter piracy to communicate more securely in international waters and coordinate rapid reactions to acts of piracy. 'The success of the system has led to it now being used by over 40 nations and military authorities, ranging from the EU, US and NATO to China, India, Russia, South Korea and Malaysia. Although the collaborative solution was primarily designed to assist the EU NAVFOR to combat piracy threats, it has also enabled increased food aid to be delivered safely to Somalia, as well as safeguard activity of vessels operating and transporting goods in international waters. 'From the very beginning, the opportunity to work with the Royal Navy, alongside the MoD and EU NAVFOR was an honour – and to be shortlisted for the e-Government National Awards 2009 is another great endorsement. 'Being among such respectable finalists, as the Home Office and the National Policing Improvement Agency, in the 'Excellence in Shared Services' category is a testament to the hard work and expertise from all stakeholders involved in Operation Atalanta.'
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