Skip to content
Nextria CastleGuard

On-Premise Generative AI

Secure document questions and answers through Nextria's local generative AI platform in collaboration with Dell PowerEdge servers.

Customer Profile

The Department of National Defence (DND) is the federal department responsible for safeguarding Canada and its citizens through the protection of Canadian interests at home and abroad. DND works in close collaboration with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to develop and implement defense policies, strategies, and operations

national defence
dell_logo

The Challenge

Deployed units and task forces regularly handles a vast array of sensitive documents, including operational reports, intelligence briefings, and policy papers. These documents often require translation and analysis to support decision-making processes. However, relying on manual translation and analysis methods was time-consuming, resource-intensive, and posed potential security risks due to the sensitive nature of the information.

The Solution: Nextria's Sentinel Server

To tackle these challenges, DND implemented the Sentinel Server, an on-premise document analysis and translation server powered by CastleGuard AI, seamlessly integrated with a Dell PowerEdge server specifically configured for offline machine learning tasks. This collaboration with Dell ensures robust performance and reliability, enhancing the overall capabilities of the Sentinel Server.

Sentinel harnesses cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP) and machine translation technologies to automate document processing, facilitating efficient analysis, translation, and information extraction. By operating within an air-gapped environment and employing secure data transfer protocols, Sentinel Server guarantees the highest level of confidentiality and integrity for sensitive DND information.

The deployment of Sentinel Server not only optimized document processing workflows but also significantly improved the DND's capacity to extract actionable insights from their remote and isolated document repositories. The secure and efficient design of Sentinel Server, bolstered by Dell's technology, has empowered DND personnel to make well-informed decisions with increased confidence, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of their operations.

Workflow:
  1. Document Upload: Users securely upload documents via a USB key to the Sentinel Server.

  2. Document Analysis & Translation: Users utilize CastleGuard AI's capabilities to analyze and translate documents, employing its chat-like interface for efficient question answering and information extraction.

  3. Output Extraction: Users securely extract the processed and translated output via a USB key.

dell_cost
dell_costs2

Machine Learning on Premise advantages vs cloud

Besides handling sensitive document tasks, on-premise deployments offer numerous other benefits.
  • Diverse Use Cases:  Training models is resource-heavy but infrequent, while inferencing requires fast and frequent calls. 
  • Cost Efficiency: Dell APEX with PowerEdge XE9680 servers can be up to 47% cheaper than AWS EC2 P5.48xlarge instances. [reference]
  • GPU Availability Challenges: Access to powerful GPUs is limited, with AWS instances restricted to certain regions and often having long wait times.
  • Considerations for Deployment: Data sovereignty, security, and lower data transfer costs.

Benefits Realized

Nextria_time_savings

Time Efficiency

Saved thousands of person-hours by providing chat-like support for document question answering, accelerating research and analysis processes.
Nextria_security_icon_purple

Security

On-premise operation ensured sensitive data remained secure within a controlled environment, mitigating the risks associated with external document processing services.
Nextria_No_Expertise_icon_purple

Accessibility

Quickly query and summarize vast knowledge repositories for better-informed decisions and comprehensive analysis.
1489436633-dollarcurrency-moneyrecycle_81869

Cost

The analysis of the total cost of ownership over 5 years for on-premises machine learning workloads shows that the on-premises option is more cost-effective.

Conclusion

The deployment of AI tools highlights the power of technology in achieving key objectives. By collaborating with Dell, the DND effectively uses solutions like CastleGuard to stay ahead in defense and security.

Contact Nextria to see how CastleGuard AI, in partnership with Dell, can transform your document management with secure and efficient solutions.