Meet the IDF’s Northern Command’s Digital Center
“We gather all the information and provide it to the division, online, in a centralized, concise, and processed manner,” says the center’s commander
Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit
An IDF Armored Corps division begins a month-long operational employment in one of the sectors of the Northern Command. The division will be deployed in an area that is under threat. Commanders and soldiers need to know details about the division, what it consists of, its behavioral characteristics, and the patterns of events occurring on both sides of the border, in order to obtain a full and updated situational understanding.
Information about the nature of the sector that the division will occupy will be delivered to the commanders in a centralized manner via WhatsApp on the military phone held by the commanders. The information will be collected, processed, and provided by the soldiers of the Digitech Unit, the digital center of the Northern Command, a relatively new unit belonging to the 371 battalion.
All Digitech soldiers are proficient in digital technology, fond of and knowledgeable in software, computers, and the digital world. They had already learned the relevant topics in high school, and some served in other technological units in the military before joining Digitech at the Northern Command.
Like a civilian IT company
Staff Sergeant Ami Shafat, the commander of the Information Engineering Department, in a conversation with IsraelDefense that "The Digitech Unit operates like a civilian IT company. As the unit commander, I function like a product manager in a civilian IT company. We gather all the information about the behavior in that sector for the Armored Corps division that enters operational employment in the northern sector, and provide the information to the division online in a centralized, concise, and processed manner. We give them everything they need to know.
"In the past, this was done in Excel or Word programs, which was cumbersome. Today, the Digitech center automatically provides the division with information. The principle is to process a large amount of data and information and condense it so that it is accessible to the end users – in the military world, the commanders.”
The Northern Command’s Digitech center is relatively new. It has developed and acquired knowledge and advanced technologies, and today its role is to find innovative and technological solutions to operational problems in the command and provide answers and solutions to the command units in the field. The unit conducts analyses of information to adapt and provide it to the commanders so that they have a comprehensive side view for decision-making.
The unit has developed information systems that have won awards from the Chief of Staff and the Northern Command Commander.
Sergeant Shafat mentioned the well-known problem that occurs during drills or battle, when one commander must communicate immediately with his counterpart, and starts searching for the phone number or means of communication right there in the field. One of the routine tasks of the Digitech unit is to provide commanders with the option to communicate instantly, without delay, with anyone they wish. All communication methods are digitized.
"Our role is to gather all relevant information for the unit we are working for, engineer and process the information, incorporate it into the appropriate files, and make it accessible to the end user." He said. To do this, the unit employs various tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.
The information provided to the commanders is comprehensive, ranging from the behavioral regulations of the unit throughout the specific sector to data on what is happening before and beyond the northern border. A unit that enters operational employment not only receives the information but also keeps it updated throughout its stay in the sector so that the commanders have an up-to-date situational picture, all delivered through WhatsApp on the military phone.
Before reaching the processing and analysis stage, a representative from the Digitech center meets with an Armored Corps officer before deployment to obtain information about what the unit needs. If a specific unit is going to an exercise, the Digitech Center provides it with digital tools to manage the exercise and evaluate the unit's training and performance. This has already been implemented in several IDF units.
The Digitech center's unique role is to collect data, process it, and present an up-to-date situational picture. Its soldiers monitor what is happening in the sector using digital tools, data processing, information engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the best available technologies, all tailored to the IDF's military requirements.
Sergeant Shafat describes it as follows: "We are the IT and startup of the Northern Command. Our role is to collect information from various IDF sources, process it into what is relevant to the specific unit we are working for. When the goal is to make it easier for the unit to manage its routine and daily operations, exercises, and training, and, when needed – also warfare."
“We gather all the information and provide it to the division, online, in a centralized, concise, and processed manner,” says the center’s commander
Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit
An IDF Armored Corps division begins a month-long operational employment in one of the sectors of the Northern Command. The division will be deployed in an area that is under threat. Commanders and soldiers need to know details about the division, what it consists of, its behavioral characteristics, and the patterns of events occurring on both sides of the border, in order to obtain a full and updated situational understanding.
Information about the nature of the sector that the division will occupy will be delivered to the commanders in a centralized manner via WhatsApp on the military phone held by the commanders. The information will be collected, processed, and provided by the soldiers of the Digitech Unit, the digital center of the Northern Command, a relatively new unit belonging to the 371 battalion.
All Digitech soldiers are proficient in digital technology, fond of and knowledgeable in software, computers, and the digital world. They had already learned the relevant topics in high school, and some served in other technological units in the military before joining Digitech at the Northern Command.
Like a civilian IT company
Staff Sergeant Ami Shafat, the commander of the Information Engineering Department, in a conversation with IsraelDefense that "The Digitech Unit operates like a civilian IT company. As the unit commander, I function like a product manager in a civilian IT company. We gather all the information about the behavior in that sector for the Armored Corps division that enters operational employment in the northern sector, and provide the information to the division online in a centralized, concise, and processed manner. We give them everything they need to know.
"In the past, this was done in Excel or Word programs, which was cumbersome. Today, the Digitech center automatically provides the division with information. The principle is to process a large amount of data and information and condense it so that it is accessible to the end users – in the military world, the commanders.”
The Northern Command’s Digitech center is relatively new. It has developed and acquired knowledge and advanced technologies, and today its role is to find innovative and technological solutions to operational problems in the command and provide answers and solutions to the command units in the field. The unit conducts analyses of information to adapt and provide it to the commanders so that they have a comprehensive side view for decision-making.
The unit has developed information systems that have won awards from the Chief of Staff and the Northern Command Commander.
Sergeant Shafat mentioned the well-known problem that occurs during drills or battle, when one commander must communicate immediately with his counterpart, and starts searching for the phone number or means of communication right there in the field. One of the routine tasks of the Digitech unit is to provide commanders with the option to communicate instantly, without delay, with anyone they wish. All communication methods are digitized.
"Our role is to gather all relevant information for the unit we are working for, engineer and process the information, incorporate it into the appropriate files, and make it accessible to the end user." He said. To do this, the unit employs various tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies.
The information provided to the commanders is comprehensive, ranging from the behavioral regulations of the unit throughout the specific sector to data on what is happening before and beyond the northern border. A unit that enters operational employment not only receives the information but also keeps it updated throughout its stay in the sector so that the commanders have an up-to-date situational picture, all delivered through WhatsApp on the military phone.
Before reaching the processing and analysis stage, a representative from the Digitech center meets with an Armored Corps officer before deployment to obtain information about what the unit needs. If a specific unit is going to an exercise, the Digitech Center provides it with digital tools to manage the exercise and evaluate the unit's training and performance. This has already been implemented in several IDF units.
The Digitech center's unique role is to collect data, process it, and present an up-to-date situational picture. Its soldiers monitor what is happening in the sector using digital tools, data processing, information engineering, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the best available technologies, all tailored to the IDF's military requirements.
Sergeant Shafat describes it as follows: "We are the IT and startup of the Northern Command. Our role is to collect information from various IDF sources, process it into what is relevant to the specific unit we are working for. When the goal is to make it easier for the unit to manage its routine and daily operations, exercises, and training, and, when needed – also warfare."
