Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Chief of Staff Admiral Joachim Rühle and NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) General Manager Ludwig Decamps officially opened on 28 January 2022 a new facility in Mons, Belgium for the Enterprise Service Operations Centre (ESOC).
The move to the new facility at the SHAPE campus marks a critical milestone in the development of the new ESOC, which just reached Initial Operating Capability (IOC) on 19 January 2021. The new ESOC, formerly known as the "Operations Centre", has been completely redesigned to provide more centralized service support to NATO.
The ESOC will facilitate an entirely new way of operating for the Agency. The new ESOC changes the Agency's approach to supporting NATO's technology from focusing on networks and services individually, to an integrated approach. For the first time, Agency experts delivering services and network technicians will be able to collaborate together in the same space to quickly assist NATO, promptly resolving incidents and better monitoring the Alliance's technology. Together, experts from across the Agency will work in the new ESOC to ensure NATO's digital services are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"The Enterprise Service Operations Centre is an essential hub for NATO to increase collaboration and better support the customer," said NCI Agency General Manager Ludwig Decamps. "It marks the first key step on the Agency's journey to becoming a more service-centric organization and further strengthens our contribution to NATO's mission."
The new ESOC capability allows for improved collaboration, communication and control, increasing the opportunities for staff to work smarter, with faster resolution of technical incidents. The development of the ESOC is part of NATO's digital transformation programme Polaris. Polaris is focused on delivering technology and business change projects to modernize NATO's technology and improve how tech services are delivered in NATO.
NCI Agency General Manager Ludwig Decamps and guest of honour, SHAPE Chief of Staff Admiral Rühle, gave remarks at the new facility and unveiled a plaque to commemorate the milestone.
"It's a great privilege for me to be here to commemorate this important milestone," said SHAPE Chief of Staff Admiral Rühle. "The new ESOC has a real purpose, where experts are working together in the same direction, to improve our capabilities and help sustain diplomacy."