Digital Twins & Operational Agility 

Enabling a smarter, safer force

When complexity increases, agility wins. In today’s dynamic defence landscape, digital twins are no longer experimental, they are essential enablers of mission readiness, logistics resilience, and real-time insight.

At Sopra Steria, we don’t just create digital replicas of systems. We deliver dynamic, connected models that simulate, test, and improve operations across the physical and digital spectrum. For the Ministry of Defence specifically, digital twins unlock new levels of preparedness, decision support, and lifecycle control across domains.

We don’t simulate for the sake of simulation. We simulate to optimise, adapt and act: faster, smarter, and with full sovereignty.

What is a Defence Digital Twin?

A digital twin is a live, evolving model of an asset, system, or operation continuously updated with real-world data. It allows decision-makers to test scenarios, forecast outcomes, and improve performance without putting assets or lives at risk.

At Sopra Steria, our digital twins support:

  • Operational planning & rehearsal

  • Logistics chain modelling & optimisation

  • Predictive maintenance & readiness tracking

  • Training environment generation

  • Force structure and mobility testing

Why it matters to the Ministry of Defence?

As the Armed Forces modernise their platforms and operational concepts, complexity rises: joint-force coordination, multi-domain environments, extended logistics, aging assets, and evolving threats.

Digital twins offer critical capabilities to:

 

Simulate mission scenarios before deployment

Anticipate failure points across fleets and assets

Improve safety and reduce cost across planning and execution

Enable commanders to make faster, data-driven decisions

Stress-test logistics and support chains

Our approach: Data-driven, modular, defence-ready

 

Built for real-world use, not just modelling
We tailor our twins to operational needs; not lab specs. Our teams co-design models with frontline users, ensuring relevance, usability, and mission fit.

Connected to live data
A digital twin is only as good as the data it uses. We integrate IoT, ERP, asset telemetry, and C2 systems to keep your twin current, relevant, and valuable.

Simulate across the lifecycle
From procurement to decommissioning, our twins support analysis at every stage: acquisition impact, readiness planning, MRO optimisation, and beyond.

Secure, sovereign by design
We design simulation and twin environments that respect data sensitivity, security clearance, and local/EU regulatory frameworks.

Where Digital Twins add immediate value

  • Joint training & simulation: Build secure, flexible rehearsal environments for multi-unit and coalition exercises

  • Logistics resilience: Simulate parts flow, depot capacity, and contingency routing for high-readiness support

  • Fleet modernisation: Model the lifecycle cost, availability and impact of new platforms

  • Base infrastructure planning: Use spatial twins to plan facility upgrades, power systems, and defence mobility

  • Operational forecasting: Simulate mission outcomes using real-world force data and historical scenario inputs

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

Aug 25, 2025, 00:00 AM
Title* : IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

Courbevoie, France. August 25, 2025 – IDEMIA Public Security, the leading provider of secure and trusted biometric-based solutions and Sopra Steria, a leading European-based consulting, digital services, and software development company, have successfully completed the go-live of eu-LISA’s new shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS). This achievement marks an important milestone in the roll-out of the Interoperability Roadmap by the EU Agency responsible for the management of large-scale IT systems within the Schengen area.

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new sBMS system, the EU’s central biometric matching system that stores and compares biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images. The sBMS aims to fight irregular immigration and trans-border crime, enhancing the efficiency and security of Schengen Area border and migration management. For example, when a third-country national comes into Europe for the first time, they will be registered and searched in the sBMS, where authorities will then be able to check whether they are the person they claim to be through biometric verification.

The system was launched with eu-LISA's Visa Information System (VIS), a large-scale IT system that supports the implementation of the EU’s common visa policy and facilitates checks at external borders and will serve the identification needs of other EU information systems in the future, such as the upcoming European Entry/Exit System (EES). The future EES will include biometric verification and identification of travelers based on their facial image and four fingerprints and will serve as one of the largest biometric systems in the world, integrating a database of over 400 million third-country nationals with their fingerprints and facial images.

With IDEMIA Public Security’s best-in-class biometric technology and highly-ranked algorithms across all modalities, combined with Sopra Steria’s competencies as a European leader in digital transformation and Homeland Security, the pair was selected by eu-LISA to build the sBMS for border protection of the Schengen Area in 2020.

As a market leader in the travel and transport industry, focusing on accurate and efficient technology solutions that deliver the highest level of performance and enhance border control operations and identity verification in high-risk environments, IDEMIA was equipped to contribute to one of the largest scale biometric databases, ensuring accuracy and fast response times.

We are excited to partner with eu-LISA and advance our mission of enabling secure, seamless, and personalized digital passenger journeys for travelers across the world. With our work to design and implement the sBMS, Europe will manage one of the largest biometric systems in the world. This is another example of how IDEMIA’s technology can make the world a safer place more than ever before, and we’re proud to play a critical role in this journey. Tim Ferris SVP, Travel & Transport, IDEMIA Public Security.
Sopra Steria is honored to be a longstanding and trusted partner of the EU Agency, contributing to the successful implementation of critical large-scale IT systems. The accomplished go-live of the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS) represents a significant milestone in the realization of the EU’s Interoperability Architecture, reinforcing our joint commitment to enhancing security and operational efficiency across Europe. Michel Lorgéré Deputy CEO, Sopra Steria Benelux.

 

As long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria have supported the European Union for more than 20 years in the management of mission-critical IT systems to enhance security within the Schengen area. IDEMIA Public Security delivers innovative, secure and trustworthy biometric travel solutions that streamline travel and border operations, optimize processes, enhance decision making, and enable seamless, personalized, digital passenger journeys.  Sopra Steria is actively shaping Europe in the domain of Justice and Home Affairs with profound expertise in Central EU systems, national interfaces and national systems. As a true end-to-end player spanning a comprehensive range of services to drive impactful change through innovative solutions Sopra Steria partners with more than 50 government departments and 60 public bodies across Europe.

Tags :
eu-LISA sBMS Launch - IDEMIA Press Release

We bring defence simulation to life

Sopra Steria’s strength lies in our ability to integrate simulation into live operations. We don’t deliver tools in isolation. We deliver end-to-end simulation ecosystems that connect:

  • Command systems and digital backbones

  • Logistics and ERP environments

  • Geospatial, mobility and weather data

  • Cyber resilience scenarios and threat models

We have delivered digital twin ecosystems to support predictive maintenance in fleet systems, joint operational planning tools for European agencies, and simulated testing environments for critical system modernisation, all built to scale securely, and serve real mission needs.

Prepare, predict, prevail with Digital Twins

In today’s environment, the ability to rehearse, adapt and respond quickly is a decisive advantage. Sopra Steria helps Armed Forces gain that edge through simulation that informs every decision, and digital twins that mirror the complexity of the mission.

Let’s build systems that think ahead, so your force can move forward with clarity and control.

 

Contact our experts

Defence Intelligence Hub

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

Aug 25, 2025, 00:00 AM
Title* : IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

Courbevoie, France. August 25, 2025 – IDEMIA Public Security, the leading provider of secure and trusted biometric-based solutions and Sopra Steria, a leading European-based consulting, digital services, and software development company, have successfully completed the go-live of eu-LISA’s new shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS). This achievement marks an important milestone in the roll-out of the Interoperability Roadmap by the EU Agency responsible for the management of large-scale IT systems within the Schengen area.

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new sBMS system, the EU’s central biometric matching system that stores and compares biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images. The sBMS aims to fight irregular immigration and trans-border crime, enhancing the efficiency and security of Schengen Area border and migration management. For example, when a third-country national comes into Europe for the first time, they will be registered and searched in the sBMS, where authorities will then be able to check whether they are the person they claim to be through biometric verification.

The system was launched with eu-LISA's Visa Information System (VIS), a large-scale IT system that supports the implementation of the EU’s common visa policy and facilitates checks at external borders and will serve the identification needs of other EU information systems in the future, such as the upcoming European Entry/Exit System (EES). The future EES will include biometric verification and identification of travelers based on their facial image and four fingerprints and will serve as one of the largest biometric systems in the world, integrating a database of over 400 million third-country nationals with their fingerprints and facial images.

With IDEMIA Public Security’s best-in-class biometric technology and highly-ranked algorithms across all modalities, combined with Sopra Steria’s competencies as a European leader in digital transformation and Homeland Security, the pair was selected by eu-LISA to build the sBMS for border protection of the Schengen Area in 2020.

As a market leader in the travel and transport industry, focusing on accurate and efficient technology solutions that deliver the highest level of performance and enhance border control operations and identity verification in high-risk environments, IDEMIA was equipped to contribute to one of the largest scale biometric databases, ensuring accuracy and fast response times.

We are excited to partner with eu-LISA and advance our mission of enabling secure, seamless, and personalized digital passenger journeys for travelers across the world. With our work to design and implement the sBMS, Europe will manage one of the largest biometric systems in the world. This is another example of how IDEMIA’s technology can make the world a safer place more than ever before, and we’re proud to play a critical role in this journey. Tim Ferris SVP, Travel & Transport, IDEMIA Public Security.
Sopra Steria is honored to be a longstanding and trusted partner of the EU Agency, contributing to the successful implementation of critical large-scale IT systems. The accomplished go-live of the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS) represents a significant milestone in the realization of the EU’s Interoperability Architecture, reinforcing our joint commitment to enhancing security and operational efficiency across Europe. Michel Lorgéré Deputy CEO, Sopra Steria Benelux.

 

As long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria have supported the European Union for more than 20 years in the management of mission-critical IT systems to enhance security within the Schengen area. IDEMIA Public Security delivers innovative, secure and trustworthy biometric travel solutions that streamline travel and border operations, optimize processes, enhance decision making, and enable seamless, personalized, digital passenger journeys.  Sopra Steria is actively shaping Europe in the domain of Justice and Home Affairs with profound expertise in Central EU systems, national interfaces and national systems. As a true end-to-end player spanning a comprehensive range of services to drive impactful change through innovative solutions Sopra Steria partners with more than 50 government departments and 60 public bodies across Europe.

Tags :
eu-LISA sBMS Launch - IDEMIA Press Release

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

Aug 25, 2025, 00:00 AM
Title* : IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

Courbevoie, France. August 25, 2025 – IDEMIA Public Security, the leading provider of secure and trusted biometric-based solutions and Sopra Steria, a leading European-based consulting, digital services, and software development company, have successfully completed the go-live of eu-LISA’s new shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS). This achievement marks an important milestone in the roll-out of the Interoperability Roadmap by the EU Agency responsible for the management of large-scale IT systems within the Schengen area.

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new sBMS system, the EU’s central biometric matching system that stores and compares biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images. The sBMS aims to fight irregular immigration and trans-border crime, enhancing the efficiency and security of Schengen Area border and migration management. For example, when a third-country national comes into Europe for the first time, they will be registered and searched in the sBMS, where authorities will then be able to check whether they are the person they claim to be through biometric verification.

The system was launched with eu-LISA's Visa Information System (VIS), a large-scale IT system that supports the implementation of the EU’s common visa policy and facilitates checks at external borders and will serve the identification needs of other EU information systems in the future, such as the upcoming European Entry/Exit System (EES). The future EES will include biometric verification and identification of travelers based on their facial image and four fingerprints and will serve as one of the largest biometric systems in the world, integrating a database of over 400 million third-country nationals with their fingerprints and facial images.

With IDEMIA Public Security’s best-in-class biometric technology and highly-ranked algorithms across all modalities, combined with Sopra Steria’s competencies as a European leader in digital transformation and Homeland Security, the pair was selected by eu-LISA to build the sBMS for border protection of the Schengen Area in 2020.

As a market leader in the travel and transport industry, focusing on accurate and efficient technology solutions that deliver the highest level of performance and enhance border control operations and identity verification in high-risk environments, IDEMIA was equipped to contribute to one of the largest scale biometric databases, ensuring accuracy and fast response times.

We are excited to partner with eu-LISA and advance our mission of enabling secure, seamless, and personalized digital passenger journeys for travelers across the world. With our work to design and implement the sBMS, Europe will manage one of the largest biometric systems in the world. This is another example of how IDEMIA’s technology can make the world a safer place more than ever before, and we’re proud to play a critical role in this journey. Tim Ferris SVP, Travel & Transport, IDEMIA Public Security.
Sopra Steria is honored to be a longstanding and trusted partner of the EU Agency, contributing to the successful implementation of critical large-scale IT systems. The accomplished go-live of the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS) represents a significant milestone in the realization of the EU’s Interoperability Architecture, reinforcing our joint commitment to enhancing security and operational efficiency across Europe. Michel Lorgéré Deputy CEO, Sopra Steria Benelux.

 

As long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria have supported the European Union for more than 20 years in the management of mission-critical IT systems to enhance security within the Schengen area. IDEMIA Public Security delivers innovative, secure and trustworthy biometric travel solutions that streamline travel and border operations, optimize processes, enhance decision making, and enable seamless, personalized, digital passenger journeys.  Sopra Steria is actively shaping Europe in the domain of Justice and Home Affairs with profound expertise in Central EU systems, national interfaces and national systems. As a true end-to-end player spanning a comprehensive range of services to drive impactful change through innovative solutions Sopra Steria partners with more than 50 government departments and 60 public bodies across Europe.

Tags :
eu-LISA sBMS Launch - IDEMIA Press Release

Related news

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

Aug 25, 2025, 00:00 AM
Title* : IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria launch successful go-live of shared Biometric Matching Service with eu-LISA for border protection in the Schengen Area

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

As market leaders and long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new shared Biometric Matching Service for eu-LISA.

Courbevoie, France. August 25, 2025 – IDEMIA Public Security, the leading provider of secure and trusted biometric-based solutions and Sopra Steria, a leading European-based consulting, digital services, and software development company, have successfully completed the go-live of eu-LISA’s new shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS). This achievement marks an important milestone in the roll-out of the Interoperability Roadmap by the EU Agency responsible for the management of large-scale IT systems within the Schengen area.

IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria led the design and implementation of the new sBMS system, the EU’s central biometric matching system that stores and compares biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images. The sBMS aims to fight irregular immigration and trans-border crime, enhancing the efficiency and security of Schengen Area border and migration management. For example, when a third-country national comes into Europe for the first time, they will be registered and searched in the sBMS, where authorities will then be able to check whether they are the person they claim to be through biometric verification.

The system was launched with eu-LISA's Visa Information System (VIS), a large-scale IT system that supports the implementation of the EU’s common visa policy and facilitates checks at external borders and will serve the identification needs of other EU information systems in the future, such as the upcoming European Entry/Exit System (EES). The future EES will include biometric verification and identification of travelers based on their facial image and four fingerprints and will serve as one of the largest biometric systems in the world, integrating a database of over 400 million third-country nationals with their fingerprints and facial images.

With IDEMIA Public Security’s best-in-class biometric technology and highly-ranked algorithms across all modalities, combined with Sopra Steria’s competencies as a European leader in digital transformation and Homeland Security, the pair was selected by eu-LISA to build the sBMS for border protection of the Schengen Area in 2020.

As a market leader in the travel and transport industry, focusing on accurate and efficient technology solutions that deliver the highest level of performance and enhance border control operations and identity verification in high-risk environments, IDEMIA was equipped to contribute to one of the largest scale biometric databases, ensuring accuracy and fast response times.

We are excited to partner with eu-LISA and advance our mission of enabling secure, seamless, and personalized digital passenger journeys for travelers across the world. With our work to design and implement the sBMS, Europe will manage one of the largest biometric systems in the world. This is another example of how IDEMIA’s technology can make the world a safer place more than ever before, and we’re proud to play a critical role in this journey. Tim Ferris SVP, Travel & Transport, IDEMIA Public Security.
Sopra Steria is honored to be a longstanding and trusted partner of the EU Agency, contributing to the successful implementation of critical large-scale IT systems. The accomplished go-live of the shared Biometric Matching Service (sBMS) represents a significant milestone in the realization of the EU’s Interoperability Architecture, reinforcing our joint commitment to enhancing security and operational efficiency across Europe. Michel Lorgéré Deputy CEO, Sopra Steria Benelux.

 

As long-standing partners of European institutions and governments, IDEMIA Public Security and Sopra Steria have supported the European Union for more than 20 years in the management of mission-critical IT systems to enhance security within the Schengen area. IDEMIA Public Security delivers innovative, secure and trustworthy biometric travel solutions that streamline travel and border operations, optimize processes, enhance decision making, and enable seamless, personalized, digital passenger journeys.  Sopra Steria is actively shaping Europe in the domain of Justice and Home Affairs with profound expertise in Central EU systems, national interfaces and national systems. As a true end-to-end player spanning a comprehensive range of services to drive impactful change through innovative solutions Sopra Steria partners with more than 50 government departments and 60 public bodies across Europe.

Tags :
eu-LISA sBMS Launch - IDEMIA Press Release