Defence ministry plans to update resource management system, says skills will need strengthening

Lithuania’s Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas has said that updating the ministry’s Resource Management Information System (eRVIS) will require strengthening existing competencies, as current capabilities are insufficient for the new technology, LRT reports.

“We do have some specialists and competencies, but they are definitely not enough. This is a parallel process—while we are choosing the most suitable and best technology, we must also think about the specialists who could contribute to its implementation,” Kaunas told ELTA.

“We have our own cybersecurity and IT engineers, but we will definitely need to strengthen our competencies,” the minister emphasised.

A market study is currently underway to find a modern information system that would allow for the digitalisation of some of the ministry’s processes. The Defence Ministry stated that potential suppliers’ proposals are being evaluated, but no decision has yet been made on which vendor’s system will be selected. The exact project cost will only become clear after the completion of public procurement procedures.

The need for advanced technology arose after an assessment found that the current eRVIS no longer meets all the institution’s operational and technological requirements.

“In my understanding, we should focus on existing international resource management solutions that are adapted to management practices and used by defence ministries in other countries,” Kaunas said.

The integration of the new system will be gradual, with no plans to digitalise the entire ministry at once. Instead, the process will be carried out in stages, starting with one sector, such as finance, before moving on to logistics and personnel.

While the ministry believes current conditions allow for smooth integration, Kaunas acknowledged potential challenges, primarily related to organisational adaptation. “The organisation will have to learn to use the system, adapt to its processes, and possibly rethink some of its own processes, as some may no longer be optimal today,” he said.

The ministry noted that international examples, such as Ukraine’s implementation of information systems under wartime conditions, demonstrate that such systems can be successfully deployed even in highly complex environments.

According to the Defence Ministry, the new system would reduce administrative burdens by automating repetitive manual tasks, speeding up information retrieval and processing, and improving data exchange between departments, other institutions, and NATO partners. Enhanced analytics and AI tools would also enable faster data evaluation, monitoring, and document management, ensuring smoother auditing and reporting processes, as well as more accurate decision-making.