Unusual Systems

What Unusual Systems does

Unusual Systems Ltd. is a UK-based custom systems consultancy registered in England and Wales (company number 07618694), headquartered in Leighton Buzzard. The firm specialises in building bespoke software systems for what it describes as "unusual situations" — sparse, unreliable, and cluttered data environments across defence, government, space, and enterprise domains. It operates three integrated service pillars: IT Security (penetration testing, security assessments, Cool Blue Training), Software Engineering (bespoke mission-critical systems, legacy modernisation using Java/Spring Boot, Docker, Kubernetes), and Decision Support (information systems for analysts, knowledge distribution research, and training exercises such as IN.Security and the Arnhem Intelligence Exercise).

The company's technical portfolio includes distributed sensor network integration with federated algorithms for hostile environments, mission-critical satellite control systems, big data DDS-based pipelines processing over 2GBps, Palantir-based data warehouses, and bespoke classification catalogues for government archives. Its team of eight includes security-cleared staff, military intelligence trainers, and academically qualified personnel from institutions including Cranfield, Royal Holloway, and Loughborough.

Unusual Systems generates revenue through bespoke professional services engagements on a quote-based, multi-year contract model. Its go-to-market is direct enterprise and government field sales targeting UK defence agencies (DSTL, Home Office Border Force, HMRC), defence primes (Lockheed Martin, QinetiQ, General Dynamics), and large enterprises (Ocado, Logica, Capgemini). The company has no disclosed funding, no parent organisation, and operates as an independent private limited company, tracing its lineage to Small Business Systems operating since the 1990s before rebranding in 2021.

Name

Unusual Systems

Legal name

Unusual Systems Ltd.

Website

https://unusualsystems.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Unusual Systems Ltd. is a UK boutique consultancy delivering bespoke software, IT security, and decision support systems for UK defence, government, and enterprise clients, specialising in mission-critical systems for unusual data environments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Systems Consulting

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application Security, GRC & Compliance Services (BPAEAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

IT Operations, Event & Incident Management (NOC/SOC-to-ITSM) (BPAEAJAH), Insider Threat Program Design & Risk Assessments (BPAKADAM)

Keywords

• Custom software engineering
• IT security services
• Decision support systems
• Cyber security training
• Defence systems consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Leighton Buzzard

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Software Engineering: Custom software development and engineering services delivered to government agencies, defence contractors, and enterprise clients. Projects range from mission-critical system upgrades to bespoke software solutions.
2. Training and Education Services: Critical thinking training, analyst training, and cyber security training programmes including Cool Blue Training for building information systems protection teams.
3. Security Assessment and Testing: Penetration testing, security assessments, and compliance testing services for networks, web services, and internal systems with documented results.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Unusual Systems is a UK-based custom systems consultancy that designs, builds, and supports bespoke software and decision support systems for unusual circumstances. Its three core service pillars are IT Security (penetration testing, security assessments, and Cool Blue Training), Software Engineering (mission-critical systems, big data pipelines, and legacy modernisation), and Decision Support (analyst training and knowledge distribution systems) for defence, government, and enterprise clients.

Product overview

Unusual Systems is a custom systems consultancy offering three integrated service pillars: IT Security (tailored security assessments, penetration testing, and the Cool Blue Training cyber programme), Software Engineering (delivering bespoke systems from prototypes to mission-critical components), and Decision Support (building information systems and providing analyst training). The company specializes in finding robust answers in sparse, unreliable and cluttered data environments across diverse domains including defence, space, government, and logistics. Their research projects like IN.Security and Arnhem Intelligence Exercise complement their service offerings through training games and exercises.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IN.Security: A tabletop game to engage non-technical people to help them understand and remember cyber security threats.
• Cool Blue Training
• Arnhem Intelligence Exercise

Products and services

• IT Security Tailored security services covering penetration testing, security assessments, controls implementation, and cyber range training, designed to address business-specific security risks for enterprise and government clients.
• Software Engineering Bespoke information systems for unusual circumstances, ranging from prototypes to mission-critical military and space projects, data warehouses, and complex legacy software upgrades for defence and enterprise customers.
• Decision Support Information software systems for enterprise-level decision makers, including knowledge distribution research, analytic techniques, and analyst training materials for intelligence operators.
• Cool Blue Training Cyber security training programme designed to bring computer-literate but non-technical teams to a competent defence level against basic attacks on mixed Linux/Windows networks, with a specialised role matrix covering explore, harden, monitor, and patrol tasks.
• IN.Security A tabletop board game designed to engage non-technical staff in understanding and remembering cyber security threats and defensive behaviours.
• Arnhem Intelligence Exercise Training exercise based on WW2 Operation Market Garden that helps teams develop abilities to collate, assess, discuss, and communicate using actual historical intelligence reports.
• Searching the Body of Knowledge (SBOK) Academic research project developing systematic approaches to knowledge distribution and literature review for finding answers in existing bodies of knowledge.

Quantifiable outcome

• Search times reduced from weeks to seconds for Home Office Border Force analysts
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Knowledge4StrengthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Knowledge4Strength partner organisation for knowledge distribution and training initiatives. Joint projects include Arnhem Intelligence Exercise and IN.Security board game development.
• Lancaster EngineeringminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to evaluate feasibility of launching materials into orbit using gun technology rather than rockets. Joint white papers and research on Lancaster Space Gun project.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Adarga: UK-based AI software company focused on defence and national security decision support. Closely comparable niche — turning unstructured intelligence data into analyst-ready insight — with more productised AI tooling than Unusual Systems' bespoke engineering model.
• Anduril Industries: US-based defence-technology company building autonomous systems and sensor-fusion software. Comparable at the technology-layer (sensor-mesh fusion, mission-critical software) though focused on hardware-software products rather than bespoke services.

Broad incumbents

• Palantir Technologies: Decision-support and data-fusion platform vendor whose technology Unusual Systems has integrated (Home Office Border Force data warehouse on Palantir's distributed database). Overlaps in defence and government decision-support deployments.
• Leidos: US-headquartered defence, intelligence, and civil IT services firm. Comparable in bespoke defence and government systems integration and decision-support tooling, especially for intelligence-community customers.
• Thales UK: UK defence and security division of Thales, covering secure systems, mission-critical software, and cyber. Comparable end-customer overlap (UK MoD, Home Office) though operating as a global prime.
• Booz Allen Hamilton: Major US management and technology consultancy focused on defence, intelligence, and civil government. Closely comparable in the bespoke decision-support, security assessment, and cyber training service mix Unusual Systems offers to UK counterparts.
• CGI Federal / CGI UK: Large IT and business consulting services firm with deep UK government and defence presence. Overlaps with Unusual Systems in HMRC data-pipeline integration and broader public-sector systems integration.
• Leonardo UK: UK arm of Leonardo, providing defence electronics, sensors, and systems. Comparable in mission-critical sensor-fusion and defence-systems delivery, but as a tier-1 prime rather than a boutique engineering supplier.
• BAE Systems Digital Intelligence: Defence and national-security software division of BAE Systems. Operates in the same bespoke-systems-for-government-and-defence space as Unusual Systems, but as part of a much larger portfolio across cyber, intelligence, and systems integration.

Direct peers

• QinetiQ: UK-listed defence technology and security company; Unusual Systems has been a delivery partner on QinetiQ's big-data DDS pipelines. Closely comparable in mission-critical software-for-defence positioning, though at vastly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnusualSystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unusual-systems-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Unusual Systems