Government Technology Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk | VOLUME 10.2

DIGITAL CONTINUITY

CONTACT CENTRES OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

SECURITY Secure your digital future

CLOUD COMPUTING – The business case for cloud in the public sector

supporting your ITSM journey Value

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www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Dear Reader, 10.2 ogy.co.uk | VOLUMe

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The government has released figures that suggest cyber crime is costing the UK economy £27bn, with the government’s share totalling £2.2bn. Despite this, an alarming 60 per cent of the UK’s public and private sector is not prepared to deal with the increasing threat from cyber criminals. If you need advice on this, please turn to page 17 where the Cybercrime Security Forum offers guidance on how local and central government can protect themselves.

Also in this issue, the Cloud Security Alliance looks at cloud computing and security, and what government departments and agencies should look out for (page 27), and the Professional Planning Forum reveals examples of recent customer contact success in the public sector and investigates what role technology played (page 55).

RCe CeNTReS OPeN SOU DIGITAL CONTACT SOFTWARe CONTINUITY

SeCURITY e Secure your digital futur

cloud – The business case for CLOUD COMPUTING

in the public sector

Enjoy the issue.

editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk

Government Technology Online If you would like to subscribe to Government Technology magazine please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 0208 532 0055, Fax: 0208 532 0066, or visit the Government Technology website at: P NEWS P FEATURES P PROFILES P CASE STUDIES P EVENTS P AND MORE

8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED 226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 EDITOR Sofie Lidefjard ASSISTANT EDITOR Angela Pisanu PRODUCTION EDITOR Karl O’Sullivan PRODUCTION DESIGN Jacqueline Grist PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Reiss Malone

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© 2011 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1362 - 2541 MEMBER OF THE PERIODICAL PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

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CONTENTS GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY 10.2

07 NEWS 11 ACCESSIBILITY Are the needs of the end-user taken into consideration when purchasing IT hardware? Charity AbilityNet investigates

17 SECURITY Daniel Mitchell from the Cybercrime Security Forum offers practical and realistic guidance on how local and central government can be prepared and protected against cyber crime Join over 12,500 information security professionals at Infosecurity Europe

27 CLOUD COMPUTING The Cloud Security Alliance looks at cloud and security, and what local and central government should look out for When will cloud computing become a system for adoption in the public sector?

35 DIGITAL CONTINUITY The National Archives looks at the future of government digital records

41 INFORMATION MANAGEMENT At the AIIM Roadshow 2011 you can learn about the latest innovations and best practice in Enterprise Content Management

44 OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE Stuart Mackintosh, member of the Open Source Consortium (OSC), answers key questions about the benefits and applications of open source software

47 IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

55 CONTACT CENTRES The Professional Planning Forum’s Paul Smedley uncovers examples of recent customer contact success in the public sector and investigates what role technology played

57 UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS We preview Unified Communications Expo, the UK’s leading business communications event

59 IT STRATEGY IT Decisions 2011 is the only event to present an integrated view of all the most important IT trends and new technology innovations

A day at the Service Desk & IT Support Show will be one of the most productive of the year as you get to grips with the issues that really matter

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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Efficiency. Visibility. Control.

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

Cyber crime costs UK £27 billion annually he annual cost of cyber crime to the British economy currently stands at £27 billion, according to a new report.

The study by the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance, and information intelligence company, Detica, focused on a number of lessunderstood cyber crimes, including fiscal fraud against government ICT systems, identity theft, and industrial espionage.

Of the £27 billion figure announced in the report, cyber crime costs the government £2.2 billion, with private sector businesses taking the brunt with costs of around £21 billion.

“There are significant knock-on effects for the government,” the report stated. “Particularly because increasing levels of fiscal fraud committed by cyber criminals could limit the scale of efficiency savings made by moving more government services online. Furthermore,

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with cyber crime affecting tax revenues and diminishing the confidence of overseas investors, the UK’s continued economic growth may suffer.”

The two organisations admitted the full impact of cyber crime goes beyond the direct costs estimated in the study because of the lack of available data and significant underreporting of cyber crime. The report should therefore act as “a credible, illustrative guide to the nature of the impacts of cyber crime rather than as accurate and robust estimates of the impacts of cyber crime”.

Appeal to donate unwanted monitors omputer Aid International has launched a UK-wide appeal for unwanted monitors to be donated to schools and hospitals in developing countries.

The charity requires donations of over 2,500 monitors per month, however it is currently only receiving 30 per cent of this number.

David Barker, CEO of Computer Aid, said: “Hundreds of schools in Chile are waiting to receive computers and, while we currently have over 4,000 refurbished base units ready and waiting to go, we don’t have the monitors to match them with.”

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Results from a recent donor survey show that most people do not upgrade their monitors at the same rate as they refresh their base units, and longer lasting TFT and LED monitors means that screens might only be refreshed every six years.

“While this is definitely a good thing, as it means that companies are extending the life of their IT equipment, it has resulted in a critical shortage in donated screens to Computer Aid,” Barker explained.

To find out more about donating equipment e-mail enquiries@computeraid.org or visit www.computeraid.org

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

NEWSINBRIEF £10m for superfast broadband in North Wales Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed £10 million to fund the early phases of superfast broadband in North Wales.

The funding will help to deliver the roll out to rural areas such as Pwllheli and surrounding areas of North Wales as part of the Welsh Assembly Government’s national delivery plan.

The money is part of the £530 million the government committed to in October 2010’s spending review to help support superfast broadband deployment across the UK. “This funding will support the Welsh economy and help drive the private sector-led recovery by driving innovation and commercial opportunities in communities across Wales,” said Osborne.

London Underground offered free mobile network Chinese telecoms provider Huawei has offered to provide London’s underground system with a mobile network free of charge in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Huawei has confirmed in a statement that the project is a means of expanding its presence in the UK market, and has pitched the bid as a gift from one host nation to another.

The company has guaranteed the work will be completed by next summer if the proposal is successful.

While equipment for the mobile network would be provided free of charge, tube operator Transport for London stressed that such a network would still have to be funded by the mobile network companies, due to its own financial constraints.

Software developers in demand Software developers are still the most soughtafter workers in the UK’s IT sector, according to the latest report by CWJobs.co.uk.

The study revealed that 38 per cent of all advertised roles in the final quarter of 2010 were for software development projects. This figure represents a 4.5 per cent increase – the largest growth seen throughout all roles in the IT sector.

However, the marginal increase in the use of IT contractors is a sign that the jobs market may have a challenging time ahead, the report says.

Figures from the report showed that in the final three months of 2010, the number of advertised freelance jobs increased by just 0.9 per cent.

“Traditionally contractors are the first to be discarded and the first to be employed which makes this a strong indicator on the state of IT recruitment,” the report explained.

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

Four councils to save £3.4m through shared services our councils in the west country have set up a shared services programme to improve operational efficiency.

Dubbed ‘GO’, the programme was instigated to align the councils with initiatives such as the Total Place agenda, which calls for increased partnership working between councils and for significant new freedoms from central control.

The councils involved are Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, and Cheltenham Borough Council, as well as Cheltenham Borough

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Homes. It is hoped the programme will also achieve cost reduction and boost efficiency in the face of tighter budgets.

Access to up-to-date accurate data online will allow councillors and officers to make faster and better informed decisions, as well as lead to lower administration costs by offering self-service functions for day-today tasks such as ordering goods, expenses processing and annual leave requests.

“We expect to benefit from the economies of scale one council could not achieve alone and in doing so provide better value for money to our taxpayers,” said Pat Pratley, senior responsible owner for the GO Programme.

Surrey Police pilots new mobile phone application urrey Police is the first force in the UK to pilot a mobile phone application that will enable users to engage with their local neighbourhood teams. The interactive app will allow people to see what action their local officers are carrying out and what crime is happening in their area.

The application is currently in development and is due to be piloted in the Runnymede area in March with a view to being rolled out across the county in the long term if it is successful.

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Police staff and officers in Runnymede will take part in the pilot using phones and software provided by Multizone. The intention is to make it available for free public download from the Google Android market and the Apple iPhone App Store.

Plans for the application include the ability for members of the public to view details on who their local officers are and how to contact them, where the nearest police station is and when their next Neighbourhood Panel meeting is taking place.

Better contact management can help councils save, report reveals ocitm, the professional association for public sector ICT management, has identified ways for local councils to make major savings through improving contact management.

By fully centralising customer service activity and appointing dedicated managers who are responsible for such interactions across the organisation, local councils could make major savings, a report by the association has revealed.

The study also suggested that too many customer service departments only cover a limited amount of council’s interaction with the public and often do not include all channels. Moreover, too few have

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dedicated corporate executives in place in order to take responsibility for customer contact issues.

The report entitled ‘Better served: customer access, efficiency and channel shift’ indicated three key areas to improve customer contact. These include introducing common standards, reducing avoidable contact, and moving enquiries from relatively high cost channels such as faceto-face, mail and phone to lower cost ones such as the web.

The study argues that all three measures taken together could reduce the volume of customer interaction across all channels which, in turn, would lead to headcount reductions and cost savings.

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

NEWSINBRIEF US government publishes cloud computing policy

The US federal government has published a report on how government agencies should adopt a cloud-first policy.

The Federal Cloud Computing Strategy outlines how government agencies should evaluate which parts of their work could be supported by cloud computing.

Federal chief information officer Vivek Kundra said: “The adoption of cloud computing will play a pivotal role in helping the government close the productivity gap between the public and private sectors.”

The strategy covers how the federal government can accelerate the safe, secure adoption of cloud computing, and provide agencies with a framework for migrating to the cloud. As part of the policy, each federal agency will move three services to the cloud over the next 18 months.

Making online transactions more secure The European Commission (EC) has launched a public consultation into e-Signatures and e-Identification in order to tackle low levels of consumer and business confidence in online transactions and to help develop a European Digital Single Market.

According to the EC, difficulties in verifying people’s identities is a significant factor in holding back the EU’s online economy.

“Electronic signatures and electronic identification (eID) and authentication can be an important tool to enable both users and providers to rely on secure, trustworthy and easy-to-use online services but must work in all Member States to be effective,” the EC said.

The consultation is looking for feedback on a number of measures, including the common set of principles to guide pan-European eAuthenticaton recognition, and cross-sector uses in both the public and private sectors.

The results of this consultation will feed into the Commission’s review of the existing eSignature Directive.

Celebrating good communications in the public sector Entry to the Good Communication Awards, recognising effective communication between the public sector and its citizens, is now open. If you have been part of a project aiming to achieve this, we want to hear about it. Complete the online form, providing information about your organisation, the aims, objectives and execution of the project, and its results. Entry closes 3 June.

Shortlisted entries are invited to a Gala Dinner held 14 July at Arsenal Emirates Stadium.

Following a champagne reception and three course dinner, the Awards will be presented by ‘First Lady of Fleet Street’ Eve Pollard.

For more information please see www.gcawards.co.uk

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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Contact Associates Ltd are a young, ambitious company with an excellent operational record and an enviable database of skilled professional staff across England.

The company is co-owned by Emma Shelton, MA (Educational Psychology) and Una Lynch RSA Dip SpLD.

Contact Associates Ltd offers Needs Assessments, Individual Dyslexic Support and Disability Awareness Training to both the educational and employment sectors.

We match highly-trained Workplace Mentors and Study Skills Tutors with each individual referral.

Using tried and tested techniques as well as the latest assistive technology, we work with each individual to design strategies which overcome barriers they experience in the workplace or educational institution.

Our Tutors and Mentors work with an individual’s strengths to incorporate these effective strategies into their normal work processes.

Improved time management and organisation ensures that work deadlines are met and individuals operate as effectively as possible.

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Our targeted support helps individuals to stay focussed, plan their time effectively and reduce anxiety.

Individualised strategies and tips will enable employees and students to achieve their potential.

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

ACCESSIBILITY

MEETING NON-STANDARD NEEDS A standard PC, screen and mouse set-up is often the norm in the workplace. But are the needs of the end-user taken into consideration? IT Accessibility charity AbilityNet investigates WHETHER YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE or a visitor to a library offering computer access, a standard PC, screen and mouse set-up seems to be de rigueur. This formulaic approach to equipment assumes that each individual interacts with the same set-up in the same way resulting in the same levels of comfort and efficiency. In the sophisticated world of IT, this attitude seems rather anachronistic.

Whilst we may apply great personal choice and discretion to other essential business items (pens, cars and even chairs), our basic tool – the PC – is selected, in the majority of cases, with absolutely no regard to the user whatsoever.

Despite the legal, moral and commercial arguments for doing so, many workplace professionals are unaware of the simple and inexpensive adjustments available to get round mouse and keyboard difficulties, as well as vision problems and other conditions such as dyslexia and RSI. DDA legislation has been in place for over a decade now and whilst we are well aware of its requirements as far as physical access to buildings is concerned, we may be less alert to its applications in other areas of the workplace.

DISABILITY EQUALITY DUTY More recently, since 2006, the Disability Equality Duty (DED) has been framed specifically to cover public sector organisations including hospitals, local and central government, schools and colleges. This amplifies the original wording of the Act to actively promote disability equality as employers as well as service providers.

The architects of the DED hoped that it would bring about a shift from a legal framework in which change relies on individual disabled people (whether customers or employees) complaining about discrimination, to one in which the public sector itself becomes an agent of change.

There are over 9.8 million disabled people in the UK and a growing representation of older employees in the workforce, for whom associated conditions such as failing eyesight and dexterity problems like arthritis may occur. 40 per cent of the English population is now over 45 – the age at which the incidence of disability begins to increase.

A Health and Safety Executive report suggests that upper limb disorder or rsi is the most common cause of workplace health problems, totalling in excess of 4.2 million working days lost a year and affecting over half a million employees. A further survey reveals that one in five PC users report some degree of pain or discomfort related to an input device – i.e. a mouse. And this figure rises steeply depending on the level and intensity of PC-based work in

Despite the legal, moral and commercial arguments for doing so, many workplace professionals are unaware of the simple and inexpensive adjustments available to get round mouse and keyboard difficulties, as well as vision problems and other conditions such as dyslexia and RSI THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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Are you struggling to meet your accessibility targets?

Making written information accessible to all can be a huge challenge.

By adding visual support, written information can be easily understood by those who may struggle to read, such as: • people with a reading impairment or communication difficulty •

people with English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Widgit Symbols are used to support information in a wide range of areas and environments, such as: • schools • libraries and museums • hospitals • websites

Whether a school with diverse languages or a local government website whose visitors have a wide range of literacy levels, Widgit Symbol support will help make text accessible to all.

16% or 5.2 million adults in England have literacy levels below those expected of an 11year old* Over 200 languages are spoken in UK homes** * Source: www.literacytrust. org.uk/about/faqs/filter/ about%20literacy%20 in%20the%20uk#q284 ** Source: www. teachernet.gov.uk/ teachingandlearning/ library/EALteaching/

Widgit’s online symbol support tool ‘Point’ is used on the Granta Housing Society website to increase access to information: www.grantahousing.org.uk We’ve already worked with several local authorities including:

“Widgit Symbols have enhanced the website and given wider access to information and services.”

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

ACCESSIBILITY

which the individual engages. In fact, a recent study estimates that over half of us could benefit from adjusting our computer in some way to improve our comfort and/or efficiency.

NON-STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Seemingly ‘invisible’ issues such as dyslexia, eye strain, backache, headaches or hand/arm discomfort are very common. If left unresolved, these can have a huge impact on morale and performance and lead to absence from work.

In many cases they can escalate and result in prolonged sick leave and early retirement.

For employers, identifying the right solutions for staff with non-standard requirements and providing them with the training they require to operate their new equipment often requires outsourced expertise.

Specialists like AbilityNet deliver hundreds of face-to-face, in-depth, workplace-based assessments a year enabling staff to increase productivity and comfort, stay in work, return to work or even to get a job for the first time.

As a result, employers have been able to fully comply with their legislative obligations.

The very nature of this service means that it can be a lengthy, expensive and tiring process for the individual concerned. The relevant member of staff will be unavailable for several hours during which the assessor

Seemingly ‘invisible’ issues such as dyslexia, eye strain, backache, headaches or hand/arm discomfort are very common. If left unresolved, these can have a huge impact on morale and performance and lead to absence from work will try out various combinations of hardware and software with the employee to find the optimum solution. If the staff member in question has a problem which is exacerbated by tiredness such as RSI, a vision impairment or a degenerative disease like MS, such a protracted period of concentration is also likely to be extremely arduous.

REMOTE CONSULTANCY Bearing these issues in mind in tandem with decreasing budgets especially in a recessionary climate, AbilityNet has developed a range of innovative approaches to providing the same levels of expert consultancy at a fraction of the cost.

The remote model depends on a combination of: • Telephone or Voice Over

Internet Protocol (VoIP) • Online Remote Assistance (where the consultant accesses the end user’s computer remotely through a broadband internet connection, to make adjustments to settings as required) • Use of a webcam to see the workstation and observe any mouse or keyboard difficulties • Loan equipment – so the end-user can experiment with a variety of adaptations to check suitability before purchasing • Training using the above technologies This technology enables a barrier free approach where neither the location of the assessor nor the client is significant. Avoiding travel reduces environmental impacts as well as saving money and time, whilst the process itself can take place at the pace most appropriate to the individual concerned, taking into account both their

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www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Showcasing innovations Driving IT efficiency in mobile technology in the public sector N INCREASE in the use of tablets and smartphones is revolutionising the way we connect and communicate across the eye health and sight loss sector.

As an embedded strand of the Vision UK 2011 conference, Techshare will showcase innovations in mobile technology, exploring their potential from the perspectives of accessibility, sustainability, service development and more.

Techshare features high profile speakers from Nokia, Apple US and Research In Motion (RIM). Please join us in London on 16 June to learn how you can use current mobile technology offerings to streamline your services and what’s planned for the future.

Speakers include: Esa Eerola, senior accessibility engineer, Nokia; Sarah Herrlinger, director of Special Markets, Apple US; Greg Fields, Research In Motion (RIM); Sir Andrew Lansley, Secretary of State for Health; David Behan, director general

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Vision UK 2011 conference featuring Techshare 16 June 2011, 9.30am – 4.30pm Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster “Techshare is a premier event for finding out about innovations in the accessibility of mobile technologies” Esa Eerola, Senior Accessibility Engineer, Nokia.

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For further information please call us on: 01223 420101 or email: info@iansyst.co.uk

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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ACCESSIBILITY

condition and their other work commitments.

The whole exercise can be broken down into shorter sessions or halted whilst a certain device is tested and assessed for suitability.

According to AbilityNet’s own figures, over 90 per cent of assessments are suitable for the remote assessment model.

With a loan bank of over 1,000 items AbilityNet’s remote assessment team can even lend clients a laptop if they need to try out a solution which involves pre-loaded software – speech recognition technology for example.

Explains Karen Maxwell, AbilityNet’s senior assessor: “The flexibility of our infrastructure and the technology involved is such that we can turn around a remote assessment within a week of a referral being made.

“The remote nature of the encounter means that both parties can concentrate on what is important and stick to the agenda. Client feedback shows that people find the service convenient, focused and, more importantly, extremely successful.”

Remote need not mean cold or distant, the quality of user interaction has led to a 94 per cent+ satisfaction rating amongst users year on year.

USER REQUIREMENTS When the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) began a major desktop refresh programme, employees’ specific requirements were high on the agenda.

During the rollout of Microsoft’s Vista operating system while simultaneously introducing new laptops to the majority of employees, the impact on disabled staff was considered at the outset.

Peter Barber, stakeholder partnership manager at Defra, says that bringing in external expertise was crucial in ensuring the programme progressed smoothly: “The key was to ensure

that neither access, productivity nor comfort were compromised during the process.”

Adoption of a new system can be stressful for those using non-standard equipment. System and application upgrades can be especially problematic for those using adaptations, as glitches may leave them unable to work at all.

AbilityNet worked alongside Defra and its technology partners Microsoft and IBM to ensure that staff with special needs were supported through the transition, identifying the correct adjustments that were needed and providing support for deployment and training.

AbilityNet’s Henry Allcock carried out much of the initial telephone screening of nearly 140 Defra employees who had special computing needs. Defra’s project management was delighted to find that around half of these clients’ problems were resolved during the screening process itself saving a lot of time, effort and expense down the line.

“Typical scenarios involved cases of vision impairment requiring a simple means to enlarge the contents of the screen, a case of screen glare needing some minor adjustments to screen brightness and positioning, and a user who just needed instructions on how to make changes to accessibility settings in the operating system,” he reports.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING Training is vital in the context of adaptive technology and organisations have to meet the diverse training needs of staff who are both supporting and using new equipment.

Customer-facing, staff servicing the needs of end-users in public facilities like libraries, UK Online and Learn Direct centres, are also tasked with bridging the digital divide.

Providers of goods and services to the public are obliged under the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act to make

the “reasonable adjustments” necessary to ensure that their equipment is accessible.

Realising the drain on financial resources that training can represent, AbilityNet has developed a low-cost learning platform www.abilitynettraining.org as a portal to over 50 courses which range in content from software specific tutorials for those using particular packages such as screen reading solutions, to generic disability-based guidance for those with dyslexia, physical problems or vision impairment making use of the standard keyboard, screen and mouse difficult. The materials are provided with the support of manufacturers and accessibility specialists from across the UK and internationally.

Many useful introductory courses are free, such as those dealing with some of the Accessibility Options within Windows for example, or basic guidance on healthy computing. Learners can work independently in their own time and with the addition of personal support from an AbilityNet tutor if they require it through voice, text or video in real time.

E-learning can be augmented through complementary activities including online discussions, forums and webinars.

Here the trainer can reach and interact with widely dispersed groups, even at short notice, broadcasting material via video or desk top and communicating through text, speech or whiteboard.

Designed to facilitate independent learning, the courses can be accessed on-demand and are modular in composition, enabling students to build upon prior training and set their own pace.

Says AbilityNet development director, David Banes: “The cost of training is a major barrier to full compliance with the DDA and the creation of a truly accessible and inclusive workplace.

“Sometimes the expense of teaching an individual to use an adapted computer system may even exceed the investment made in the technology itself; whilst waiting for the required training to take place can be a dispiriting experience when the individual is prevented from doing their job properly in the interim.

“This one-stop training solution will provide high quality courses on-demand, help rates of staff retention and hardly dent your training budget.”

Looking ahead, Banes believes that innovative approaches towards accessibility developed by specialists such as AbilityNet, combined with ever more sophisticated and user-friendly solutions delivered over the internet, will result in truly inclusive technology in the workplace and beyond.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 269545 Web: www.abilitynet.org.uk

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SECURITY

IGNORANCE ISN’T BLISS – SECURE YOUR DIGITAL FUTURE Daniel Mitchell from the CyberCrime Security Forum gives insight into how the cyber underworld operates, and offers practical and realistic guidance on how you can be prepared and protected WHILST THE ISSUE OF CYBER CRIME may be high up government, industry and the media’s agenda, research has revealed that an alarming 60 per cent of the UK’s public and private sector is not prepared to deal with this increasing threat.

Cyber crime is a major danger to national and international security (the government has ranked it one of the four top risks to national security), yet there is growing confusion and lack of understanding about how industry can protect

themselves, their business and their employees in this highly dangerous and invisible warfare.

INCREASING PROBLEM A third of the world’s population now uses the internet and it is key to global commerce, communications and entertainment. But as the world’s dependence on cyber space increases, so have the opportunities for criminals to take advantage of lapses in cyber security.

Although the exact financial cost of cyber

Cyber crime is a major danger to national and international security, yet there is growing confusion and lack of understanding about how industry can protect themselves, their business and their employees in this highly dangerous and invisible warfare

crime is difficult to estimate, what is known is that the problem is getting progressively worse: • Criminal groups have already registered over 9,500 Olympic Games-related web addresses • There was a 14 per cent increase in online banking losses between 2008 and 2009 • 51 per cent of malicious software threats that have ever been identified were so in 2009 • Evidence suggests that hundreds of malicious e-mails are being aimed at government computer networks each month and there are concerns that terrorist groups can now hack into critical infrastructure such as air traffic control networks.

NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAMME Attacks on computer networks are among the biggest emerging threats to UK safety and economic prosperity, causing the government to invest an extra £500m to bolster cyber security through its National Cyber Security programme.

The aim of the four-year programme is

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to close the gap between the needs of a modern digital age and the rapidly growing risks associated with cyber space, including the internet, wider telecommunications networks and computer systems.

The National Cyber Security Programme will work to one national programme of activity, with supporting strategies in other government departments. Through the programme, the government plans to: • Overhaul the UK’s approach to tackling cyber crime. This will include the creation of a single point of contact that will enable the public and businesses to report cyber crime, as well as a new programme of skill development to increase knowledge and understanding.

• Address deficiencies in the UK’s ability to detect and defend itself against cyber attacks – whether from terrorists, states or other hostile individuals. This will include improving the nation’s ability to deliver cyber products and services and enhancing investment on national intelligence capabilities.

• Create a new organisation – the UK Defence Cyber Operations Group – to mainstream cyber security throughout the Ministry of Defence and ensure coherent integration of cyber activities across defence operations.

• Tackle shortcomings in the critical cyber infrastructure, upon which the UK depends. This will focus on ensuring online public services are secure and that extra support is given to UK industries and those critical networks operated by private companies (such as the energy sector).

• Sponsor long-term cyber security research, working closely with research councils, the private sector and other organisations.

• Introduce a new programme of cyber security education and skills to encourage a more preventative approach to cyber security. One of the main focuses of this will be awareness raising amongst the public, to encourage safe and secure online behaviour.

• Continue to build cyber security alliances on a global level, including strong relationships with the US and other like-minded nations.

But with planned government spending cuts set to hit both the public and private sector, will this commitment to cyber security still stand?

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is resolute in confirming the government’s on-going financial support in the battle against cyber warfare. Responding recently to a question on cyber security investment, the deputy PM said: “We’re taking this very seriously indeed. It’s something we, as a government, have identified very early on and we will take extra action and put in new resources. It’s the new frontier in terms of safeguarding the commercial safety and security of this country.”

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS Although the government is fully committed to tackling cyber crime and has allocated substantial resources to this problem, within

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both the public and private sector there is a lack of credible advice on how to safeguard against identity theft, hacking and cyber warfare.

The government itself has said that a crucial element of its National Cyber Security programme will be the role of the private sector working in partnership with government to deliver an effective and economically viable response to cyber crime.

But what exactly is being done to help business and commerce protect themselves against the threat of a cyber attack?

One initiative helping to address this is the CyberCrime Security Forum 2011, which will offer practical advice from the world’s leading digital security experts on how businesses can protect themselves from cyber attacks.

The international CyberCrime Security Forum 2011 is a two-day London event that will offer practical advice for government, civil service and private industry, covering issues ranging from forensics, social networking security (SNS), password protection and infrastructure security.

Originally launched in the US, the CyberCrime Security Forum has already helped safeguard governments and international companies, including Microsoft and the US military, safeguard against the threat of cyber hackers.

Said Cybercrime founder and leading IT security expert Andy Malone: “Cyber crime is a very real and frightening threat – it affects everyone from high-level government right through to individuals. The fact that you can’t see cyber criminals, coupled with the rapid pace of technology makes it even harder for companies to keep ahead.

“The London forum will enable British organisations to have access to world experts, who will give in-depth insight into how the cyber underworld operates. It will offer practical and realistic guidance on how to be prepared and protected.”

BUSINESS STRATEGY Tackling cyber crime should be part of every organisation’s business strategy. Investing in the right expertise and implementing robust IT security procedures will not only secure your business, but enable you to operate efficiently.

Whilst it is always recommended to seek the right external IT support, there are many simple steps that can be taken by employers and their employees.

Being prepared and aware is key to reducing the risk of cyber crime. Make sure you always keep your infrastructure defence systems, such as firewalls, up to date – it’s easy to overlook these things but neglecting IT security could be a costly mistake in the long-term.

Whilst changes in working practices, including the growth of home and remote working, and the reliance of global trading on technology have created opportunities, they have also increased threats.

Keep up to speed on what’s happening in the IT world and know what’s going on in

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Daniel Mitchell is a founder and director of Lifeline IT, a network support company which is presenting this year’s CyberCrime Security Forum 2011 – the first of its kind in the UK. Daniel has specialist interest in advising public and private sector clients on global cyber security issues, IT and data security and management of corporate networks. He is an advisor to the London Metropolitan University, where he is working in partnership with the organisation on a new security defence product.

Daniel also specialises in advising small businesses and he has been a guest speaker on cyber security and data protection at global finance conferences.

He is a media commentator on issues ranging from IT security and business development, through to technology in education and financial outsourcing.

Lifeline IT develops and manages IT infrastructure for companies across sectors including retail, finance and property. your organisation and with your employees.

Regularly brief staff on the importance of steps for protecting PCs, and identify key systems as part of a strategy of awareness.

Whilst your staff are your best asset, they can also unintentionally create risks. The growth of mobile communications means your employees could be carrying confidential company data (such as e-mails, contact details) in their pocket with a BlackBerry or other similar device. If one of these gets into the wrong hands, it could be hugely detrimental to your business.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information about the CyberCrime Security Forum 2011 and to book tickets, go to www.cybercrimeuk.com

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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SECURITY

CYBER SECURITY – AN EVEN BIGGER PRIORITY IN THIS AGE OF AUSTERITY In this article Dennis Wilkins, director Northern Europe, for cyber security leader Sourcefire, talks about why cyber security is high on the government agenda and what public sector bodies need to think about in order to make sure they have the right protection in place WHILE THE OUTLOOK for the public sector is tough, cyber security remains a top priority.

In October 2010 Prime Minister David Cameron pledged: “Over the next four years, we will invest over £650m of new money in a national cyber security programme.” This statement was recently reinforced with the announcement in February 2011 from Theresa May, Home Secretary, who stated that there would be a £63m increase in police budgets to specifically help target cyber crime. This funding will be spread over four years and forms part of the £650m David Cameron has earmarked for security.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks has been emptying the diplomatic bag on a regular basis making it easy to see the results of data leakage. The whistle blowing website dominated news in 2010 because of its steady drip feed of secret

According to the National Security Council, Tier One Risks to the nation’s security over the next five years include Cyber Attack, with International Terrorism with Organised Crime being identified as a Tier Two Risk.

The government’s Cyber Security document states “each public sector organisation is responsible for managing its own information risks”. This was backed up with new legislation introduced in 2010 enabling the Information Commissioner’s Office to issue record fines to public sector bodies for serious data security breaches.

Government departments should be aware that guidance is available in the Cyber Security Strategy published by the Cabinet Office.

Protecting data and company confidential information should therefore be a matter of

The threat of a cyber attack on vast amounts of confidential information held by UK public sector bodies and central government has never been greater and investment to protect against these threats must be prioritised government documents. Prevention against such leaks must remain top of the agenda for senior management in the public sector. Organisations need to be viewed as making the right decisions and this is especially true for highly visible public sector bodies that must be concerned not only with reining in costs, but also with not leaving themselves exposed to a high profile data breach or the very real threat of a cyber attack.

CHANGING THREAT LANDSCAPE According to Gartner Research1, context-aware and adaptive security solutions are the only way to improve security decisions and support more dynamic business and IT environments. These measures, however, can only be executed with the right amount of financial and senior level support. The question is will the government’s planned injection of funds help to secure this and ensure that cyber criminals are thwarted?

Clearly information that is confidential to citizens, businesses or critical to national infrastructure must be protected. In 2010, the coalition government published its National Security Strategy – Security for the Next Generation – in which it has given national security the highest priority.

course for any organisation and those in any doubt should consult the guidance provided.

However, the reality is that this is easier said that done. The threat landscape is changing and becoming more complex and there is a risk that some public sector bodies will either ignore or make inadequate investment in response to the growing threat landscape. To reduce the risk of data loss or costly service disruption, public sector IT departments and their managed service providers need to make sure that they have the best protection available in place.

PROTECTING THE NETWORK The network is the delivery system of an organisation’s IT infrastructure. It’s also the delivery system for cyber attacks against the business so it’s top priority is to implement effective protection. Awareness of threats is everything; not only is it vital to monitor and protect against intrusions, but also for data leaks, anomalies in network configuration and anomalies in network operation. However, awareness technologies such as Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) can be costly to manage, difficult to interpret and labour intensive. The principal reason for this is a lack of context,

i.e. how a security event is interpreted in relation to the environmental conditions at that time. Traditionally, organisations have used experienced and skilled security analysts to derive this context, however, this is expensive and not good news in this time of government cuts.

Sourcefire is a world leader in intelligent cyber security solutions. Today Sourcefire serves most of the US Federal Government agencies and in 2010 the number of UK public sector bodies using Sourcefire grew by more than 30 percent.

Sourcefire offers public sector organisations technically superior network security solutions to suit their specific environments. Its awareness technologies enable automated security responses and reduced network administration.

The threat of a cyber attack on vast amounts of confidential information held by UK public sector bodies and central government has never been greater and investment to protect against these threats must be prioritised. I will leave the readers with one sobering thought: The 2008 Beijing Olympics experienced 12 million cyber attacks per day! You can therefore see how attractive a target the 2012 UK Olympics will be for criminals and others seeking to defraud and potentially disrupt.

1. Gartner, May 14, 2010, The Future of Information Security is Context Aware and Adaptive

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.sourcefire.com

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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SECURITY

INFORMATION SECURITY: FORESIGHT IN A COMPLEX ENVIRONMENT This year’s Infosecurity Europe promises to be a key event in the IT security calendar ALONG WITH A NEW EXHIBITOR ZONE designed to showcase the latest products and services in the ever-changing IT security arena, Infosecurity Europe, 19-21 April, will offer a wealth of educational, as well as informative, sessions, all of which are – as in previous years – entirely free of charge.

Central to this will be a roster of events in the Keynote Theatre, supplemented by parallel sessions in the Business Strategy Theatre and the Technical Theatre. Interest in all of these sessions is likely to be high, especially in the wake of the astonishing array of new attack vectors, such as smallscale WikiLeaks DDoS attacks using hacktivist software bringing down major sites, which have appeared in recent months.

KEYNOTE HIGHLIGHTS Highlights of the Keynote Theatre, which address the security issues and pressures that organisations face in an increasingly mobile and global working environment, will include the return of the Hall of Fame for 2011 – celebrating the people that the industry has voted as being the leading contributors to the advancement of information security.

The budgetary issues of security, meanwhile, will be addressed in a presentation entitled ‘The Effectiveness Of Information Security – When Do You Stop Spending’ on day one, with presenters covering topics such as how to decide if your IT security is performing at an operational level, and how to audit your policy properly.

A session with presenters from Allen & Overy, Forrester Research, Money Supermarket and Novartis, will look at the issue of smartphonedriven endpoint security. The session, entitled ‘Can You Turn Mobile Devices To Your Advantage Or Are They The Next Big Security Hole,’ comes as Apple is expected to start shipping the iPhone 5 and the iPad II, whilst Sony and others have released a flotilla of new Android-driven smartphones.

Google itself is also pushing out the boat with Android 3.0, aka Honeycomb, the latest release of the open source smartphone operating system designed for tablet computers. This session is expected to be a sellout, so take your places early.

Back on the attack vector trail and day one in the Keynote Theatre will see a team of specialists cover the new topic of advanced persistent threats, or APTs for short. The presentation entitled ‘Advanced Persistent Threats – Hype Or Reality’ will look at this newly-discovered, but potentially serious

Interest is likely to be high, especially in the wake of the astonishing array of new attack vectors, such as small-scale WikiLeaks DDoS attacks using hacktivist software bringing down major sites, which have appeared in recent months problem for IT security professionals.

The discovery of APTs was first reported in October 2010. Since then, a handful of vendors have conducted research in the area, which has led to the discovery of more than 100 threats.

Panellists lined up for this session include specialists from the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the online better exchange Betfair and communications giant Virgin Media.

Day two in the Keynote Theatre will see a topical debate on social media. The session entitled ‘Social Media – What’s The Problem’ comes as Facebook has caused a potential security headache with a number of new features such as iFrame-enabled pages and increasing flexible applications. Against this backdrop, this topical session will put forward arguments both for and against incorporating social media into business practice, covering some of the core issues that include how to control the risks posed to your brand, and how to successfully incorporate the use of social media into your IT policies.

With panellists that include professionals from

Michael Page International, the Cobra Group, Investec and the Ministry of Defence, this session is sure to be both popular and lively.

MONITORING & MANAGEMENT Day three in the Keynote Theatre has a session that covers the highly topical issue of whether an insider can down a business. Panellists from the NHS and the World Meteorological Organisation will cover key topics including the need for event monitoring and management, and supplier sourcing plus due diligence.

Plans call for a variety of other topics and issues, including identifying vulnerable staff and user behaviour analysis plus privacy issues, as well as strategies for redundancy programmes and managing those left behind, will also be on the agenda.

The new (and old, depending on your point of view) chestnut of cloud computing will also be covered in a session entitled ‘Securing The Cloud – Shining A Light Through The Fog’ and in which speakers on the panel will be attempting to cut through

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Visit trustmarque at Infosecurity 2011 The Trustmarque Solutions Information Security Group provides a range of solutions and associated services to organisations enabling them to ensure that security and risk control practices are meeting explicit business objectives, and allowing the business to take ownership of risk.

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SECURITY

the fog and provide some guidance to consider when debating cloud computing.

Topics to be covered by the panel – which includes Bob Tarzey, analyst with Quocirca and blogger for the Infosecurity Network, and the head of payment security for Barclaycard – includes how many clouds there really are, the transparency debate (who owns what when) and what is the value of network security when you move to the cloud.

Over in the Business Strategy Theatre, meanwhile, there is a wide range of sessions taking place over the three day event.

IT security strategy is an important issue in the modern security arena, with it gaining ground on boardroom agendas owing to the rising tide of governance and regulations, such as the recently updated PCI DSS rules and, of course, the ever-evolving Companies Act. Sessions lined up include ‘Dangers of Laptops, Smartphones & Social Media to Enterprise Security’ and ‘Do You See What I See? – Controlling Data Accessed Via Web-Based Applications’.

The recurring theme of budgets is covered with a panel session entitled ‘The Cost of Compliance’ in which Dr Larry Ponemon of the Ponemon Institute and senior professionals from Tripwire will detail a cost case study for the audience.

Another case study session, entitled ‘Driving Efficiency & Cost-Savings with a Secure Web Gateway’ from the Institute of Directors, is also lined up for day one in the Business Strategy Theatre.

Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, the popular IT security vendor set up in Russia in the 1990s, will also be looking at cloud issues in a session entitled ‘Concerns About The Cloud: What Keeps You Up At Night?’

DATA MOTILITY Day two of the Business Theatre programme has another interesting selection of seminars, including the issue of blended threats posed by what Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor with Trend Micro, calls “data motility”.

Mr Ferguson’s session ‘Dealing with Data Motility – What to Do When Your Data Decides to Leave’ will look at the multivectored threats posed to digital assets in the modern business IT environment.

Chris Wysopal, founder and CTO of Veracode, meanwhile, will look at the key risks to digital assets in a mobile environment. This session – entitled ‘The Top Ten Risks to Mobile Security & What You Can Do to Avoid Them’ – will look at the increasing use of mobile devices and remote working, and how the mobile end point security issue can be assuaged.

Day three of the Business Theatre sessions is just as interesting as the first two, with a number of panel sessions that includes ‘Making A Difference: How Both CSOs & CISOs Are Positioning Security On The Corporate Agenda’ with speakers from Computer Sciences Corporation and Acuity Risk Management.

What is likely to be a standing room only session will be hosted by Bruce Schneier, BT’s chief security technology officer, who will be

looking at the differences in IT perspectives between the older generation and generation Y, who have never known a time when IP communications were not at their fingertips.

The session, entitled ‘Security, Privacy, And The Generation Gap’ is likely to be a sell-out, so take your paces early for Mr Schneier’s session.

The Technical Theatre, meanwhile, has an equally interesting and informative range of sessions lined up for the Infosecurity Europe show’s three-day run, with a variety of presentations on day one that are designed to delve into the nitty-gritty of IT security. One presentation sure to be popular will see a case study that looks at data security in the NHS. The session ‘Remote Access – How Aintree University Hospital Trust Transformed Remote Access’ promises to be an interesting one.

Another session will be looking at how organised crime is now taking over the Internet. ‘Cybercrime Is Happening All The Time – The Real World View Of Organised e-Crime’ seeks to explain why criminals can make more money from electronic crime than their traditional, and equally nasty, physical robberies.

PENETRATION TESTING Penetration testing also comes into focus with a topical session hosted by Peter Wood, CEO of First Base Technologies, a pen testing specialist, whose session ‘Security Testing In An Age Of Austerity’ will explain some of the issues that Mr Wood and his team have encountered with their growing number of public sector clients.

Talking of public sector clients, the increasing budgetary issues that are driving the adoption of robust open source operating systems and software in the government sector will be addressed with an interesting session from Sourcefire, the company behind Snort, the popular open source intrusion prevention software. ‘Calculating TCO On Intrusion Prevention Technology’ will be looking at how open source security software fares against its commercial competition.

With new versions of Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox now starting to be rolled out, and which feature security facilities such as “do not track” and private browser modes, a session entitled ‘The State Of Browser Security’ promises to be of great interest. Hosted by Wolfgang Kandek, CTO of cloud security specialist Qualys, the session is likely to be popular amongst the technical cognoscenti.

Visitors to Infosecurity Europe on a tight budget will be pleased to know that the Earls Court area has a wealth of accommodation available to suit all budgets, including the growing trend of serviced short-stay aparthotels, as well as the usual array of business-friendly hotels to meet all pockets.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.infosec.co.uk

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

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L-3 TRL Technology announces the launch of its new portable solution, CATAPAN SCC-M

B

UILDING ON THE SUCCESS of its popular range of High Assurance crypto products, Gloucestershire based L-3 TRL Technology has announced the launch of its new portable solution, CATAPAN SCC-M (Secure Communications Centre – Mobile); a secure solution for mobile users.

As the latest addition to its CATAPAN range of products, which provides up to TOP SECRET encryption for High Grade networks, L-3 TRL will be launching SCC-M at Infosecurity Europe 2011 in April.

Catering for RESTRICTED to TOP SECRET requirements, the SCC-M enables users to encrypt their highly sensitive data and take advantage of public mobile infrastructure where there may be no fixed line access available. Featuring an integrated 3G modem as well as enabling connectivity to multiple public WAN bearers as required, the SCC-M is a flexible and versatile solution that offers the highest levels of security and functionality.

Utilising the industry-leading Mini-CATAPAN crypto, integrated with a docking station and ruggedised laptop, the SCC-M enables users to communicate with their protected networks whilst in remote or mobile environments. The device is designed to be lightweight, easily

This provides peace of mind in remote areas and enables the solution to be used in a variety of tactical scenarios.

Management of the SCC-M is via the CATAPAN Device Manager; an intuitive GUI which provides a range of features designed for optimum usability. In addition, the CATAPAN Configuration Viewer enables users to view pictorial representations of device configurations.

With unprecedented sales of MiniCATAPAN setting the benchmark for success, the SCC-M is the latest in a long line of innovations to the CATAPAN family which has helped to build a strong portfolio of High Assurance encryption solutions for L-3 TRL. The company has plans to expand the range even further, with the launch of a new High Bandwidth solution expected later this year. portable and operational on battery power, making it ideal for mobile, operational use.

Additional benefits of the SCC-M include the facility for up to four users to connect to the docking station and share the encrypted bandwidth, providing secure communications between multiple users. For added security, all information stored on the laptop is reduced by two impact levels (e.g. SECRET to RESTRICTED) when non-operational.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To see the SCC-M solution firsthand, visit the L-3 TRL stand: D41 at Infosecurity Europe 2011, 19-21 April, Earls Court, London.

More information on the CATAPAN range of solutions can be found on L-3 TRL’s website: www.L-3Com.com/TRL

A COMPACT SOLUTION FOR SECURE MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

CATAPAN SCC-M: flexible, portable, secure.

CATAPAN SCC-M is the latest development from L-3 TRL Technology, providing a fully integrated encryption solution that offers security and functionality for the High Grade mobile user. Featuring the industry-leading Mini-CATAPAN crypto, integrated with a docking station and ruggedised laptop, the SCC-M has been specifically designed for tactical environments.

With a range of features, including multi-user access, embedded 3G, wireless and fixed-line connectivity, the SCC-M provides an ideal solution for information sharing and intelligence gathering both in the UK and overseas by military and government services.

For your chance to view this innovative solution first-hand, visit the L-3 TRL stand, D41, at Infosecurity Europe 2011.

TRL Technology

L-3com.com/TRL

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Expo 8-9 March 2011 Olympia London

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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CLOUD COMPUTING

CLOUD ASSURANCE FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR Gerry O’Neill, industry thought-leader and vice president of the the Cloud Security Alliance’s UK & Ireland Chapter, takes a look at the current status of plans to move public services to the Cloud, and what this means for how we view the security and stewardship of public information THE RECENT PUBLICATION by the UK Cabinet Office of the Phase 2 Reports on the government’s G-Cloud Programme1, following the work of some seven different working groups, begins to chart a path of greater clarity around what this will mean for the future procurement of ICT services, as these support the delivery of services to the public.

In addition to the Vision, which is reconfirmed, and building on previous reports including Digital Britain, the Data Handling Review and Smarter Government, the programme reports spell out the roadmap for defining the benefits, as well as the processes for migrating from current datacentre and application architectures and third-party services, to more agile and efficient ways of sourcing and delivering ICT services, while at the same time providing assurance as to the correct handling of the information concerned.

THE BUSINESS CASE The now broadly accepted definition of Cloud Computing (with reference to work done by NIST in the US, Cloud Security Alliance, UK Government and others) is of a range of services around Infrastructure, Platform or Software, which can be sourced on an as-needs basis, with more flexibility, scalability, and choice than with traditional in-house or managed service approaches, and with corresponding significant cost savings – increasingly a key driver in these cost-constrained times.

The standard NIST definition2 goes on to define five essential characteristics of a cloud service, namely: On-demand self-service: A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider.

Broad network access: Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over

the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or data centre). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.

Rapid elasticity: Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured Service: Cloud systems automatically control and optimise resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilised service.

The Cabinet Office Phase 2 G-Cloud report builds upon these principles in each of the working group reports, which consider Commercial aspects, Service Specification, Technical Architecture, Service Management, Information Assurance and Implementation Strategy, including transition arrangements.

It is not just the UK Government that is moving ahead with such plans. The US Administration has been conducting work to help guide those in government organisations who wish to consider moving to cloudbased services for a part of their service delivery. This guidance covers standardised definitions for service levels, implementation advice and particularly guidance around Security Assessment and Authorisation for cloud Services – see FedRAMP, below.

The EU has also been progressing similar initiatives. At the World Economic Summit in Davos, January 2011, Neelie Kroes, VicePresident of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda stated3: “The European Commission has done preliminary work over the last few years, such as funding cloud research or analysing the security implications of cloud computing.

For example, our European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has just published a report4 on this.

Now is the time to bring it all together. As foreseen in the Digital Agenda for Europe,

I have started work on an EU-wide cloud computing strategy. This goes beyond a policy framework. I want to make Europe not just ‘cloud-friendly’ but ‘cloud-active’.

We can deliver cloud computing by using research and innovation to bring about better clouds. Along the way we can modernise our computing infrastructure and give our SMEs a new platform for innovation.”

RISKS AND CONCERNS – AS WELL AS BENEFITS This brings us to the oft-cited question of risk in the cloud, still referred to in some surveys as the greatest area of concern, and one which needs to be addressed if those driving the procurement and management of ICT-supported services are going to have the confidence to make change decisions in this space.

In some of the early debate around cloud, there was a perception that information processing responsibilities could not be handed over to Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) unless information security could be guaranteed 100 per cent. And of course this is nonsense – as everything ought to be determined by risk, and risk appetite.

“Everything we do in life carries a risk.

What do we do about that?” says Susan Stoker, management consultant at Stoker Watts McLeod. “Risk management, in any situation, is just that – the management of risk, rather than the elimination of all risks.

The only way to truly eliminate risks is to end the activity associated with that risk.

This is not always possible or practical.”

Clearly, though, the procuring organisation will need to satisfy itself that it is still meeting its legal, regulatory and internal compliance obligations, even when moving information and services over to be processed by third-parties and cloud-based services. Much of the work done by the previously-mentioned working groups and other broader industry collaboration efforts (see Assurance Frameworks, below) is attempting to define baseline controls for cloud services, or assessment of control maturity on the part of cloud service providers, with reference in some cases to certification against existing or new standards, thus enabling a more informed and confident sourcing decision on the part of information owners.

Susan adds: “Good risk management, which is there to support the achievement of objectives,

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CLOUD COMPUTING

is about taking opportunities as much as ending risks. For it to be effective, however, the level of exposure that is deemed acceptable (risk appetite) needs to be defined. This concept applies as much to the use of cloud computing as it does with any business process.”

John Morrison, managing director, Sapphire makes a different point: “One of the major concerns for organisations today is security with the cloud. But, it is more of a nebulous concern derived from a lack of control over the environment where the data will reside. The truth is, most of the major cloud providers have much stronger security on both a physical and logical level than most datacentres currently have. But, does this mean that your data is safe and secure? NO. This is where you must identify ways to control access to the Cloud and your valuable business applications and data.”

So this raises a specific point – an Access Control and Identity Management system which is portable, and can transcend organisational boundaries, and many of the control frameworks and definitions give guidance on this point.

“The cloud does not have your authentication infrastructure,” continues Morrison. “It has its own. And, you’re not in control of it, the cloud provider is. That means that your users have another set of passwords and logins to remember for every Cloud application they need to access. When you give your users too many passwords and user names to remember, they create security risks… they write them down.”

So here’s a significant source of risk – you don’t control the access to your own data and applications, your cloud provider does. And when your users have too many different, usually complex, passwords, non-reusable, expiring at different time periods, they will tend to write them down. Since you don’t have control over the authentication process, you rely on the cloud provider. But, many do not offer multi-factor authentication, which may help with extra levels of protection.

ASSURANCE FRAMEWORKS Morrison concludes: ”The cloud providers don’t provide centralised access control for your cloud data and applications. Every provider is different. You need to get access to the data and applications back into your control.

Then, you can determine who can access what and when. And, you can have a full audit trail over what happened, by whom, when and from where. With audit requirements today, this will quickly become a strong requirement for organisations for the future.”

Brian Honan, CSA UK & Ireland Board member, adds: “Cloud computing can bring many advantages to an organisation in terms of better efficiencies, ability to scale to meet demand and better use of resources.

However, as well as offering many advantages cloud computing also presents a number of risks and challenges to organisations, not least of which is assuring the security of the

data within the cloud and complying with specific regulations such data privacy.”

And so a cornerstone of the efforts to fill some of this confidence-gap and to provide specific assurance relating to cloud-provided services, is to be found in several different initiatives, aiming to develop controls guidance or assessment frameworks. These relate to both public and private sectors, and have origins in audit, security and business requirements, and on both sides of the Atlantic. And there is already some move toward consolidation and mutual recognition or mapping.

Obviously the standards, specifications and guidance in the UK G-Cloud reports can be seen as one such framework. So too, the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program FedRAMP5, published last November, by the US Government’s General Services Administration and CIO Council, offers a clear guidance framework to be followed by those government organisations considering cloud services, and wondering how to address the risk and assurance aspects. FedRAMP does not itself embody a control framework itself, but refers to the US Government’s NIST 800.53 control standard (Recommended Security Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations) – in much the same way as the G-Cloud reports make reference to the ISO 27000 control set.

A number of initiatives emanating from industry and professional groups in the private sector are also worthy of mention. CloudAudit is a volunteer cross-industry effort from the best minds and talent in cloud, networking, security, audit, assurance and architecture backgrounds. CloudAudit’s charter is to provide a common interface that allows cloud providers to automate the Audit, Assertion, Assessment, and Assurance (referred to as A6) of their environments and allow authorised consumers of their services to do likewise via an open, extensible and secure set of interfaces.

The Cloud Security Alliance6 is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to promote the use of best practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing, and to provide education on the uses of cloud computing to help secure all other forms of computing.

The Cloud Security Alliance is led by a broad coalition of industry practitioners, corporations, associations and other key stakeholders.

CloudAudit has recently become a joint project of the CSA with a shared mission. CSA has published a Control framework for the Cloud, as well as a personal knowledge certification Certificate in Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK), and is also running a broad programme of research and communication – also through a global network of country-specific chapters.

The Common Assurance Maturity Model7 is an initiative similarly driven by an international collective of professional thought leaders and industry representatives. Its aim is to provide a framework to give the necessary transparency in attesting the Information Assurance Maturity

of a third party (e.g. a cloud provider). This will also allow the publication of results to be performed in an open and transparent manner, without the mandatory need for third party audit functions, and allow for data processors to demonstratively publicise their attention to Information Assurance over other suppliers that may not take it as seriously. The CAMM initiative is working in partnership with the CSA, with the aim of mutuality of mapping and recognition, and is also supported by ENISA, The European Network and Information Security Agency. Currently the CAMM team has developed a draft control framework which it is currently piloting with industry organisations, and which it aims to publish in mid-2011, with certification an objective in the near future.

CONCLUSION So there you have it – hopefully upon reading this article, you will realise that much work has already been under way in helping to bring consistency, clarity and substance to the definition of cloud services, the objectives and benefits, implementation guidance and assurance standards – and it is still ongoing, throughout this year, and probably next.

The references at the foot of this article will allow you to keep in touch with these developments as they unfold, and hopefully allow you to take part in better-informed discussion and decision-making in respect of the cloud. It’s the future – it is just a different way of sourcing service and delivering information processing – and it’s here to stay.

Notes 1. UK Cabinet Office – G-Cloud Strategy, Phase 2 Reports http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resourcelibrary/g-cloud-programme-phase-2 2. NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, Special Publication SP800-145 http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-145/ Draft-SP-800-145_cloud-definition.pdf 3. Speech by Neelie Kroes to World Economic Summit, Davos, Jan 2011 – http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. do?reference=SPEECH/11/50 4. ENISA Report – Security and resilience in Governmental Clouds – http://www.enisa.europa.eu/act/rm/ emerging-and-future-risk/deliverables/securityand-resilience-in-governmental-clouds 5. US …. FedRAMP proposals https://info.apps.gov/sites/default/files/ Proposed-Security-Assessment-andAuthorization-for-Cloud-Computing.pdf 6. Cloud Security Alliance www.cloudsecurityalliance.org.

7. Common Assurance Maturity Model (CAMM) http://common-assurance.com/

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.cloud-security.org.uk

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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CLOUD COMPUTING

CONFIDING IN THE CLOUD The buzz around cloud computing is reaching cult-like proportions, but when will it become a system for adoption in the public sector? Chris Ward, editor of Business Cloud News, has been scanning the skies for answers AS TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTIONS GO, it’s been a tentative one. However, cloud computing, the concept that has caused unprecedented levels of debate in the IT world in recent years, is slowly inching its way into public consciousness. For many, working out how it might affect them or improve how they do business has been the biggest talking point. That’s once they’ve established what being in the cloud actually means.

INTERNET EVOLUTION One of the clearest definitions is provided

by Cloud Computing for Dummies online: “Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet’s evolution, providing the means through which everything – from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration – can be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need.

“The ‘cloud’ can be defined as the set of hardware, networks, storage, services, and interfaces that combine to deliver aspects of computing as a service. Cloud services include the delivery of software, infrastructure, and storage over the Internet (either as separate components or a complete platform) based on user demand.”

Simply put, cloud computing has the potential to completely change a company’s IT delivery.

By adopting the model, businesses will have the ability to outsource all of their computing services to an external provider, pay only for what they want, and not have to use up valuable space storing servers and data, or waste finance constantly updating hardware to stay in touch with the industry they operate in.

Sounds revolutionary? That’s because it is. Yet, with such potential for quick and radical change among small to large-scale organisations, there have been some vital issues blocking the cloud’s true progression beyond the conceptual. Privacy, security, data integrity and intellectual property management, for instance. And that’s just the start. There are plenty of questions, too. Like, who’s going to govern our actions within the cloud? What happens to a company’s data if its cloud provider suddenly goes out of business?

PUBLIC SECTOR AND THE CLOUD It’s these questions that have caused, to date, the tentative approach. And it’s also these questions that mean the sector in which the cloud could have the most fundamental effect – government and public services

Marc Olesen, senior vice president & general manager, Content & Cloud Security, McAfee

Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet’s evolution, providing the means through which everything – from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration – can be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need

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CLOUD COMPUTING

– has yet to fully commit to any cloud computing adoption strategies in the UK. Despite much hype at the start of 2010 surrounding the government’s plan to create its own cloud environment called the ‘G-Cloud’, little movement has been made to begin any kind of integration process. Indeed, the idea for G-Cloud (which would involve cutting more than 10,000 software packages and services currently being used by public sector bodies in exchange for a shared range of applications held in a ‘Government App Store’), was conceived by the previous Labour office and rumoured to have been scrapped until recent months.

However, with cost-cutting measures now so important for public services (£3.2bn from the public sector’s annual £16bn IT spend by 2013), 2011 looks set to be the year when this could all change. The G-Cloud might become recognisable to us all. As the coalition government searches for ways to address the crippling costs of making the nation’s public services streamlined and efficient, the prospect of the G-Cloud offers the potential for a relatively quick IT fix.

So, it’s no surprise to find it back on the agenda. The Cabinet Office recently released the draft report ‘Data Centre strategy, G-Cloud & Government Applications Store Programme Phase 2’, outlining its commitment to addressing the use of cloud computing in the near future. In November, HP formally opened the ‘G-Cloud Theatre’ – a facility at HP Labs Bristol designed to demonstrate how the public sector could run their IT infrastructure.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft have all set cloud computing provision at the top of their agendas in 2011. Clearly the world’s biggest organisations still think the G-Cloud is coming.

POTENTIAL The G-Cloud’s potential has been ramped up even further by events across the pond. In the US, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has already issued a draft document outlining potential guidelines for privacy and security within a public sector cloud setting.

The Federal Government has announced plans to close 800 of their 2,100 data centres by 2015, to make way for the cloud. Some US public services have already adopted a cloud of their own, such as the General Services Administration, which moved its citizen portal USA.gov to a cloud host in 2010, and has since reported near-elimination of site downtime and a saving of 72 per cent (US$1.7m).

While this may seem relatively small-fry compared to the size of the task involved in delivering the G-Cloud, it appears some analysts are starting to change their stance towards large-scale public sector clouds as a result.

William D. Eggers, global director of public sector research at Deloitte, recently stated in his 2011 book ‘Letting Go of the Status Quo: A Playbook for Transforming State Government’: “Cloud computing represents a fundamentally

different way for government to architect computing resources. It allows CIOs to leverage powerful IT infrastructures in a fraction of the time it takes to provision, develop and deploy similar assets in-house.

“The cost-saving potential is huge. Adopting cloud technologies eliminates capital and operational expenses associated with servers, software licenses, maintenance fees, data centre space and the employment of IT personnel.

Thanks to the cloud, government won’t be stuck with obsolete legacy systems and out-dated hardware that requires expensive maintenance.”

LONG TERM VISION Many believe this line of thought will direct the coalition government’s decisions on cloud computing spending this year. A recent report by technology and telecoms advisory Ovum suggests that the UK government should “adopt a long-term vision of how fundamental changes to the way their deliver services will bring efficiency,” with cloud computing deemed the clearest solution.

“With every penny counting and governments keen to ensure there’s more visibility and accountability of how taxpayers’ money is spent, in 2011 agencies will look at new ways of procuring services,” Jessica Hawkins, the Ovum analyst and author of the report, stated.

Despite the initial trepidation surrounding a move to the cloud, the new government remains serious in sticking to its pledge that “investing in the technology sector is a route into improving the British economy”. A proposal in January singling out investment in a £200 million network of technology and innovation centres could be the key driver in pushing cloud computing to the fore.

SECURITY So, it seems all that is left to stop public service clouds becoming a reality in the UK is the issue of security. Unfortunately, this happens to be a rather large sticking point.

Anxiety over the matter of cloud governance appears to be the biggest hurdle for the government to overcome, and the idea of using external sources to store all public service data is deemed an unbelievably risky one. In the past, lost USB sticks have led to the leaking of relatively small levels of government data to the public, but have subsequently caused huge security fears in the UK. Imagine the scale of a security breach in the cloud computing environment – a place where all the government’s data would be housed. It could be detrimental.

This is even before considering the possibility of system attacks. Despite the UK’s proposal to sign up to an EU directive on the subject of cyber-security, no real information about how public services might deal with such an occurrence in the cloud seems to exist. It appears the whole world is waiting for the first large-scale guinea-

AT A GLANCE The Cloud Computing World Forum will take place 21-22 June, at Olympia, London. Running alongside the Content Delivery Network World Forum, it will welcome around 3,000 of the world’s most senior IT and Telecom professionals to discuss cloud computing and do business.

With over 120 visionary speakers and 80 leading exhibitors, the 2-day show will provide an insight into one of the hottest IT topics in recent times, and is not to be missed. pig to come under fire. Only then will it be possible for the issue to be addressed.

Of course, addressing this issue is exactly what every single private and public organisation with an interest in the cloud is attempting to do. It’s what will bring them all to London 21-22 June for the potentially momentous Cloud Computing World Forum – a place where high profile names such as Adrian R. Gardner, CIO of NASA, and Chris Chant, director of the Cabinet Office’s Cloud Programme, will lock horns and discuss how the cloud computing world is likely to progress.

BECOMING A REALITY Further discussion is exactly what the public sector cloud needs – lots of it. Despite clear proof of the slow move towards a possible system for integration, we’re still seemingly a million miles away from knowing if the cloud computing model is really the right way forwards. Yes, it will save money, but is it really a viable and safe option for the long-term future?

Perhaps it’s better to ask that question in June. With the world’s IT giants all competing to prove that they can deliver a safe and efficient cloud model to national governments, we may well be looking back on the 2011 Cloud Computing World Forum and singling out the point when the G-Cloud became a reality. However, should that be the case or not, there will still inevitably be plenty of talking points when it comes to cloud computing in the public sector.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Mark Johnstone Tel: +44 (0)845 5191230 E-mail: mark@keynoteworld.com Web: www.cloudwf.com

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

DIGITAL CONTINUITY

LOOKING AFTER YOUR DATA Jessie Owen, head of Digital Continuity at The National Archives, explains what lies ahead tor government digital records THE DIGITAL UNIVERSE has exploded – it’s now ten times bigger than it was in 20061. Most public sector information is created digitally, and this mountain of data must be managed. So what’s the future for government’s digital record?

The digital age has enabled government to operate more accountably, transparently and interactively than ever before. It’s

opened up new ways of communicating and sharing information, and of improving public services. We create and use a huge amount of digital information, using a wide variety of formats, hardware and software.

Alongside these opportunities, this explosion of data has also given government a major challenge – how to keep huge volumes of digital information usable over time and

The digital age has enabled government to operate more accountably, transparently and interactively than ever before. It’s opened up new ways of communicating and sharing information, and of improving public services

during change. By usable, we mean making sure that you can always find, open, work with, trust and understand the digital information you have. If information isn’t usable, then it’s a liability, not an asset.

VULNERABLE INFORMATION Using your digital information depends on the technology you need to access it, and the policies and processes you have in place to manage it. These dependencies make usability sensitive to change; particularly at risk during changes in an organisation’s management processes or technology.

Technology changes are happening all around us, all the time. Think of the cloud, IT spending cutbacks, the push to use open standards, or move towards shared services. Organisation changes such as closing arm’s length bodies, have huge impacts on information as

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DIGITAL CONTINUITY FRAMEWORK

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DIGITAL CONTINUITY

ownership changes, usability requirements are modified and IT systems merge and close.

You don’t just need to be aware of future changes. Changes you have made in the past could have already caused you loss of usability, but the impact of those changes might be lying dormant, unnoticed by the business until it needs to use its information again.

Government needs to manage its information carefully over time and through changes to maintain the usability it needs.

This is called managing digital continuity.

LOSS OF DIGITAL CONTINUITY Loss of digital continuity may manifest as a technology failure, but it’s much more likely to be caused by problems in an organisation’s information management, governance, change management and technology management, rather than by the technology itself. A critical risk for IT teams to manage is the disconnect between technology lifecycle and information lifecycle. You’re likely to need to use some information for longer than the lifecycle of the technology that supports it – and you will need to be aware of this, and take appropriate action.

Loss of continuity happens because: • information ownership becomes unclear because information is not appropriately incorporated into information governance and management structures • information usability requirements are changed or poorly understood and communicated to all the disciplines involved in supporting them • information is not migrated to new technologies effectively with loss of critical content, metadata, context, audit data meaning that you can’t use the information appropriately upon migration • information is trapped in ageing, legacy IT systems with restricted access, limited functionality and increased support costs • information becomes locked in a format that can’t be opened or used by the technology that’s available to you, or that technology does not provide you with the functionality you need • information is no longer understood by the organisation as it loses staff who manage the information, understand its context, or have expertise in the supporting technology • information is not trusted if crucial audit data, logs, versions and contextual information are not maintained.

Managing digital continuity brings considerable benefits. It means your organisation can work more efficiently and effectively, legally and accountably, providing a transparent, accountable record of government, protecting against reputational damage and even financial liabilities. It can help you to get rid of information you don’t need, get rid of IT you don’t need, prevent slow attrition from inefficient use of information, and ensure your information is fit for re-use.

NEW DIGITAL CONTINUITY SERVICE Keeping digital information usable is complex, but achievable, and it needn’t be expensive.

The National Archives has developed a new service for government that will help keep digital information usable. The Digital Continuity Service is flexible, and can be tailored by each organisation to meet specific issues and risks to digital continuity. It includes guidance; risk assessment; file profiling tool DROID; and a framework of technical tools and services.

The National Archives’ range of guidance helps organisations to understand what digital continuity means, and how to manage it. It has also produced specific guidance to help IT professionals to manage digital continuity.

For example, Mapping the Technical Dependencies of Information Assets2 will help you understand how your technical environment supports your information assets and business needs and to understand the risks to your digital continuity.

A new ITIL White Paper3, co-authored with members of The National Archives’ Digital Continuity Team, explains how to manage digital continuity in relation to business activities. In particular it looks at how to take action to make sure that your organisation’s technical environment adequately supports the digital information that relies on it. This is the first time that ITIL® (best practice for IT service managers) has really addressed critical information management issues as part of its manual for managing IT services.

Another part of the service includes a risk assessment process that will help you to understand your organisation’s specific risks and issues, including IT issues. The National Archives’ has developed a free self-assessment tool that links to support provided in the digital continuity guidance and framework of solutions and services.

FREE FILE PROFILING TOOL Profiling file formats helps an organisation to manage its information more effectively.

DROID (Digital Record Object IDentification) is a software tool that you can use to profile a wide range of file formats. For example, it will tell you what versions you have, their age and size, and when they were last changed. It can also provide data to help you find duplicates.

DROID identifies over 200 different formats, including most document, audio, video and image files in common use. It scans individual files and directories, or entire repositories holding millions of files. It recognises files using signature information provided by the digital preservation researchers at The National Archives. This information is updated regularly, so DROID can recognise an increasing number of different file formats.

DROID can be installed with minimal impact on your systems. It is written in Java and is platform independent. It is open source, and can be downloaded and run without any restriction,

completely free of charge. It is available from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/droid THE DIGITAL CONTINUITY FRAMEWORK A procurement framework is a catalogue of suppliers, pre-approved to offer specified tools and services with pre-negotiated process and conditions. Using a framework means that public sector organisations can contract their services knowing that EU tender obligations have been fulfilled. This saves time and money. There are 24 suppliers on the Digital Continuity Framework, and eight of these are small-to-medium enterprises. This actively supports the government’s policy of making it easier for small-to-medium enterprises to enter the government ICT market. On the the Digital Continuity Framework you will find: Information management services – These services help organisations to audit the information they hold, to better organise file plans, understand information risks, and develop retention schedules.

Data storage consultancy – Storing vast quantities of digital information can make the right information harder to find. Data storage consultancy can help reduce the amount of information stored, as well as ensuring that what is saved meets identified business needs Data conversion and migration services – These services help to ensure essential information does not remain in systems and formats that are obsolete. The services cover documents, audio and diagrams, e-mails, collaboration systems and electronic document and records management systems. eDiscovery solutions – Information is often lost when it becomes divorced from the context in which it was created, or it is missing the crucial metadata which describes the contents of the file. eDiscovery solutions can help to identify information, ensure it remains accessible and provide appropriate audit trails.

Data quality solutions – Information can become unusable if the quality of the data has deteriorated over time or records have not been updated. Data quality solutions provide a range of options for improving the quality of your data.

Digital archiving solutions – Digital archiving solutions can be used to make sure that information that has a business value, but isn’t used every day, can be archived effectively.

Notes 1. http://www.emc.com/collateral/analystreports/diverse-exploding-digital-universe.pdf 2. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ documents/mapping-technical-dependencies.pdf 3. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ documents/itil-white-paper-2011.pdf

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.nationalarchives. gov.uk/digitalcontinuity

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

A BEST PRACTICE GUIDE TO ARCHIVING PERSISTENT DATA Quantum’s Alistair Washbourn explains how archiving is a vital tool in data centre cost savings TODAY’S ORGANISATIONS are experiencing greater storage growth than ever before. The growth comes from structured data from enterprise databases, or unstructured data from a variety of applications. Wherever it comes from, it must be preserved for business continuity, data retention laws, and to meet compliance requirements.

The data centre needs to reduce its total cost of ownership (TCO) for its backup/ archiving infrastructure. It must contain costs, manage data growth, improve the backup/ archive process, and make it more efficient.

Unstructured data is often the core data asset in an organisation’s work flow and is inherent in revenue generating operations.

This article discusses how to manage unstructured data growth in the most costeffective manner. It also discusses the distinct differences between backup and archive and what is the best policy for both.

INTRODUCTION When developing a strategy for managing unstructured data growth there are many considerations that need to be taken into account, including the type of data and its value, the cost of data growth, the correct platform for the data to reside on and data security. But, to start with, what is archiving and what is the difference between archive and backup?

To (over) simplify: Archive is a copy of data that is being retained in a safe and economical location for long periods of time but is reused from time to time. It is a method of storing data in the most cost-effective location. The performance of the systems the archive is stored on is matched to the requirements of the application using the data. Backup is a copy of the data that is only recovered when there is a failure or form of corruption.

DATA TYPES Not all data is created equal. If you consider the difference between an online trading system, processing multiple transactions in milliseconds, and the company payroll that only has to issue funds once per month you can see that data should be prioritised in terms of its currency, life cycle and value.

In general, data can be categorised as live, persistent or backup, meaning that it is either in use, is not in use but can be recalled at any point, or it is part of a copy of the primary data to only be used when the system needs to be restored after a failure.

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VALUE OF DATA Your data is the life blood of your business and is probably your organisation’s most critical asset.

Independent IT analysts agree that companies that experience a complete data loss have only a 10 per cent chance of survival in the following 2 years – 50 per cent don’t ever trade again.

At the bare minimum you need to ensure you have a copy of all your data in a different place to the original. This gives you the ability to recover from data loss only if it is a real time copy, or near real time copy such as a snapshot.

But if you are attacked by a virus then both copies will be infected. What is needed is a series of point in time copies so that in the event of data corruption you can roll back to a previous instance. You will need to store this historic data so it is accessible when needed – but in most cases data more than 30 days old will not be needed. You will also be taking up valuable space on storage systems, keeping them powered up and ready in case you need them.

The solution is a combination of back up and archive. Backup is an inert copy that can be called upon to restore data to the primary system. Archive is a live file that can be accessed when needed but doesn’t need to be on the expensive front line system.

Most data is “passive” meaning that it is rarely accessed 30 to 90 days after its creation and even less after that time period.

TIERED STORAGE In order to be more energy efficient you need to match your various business requirements with the right data storage technology. In most cases, this results in a multitier storage architecture that includes a mix of disk and tape hardware together with replication, deduplication, data management and archive software.

With this in mind you need to prioritise where the data resides to ensure that your live data is on fast, high-performance systems, your persistent data is archived but easily accessible, and that backup data is not only on lower cost systems but ideally powered down unless called upon and, if part of a disaster recovery strategy, copied to a different location.

For example you should set a policy that moves data that has not been accessed for 30 days to a secondary storage array and then archive it after 90 days. In this case fast primary storage is used for the live data, clustered SAN or NAS disk arrays for the secondary data and tape libraries for the archive. The reason for this structure is to maintain the most costeffective system. You could put all data on primary storage but the capital expenditure for

the hardware, the management time needed and power usage would be excessive.

There is often a misconception that disk based arrays are faster than tape. If you want fast access to an individual file then disk is the correct choice but if you need sustained access to multiple files or need to restore files from a backup then tape, when used in conjunction with intelligent file management and archive software, will be your best choice.

Data movement between tiers in an archive can be a manual process but this is cumbersome and susceptible to error, potentially resulting in data loss. Automation software products can be used to simplify this task. These products should include the ability to protect content by copying files and placing them on archive media.

The software automation tools should provide the ability to stream archive data to tape as this speeds the write and recovery processes. A combination of enterprise data management and protection software such as Quantum StorNext and a high performance tape library such as Quantum’s Scalar series will give a cost-effective archive performance.

OPERATIONAL COST Data centre power, cooling, and space requirements are becoming a challenge. And the demands for data protection, improved restore performance, longer data retention times, and technology integration such as deduplication, are growing at a vast rate.

The diagram shows the acquisition and running costs of an LTO tape library compared with primary and secondary disk storage. If you are only accessing data occasionally it makes sense to ensure it is stored on the most costeffective and efficient platform. With primary data continuing to grow, doubling every 12 to 18 months, powering and managing that growth has moved into the top five of CIO concerns. Overall, 15 per cent of office use of electricity is attributable to IT, according to UK-based Carbon Trust, and it forecasts this will rise to 30 per cent by 2020.

THE ROLE OF DATA MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IN THE DATA CENTRE Data management software should provide high-speed content sharing combined with cost-effective data archiving. It’s all about helping to build an infrastructure that consolidates resources, so workflows run faster and operations cost less. Data sharing and retention should be combined in a single solution, so you don’t have to piece together multiple products that may not integrate

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

well. Even in heterogeneous environments, all data should be easily accessible to all hosts.

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Cost of storage

THE ROLE OF TAPE IN THE DATA CENTRE Tape has historically been the primary media for backup and archive support for the data centre. It continues to be pervasive in data centres of all sizes. According to the Clipper Group: “for backup, 20 per cent of all enterprises use only tape, while another 65 per cent use both tape and disk, with tape usually sitting behind disk. This means that 85 per cent of all enterprises use tape in some capacity for their data protection need.�

The primary role of tape is evolving to longterm archive and data retention, with many enterprises using disk systems for short term backup and recovery in order to take advantage of the quick access speeds from disk for an individual file. Tape continues to be the primary storage media for most disaster recovery plans.

DISASTER RECOVERY As with backup and recovery, disaster recovery is a vital part of your data protection strategy. A disaster recovery policy basically means that you have a copy of your data, in a non corruptible form, in a different location from the primary data.

What causes problems is that there is usually too much data to deal with. A good archive plan will get rid of a major portion of the problem. It will also eliminate the need for some of the complexity that is built into the backup process because people are using backups for long term retention of data.

Long term retention should be the sole domain of the archive. These copies should then be replicated off-site in case something goes wrong at the original site. Ideally this should be accomplished by one process. If not, it should be managed as part of an overall backup workflow.

CONCLUSION Archiving is a vital part of your corporate IT policy. The key considerations are to ensure that all initial data is backed up in some way but not replicated multiple times. Backup essentially parks the data in case it is needed for restore purposes. Archive is a long term store that is held on cost efficient media and can be accessed easily when needed. When a massive amount of data is persistent the cost savings and speed efficiencies can be equally massive. The combination of intelligent archiving and data preservation software coupled with the latest high speed tape libraries will give you the best value, protection, operation cost savings and disaster recovery plan available.

Alistair Washbourn is EMEA Channel Marketing Manager for Quantum Corporation

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Value of data

When developing a strategy for managing unstructured data growth there are many considerations that need to be taken into account including the type of data and its value, the cost of data growth, the correct platform for the data to reside on and data security

Web: www.quantum.com

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13-16 June Edinburgh

Bolton

Birmingham London

People and Information Working Together

AIIM ROADSHOW 2011

The UK’s FREE Independent Forum for Information Management

The race is on!

In today’s competitive environment, the race will always be won by the team with the best information on their side. To mobilise information within your organisation, you need strong document and records management coupled with enterprise-strength search, web-friendly collaboration tools and agile business processes.

At the AIIM Roadshow 2011 you can learn how best practice in scanning, document management, records management, ECM and SharePoint can help your organisation improve services, optimise business processes, get to grips with compliance, ease restructuring, and, last but not least, save money.

All in just one day - at one of four convenient locations:

• 13th June 2011

- Edinburgh

• 14th June 2011

- Bolton

• 15th June 2011

- Birmingham

• 16th June 2011

- London

Register now for your FREE place at www.aiimroadshow.org.uk

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

IMPROVING SCANNER ROI THROUGH CAPTURE-TO-PROCESS Scanning paper documents to archive is a mainstream activity throughout government that saves office space and improves information access. But according to AIIM’s latest survey report most organisations are missing out on the bigger benefits that come from scanning-to-process SCANNED DOCUMENTS are much easier to access than paper ones, and users rate this as an important benefit, but scanned electronic documents and forms can be workflowed through business processes much more easily and controllably than paper ones. With modern recognition software, the data within the documents can be automatically captured and fed to the processing system alongside the viewable document, form or invoice.

The new survey1, run in advance of the AIIM Roadshow 13-16 June, is based on over 400 responses, and shows that only a third of organisations are taking advantage of the benefits of scan-to-process, and only a quarter are using automated recognition software to capture forms data to the process. This is despite the fact that nearly 40 per cent of the user organisations surveyed reported investment payback within 12 months of implementing systems for scanning, capture, and business process management (BPM), rising to nearly 60 per cent within 18 months.

REDUCING PAPER Scanning paper documents and records is a great first step to organising the content chaos in most offices but the business case for a scanning project is often stuck in the “hard dollar” savings from getting rid of filing cabinets and cutting down photocopying costs. The survey shows that we are finally turning the corner on reducing the amount of paper that we use. The consumption of paper and the number of photocopies is still growing in 27 per cent of organisations, but in 39 per cent, it is finally starting to fall. Amongst those organisations with more extensive document scanning and capture operations, 53 per cent are seeing a reduction.

However, the survey shows that mobilising documents for electronic access and information sharing is the single biggest driver for investment in scanning and capture. As a “soft dollar” benefit, this may not be the primary justification cited in most business cases, but once systems are installed, survey respondents reported this to be the strongest long-term benefit. Customer service is another strong driver in this respect, as customers and citizens expect help desk operators to see and discuss their most recent correspondence, prompting the need for some organisations to undertake daily electronic conversion of all inbound mail.

The next step is to implement scanning-toprocess – launching the scanned document

Scanning paper documents and records is a great first step to organising the content chaos in most offices but the business case for a scanning project is often stuck in the ‘hard dollar’ savings from getting rid of filing cabinets and cutting down photocopying costs

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You choose the direction CLOUD ITSM ON PREMISE ITSM

Cherwell will get you there

The complete Service Management solution from Cherwell gives you the choice Cherwell offers a single ITSM solution with 11 ITIL v3 processes delivered outof-the box and you choose how you want our software to be deployed, On Premise or On Demand, it’s your choice!

Utilising true 3 tier client architecture, built on the .NET platform, using Web 2.0 technology, with rich client and browser interfaces, Cherwell Service Management is more powerful and more cost effective than comparable

solutions. Whether deployed on your servers or in the cloud, our unique CBAT platform empowers you to configure, customise and develop the system and be more responsive to the ever changing needs of your customers and business.

Visit us on stand 800 Service Desk & IT Support Show Earls Court, London 19-20 April 2011

Powerful, flexible, scalable and easy to manage, Cherwell believes that true ‘Software as a Service’ is about CHOICE.

Call us on 01793 858181 to discuss your requirements and the Cherwell choices available or visit www.cherwellsoftware.com

Innovative Technology Built on Yesterday’s Values

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

files into the business process, having already stripped off the order numbers and customer numbers, and matched them up in the finance system or the CRM system. The survey shows that around half of organisations have capture-enabled their main enterprise systems for store and retrieve of scanned documents, and a quarter have integrated document data capture with the process itself.

Improving technology has made recognition software more capable, easier to use, and cheaper. Higher bandwidth local networks allow distributed scanners to link to central capture servers over the network. Scanneragnostic capture servers can now service a mix of central production scanners and distributed MFPs. All of these developments are having a considerable effect on the balance between outsourced scanning, centralised in-house scanning and distributed scanning. Survey respondents showed a strategic preference for in-house scanning and capture rather than outsourcing. There is a growing interest scanon-entry, using digital-mailroom scanners.

What are the three strongest drivers for scanning and capture in your organisation?

CAPTURE & PROCESS INTEGRATION Capture-enabling an application generally involves the ability to scan a document into an application and store it there (or more likely hold a link to it) for future reference against an order or customer contact log. A processintegrated application might include an element of workflow that is initiated or dependent on the input of a document or form, and in many cases will involve capture of data from the form producing a reference link that is utilised as part of the process. In the simplest case, customer details are captured, and an acknowledgement is sent back to the customer that their application form, order or service request has been received and is in process.

Details filled in by the customer on the form may also be fed back to them as a confirmation.

Accounts payable or invoice processing is a well-recognised example of a more sophisticated capture process, where customer account numbers and order numbers are recognised and matched against the order processing system, and as a further step, line items, quantities and invoiced amounts are matched against the original order and/or the delivery note (which may also be scanned in).

One of the likely reasons that so few organisations take advantage of the benefits of capture to business process and subsequent Business Process Management is that the decision making power for such investments lies in different hands. Capture is frequently seen as a front-end, physical handling task akin to the post room or the print room, whilst BPM is viewed as the province of process owners and line-of-business (LOB) managers. Further confusion arises as the scanned documents may be part of an ECM

or DM system, which is the realm of the records manager or compliance officer, or may be in the remit of the IT department – particularly if SharePoint is involved. Who are the decision makers in your organisation for capture, BPM, ECM and SharePoint?

Obviously, organisations need to make a joined-up decision on this. It may be that capture and BPM projects are worth implementing initially as a point solution to solve an urgent business process issue, but this should be done with foresight as to how other content management and collaboration requirements can be drawn together further downstream, perhaps by building out a scanning and capture solution into a full ECM suite.

RECOMMENDATIONS Scanning and capture to business process can produce rapid and significant return on investment in terms of both hard-

offices to feed their own business processes.

• Consider a scan-on-entry strategy by utilising mailroom capture and electronic routing, either as an in-house resource or via outsourcing.

• Look across your enterprise systems for process data integration with captured documents, versus a single focus on storage and retrieval functionality.

• Strive to include decision makers across IT, Records Management and Line of Business to ensure that a comprehensive strategy is adopted, particularly with regard to SharePoint.

• Remember that BPM projects are likely to meet resistance to change, and ensure that potential users, and managers from other departments, are educated as regards the scope and potential benefits of BPM. • Before embarking on a BPM implementation, audit current processes to ensure there is agreement between

Scanning and capture to business process can produce rapid and significant return on investment in terms of both hard-dollar productivity savings and soft-dollar service improvement dollar productivity savings and soft-dollar service improvement. We would make the following recommendations: • The business case for scanning and capture projects should include the benefits of information and knowledge sharing as well as reductions in office space and paper handling logistics.

• Scan-to-process as a manual workflow can achieve considerably more benefits than simply scanning-to-archive, and the extension to capture-to-process by the addition of automated data recognition will provide considerable productivity benefits. This can be considered for both in-house and outsourced operations.

• For those organisations scanning-to-archive, manual addition of metadata can usefully be replaced by auto-indexing, with suitable recognition across different content types.

• It can make sense to implement a point solution for capture and BPM to solve an urgent line of business process issue, but this decision should be taken with a forward view of how it might be built out or integrated into a broader ECM system or suite in the future.

• Consider incorporating other types of electronic document such as e-mails, faxes and PDFs into the capture system in order to standardise the workflow process.

• Capture servers can now provide production level recognition services for both centralised and distributed scanners, or a mix of both, allowing local business units and remote

users as to what the processes are now, what exceptions to the process can occur, and how exceptions are addressed.

• When selecting a capture and BPM product or supplier, whether in-house or outsourced, consider the implications for integration with your enterprise systems, particularly for longer-term support.

AIIM is the international community that provides education, research, and best practices to help organisations find, control, and optimise their information. AIIM offers training courses in ECM, Electronic Records Management, BPM, eMail Management, and E2.0, both online and as public classes.

The AIIM Roadshow is the UK’s leading event for document management and ECM, visiting Edinburgh, Bolton, Birmingham, and London on 13-16 June. This acclaimed roadshow provides free seminars on new developments and independent advice on implementing the latest technology solutions.

Notes 1. Research Paper: “AIIM Industry Watch - Capture and BPM” Research free to download at: www.aiim.org.uk/research

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Emma Higgs Tel: 01892 820942 E-mail: emma@revolution-events.com Web: www.aiimroadshow.org.uk

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

MOVING OPEN SOURCE FROM AN IDEA INTO A REALITY Stuart Mackintosh, MD of OpusVL and member of the Open Source Consortium, explains Open Source in detail and answers key questions about its benefits and applications SIMPLY PUT, OPEN SOURCE is software developed in a public, collaborative manner, which has unrestricted licences and is generally free to use. Gone are the days where proprietary software vendors such as Microsoft, IBM and Apple rule the roost – customers now have the freedom to pick and choose solutions that can be built and tailored to their company’s needs, collaborating with software developers to develop and adapt solutions without fear of expensive licences and vendor lock in.

When compared with proprietary software, OSS is generally simpler to implement, requires less attention and does not attract renewal costs or fees. It also lends itself to design-on-the-go and Skunkwork-type projects due to its flexibility and robustness.

WHO IS USING OPEN SOURCE? It may surprise you to know that you are probably already using Open Source products on a day-to-day basis without even realising it. Prime examples of OSS are the internet browser Mozilla Firefox, Sun’s Java programming language and environment and the Linux operating system.

During a recent survey conducted by US research firm, Gartner Group, over 50 per cent of 547 IT leaders from 11 countries had adopted OSS as part of their ongoing IT strategy, with one third stating that they use Open Source software due to lower costs, increased innovation and flexibility, faster procurement processes and shorter development times.

Database company, Ingres, is one example of a traditional software supplier that has adopted Open Source methods to allow more flexibility and transparency. This has enabled OpusVL to create a comprehensive repository of reusable software modules that can form the majority of a required software system.

Rather than having to build an operational system from scratch, the process is reduced to integrating these modules, leaving costly customised development to a minimum.

Some 20,000 Open Source modules are readily available, which drive technologically advanced, internet-driven systems from enterprise to smartphone. It is used by some of the world’s major organisations, including the BBC, Google and BT. Google has long been a heavy user of OSS, with Google Android and Google Chrome two of its most visible Open Source applications.

Various UK Government departments are running initiatives to promote and use OSS, with Birmingham Council trialling Open

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Source with a view to reducing costs.

The official Number 10 website (www. number10.gov.uk) and the Cabinet Office website (www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk) already use Open Source technology.

This February, the Land Registry announced

that it has chosen OSS to measure performance and support its management information systems. Delivery manager, Steven Philips, explained that they “needed a flexible and cost-effective tool that would improve data integration and for the

When compared with proprietary software, OSS is generally simpler to implement, requires less attention and does not attract renewal costs or fees

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

registry to better manage its business intelligence warehouse data.”

And it’s not just the UK Government leaning towards Open Source; the US Government has long been strong advocates and users of Open Source; Australia’s federal government has published a policy that mandates the consideration of Open Source applications equally alongside proprietary software; Russia’s Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin instructed his federal government agencies to make the transition to free and open software by 2015; and it has been reported that the Estonian Ministry for the Environment has saved millions of euros over the past decade by using OpenOffice.

HOW CAN OPEN SOURCE BE APPLIED? There are numerous cases where Open Source can directly replace propriety software to deliver off the shelf savings and provide a quick win. It can be integrated with existing technologies to leverage what is already installed and allow extension for new features and functionality.

OSS can be used for a multitude of applications to meet most organisational needs, from the desktop to the server room and database infrastructure. There are free productivity tools to provide alternative word processing, spreadsheet and presentations, communications and workflow management.

However, selection of the correct solution is key to a successful

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Stuart Mackintosh is the MD of OpusVL, one of the UK’s leading Open Source software (OSS) specialists. He is a member of the Open Source Consortium (OSC) and has been involved with the Cabinet Office and its activities to drive the use of Open Source through government departments. implementation. There are many Open Source applications and solutions available, and most are free to download and use. As with any IT project, it is important to identify the needs before the solution to prevent time wasted trialling every option. However, once the requirements have been identified and the solution has been properly implemented, there is great potential to make large savings and increase performance.

WHAT SUPPORT AND BACK-UP IS THERE? There are many Open Source experts and specialist companies with long and proven track records and many more are being established every year as the market expands. Open Source trade associations, such as the Open Source Consortium (OSC) provide one-stop access to some of the UK’s leading industry experts.

This pool can provide case studies and examples of successful implementations in business to assist in the selection of the correct solution.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.opusvl.com

OPUSVL

Open Source Specialists Advice

Implement

Support

www.opusvl.com 01788 298450 Stuart Mackintosh, MD, OpusVL

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Certero to showcase its latest product range at the Service Desk & IT Support Show 011 will be defined as the year that public sector budget cuts started to drive changes in public sector services and the resources that underpin them. IT will come under the cost-saving spotlight, in order to illuminate inefficiencies and areas where savings can be made. IT departments in other industries that have gone through similar budget challenges have adopted a virtualisation strategy, consolidating their servers to reduce the hardware needed to run the software the business needs. Virtualisation helps realise further cost savings through the reduction of the physical space that a company needs for its servers or data centres. While the virtualisation model presents a credible solution to many of the IT cost reduction challenges faced by the public sector, there’s one substantial hurdle to cross; that of software license management in a virtualised environment.

The problem is compounded because software is not owned but licensed, a model which governs the use and distribution of software. The virtualisation model complicates this model, and has the potential to violate existing license agreements. This in turn, could result in public sector IT departments that have adopted a virtualised model being subjected to large fines from software companies, for

2

breaching their license terms and conditions.

One way to address the license challenge is to deploy a Software Asset Management (SAM) solution. Recent SAM products such as Certero’s AssetStudio™ have made significant advances in their functionality and suitability for purpose in establishing an automated Effective License Position, accommodating dynamic virtualised infrastructures. Building on this functionality – and addressing the challenges of a ‘Thin Client’ environment with its additional complexities for License Management and Compliance – is Certero’s SoftwareMetering for Decision Makers™. It provides all the required information to enable an auditable license compatibility process, and enforces access policies to ensure licensing rules,

a function that is also valuable for PCs. Many software contracts are complex and varied, from concurrent usage to named user and, increasingly, subscription based models.

This complexity often means that negotiations with software vendors can be difficult, as there is little measurement information to hand to negotiate with, resulting typically in over-spending. This capability is imperative to prevent organisations from continuing to purchase software licenses unnecessarily.

The extent of the cuts to public sector spending demands more sophisticated solutions for saving money. With software licensing often accounting for over 30 per cent of the IT budget, public sector IT will be under greater pressure to make tangible savings. While the move to a virtualised environment will drive hardware, software and energy savings, it must be carried out in conjunction with an effective process for ensuring software license compliance.

Certero will be showcasing the latest versions of all products at the Service Desk & IT Support Show, on stand 710.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01925 868970 E-mail: info@certero.co.uk Web: www.certero.co.uk

An Advanced Application Monitoring and Access Control Solution

“Certero’s SoftwareMetering for Decision Makers™ will provide the information we need to free up and transfer existing licences to new users as we grow and expand.

Rather than spend money on new licences, we can identify and reallocate our existing ones.”

Kelvin McIvor, Business Analyst

A real time application monitoring and access control solution, enforcing access to applications and providing information on used and unused software. Critical for Licence Compliance and negotiating Large Volume Licence Agreements.

(Including Thin Client, Virtualised environments as well as PC’s and Servers)

www.certero.co.uk info@certero.co.uk

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

IDENTIFYING BEST SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR ORGANISATION A day at the Service Desk & IT Support Show will be one of the most productive of the year as you get to grips with the issues that really matter THAT PUBLIC SECTOR IT SPENDING will remain strong, despite the deep and wide-reaching cutbacks imposed by government, speaks volumes about how information technology is not only vital for the effective running of key services, but is now recognised as potentially driving efficiency gains which will help weather the cuts.

GROWTH Research from Kable predicts a slight dip in spending in 2011, but modest growth through to 2015, meaning that actual spending on IT in the public sector will rise 1.5 per cent to reach ÂŁ18.27 billion. In practical terms, the analyst says that less will be spent on custom software, system integration and consultancy, to be replaced by a focus on cutting operational costs.

In other words, the public sector must abandon complex projects and instead get more out of the infrastructure as it exists.

IT service management is a discipline that by

its very definition strives to create order out of IT chaos; forging lean processes to ensure that technology is efficient and always available.

The service desk and the people that staff it are at the sharp end of turning the theories of service management into a practical reality. The days of a technical helpdesk helping people reset their printers are long gone, with the new breed of service desks working proactively to pre-empt support problems. Service desks are uniquely placed to guide the future direction of IT because they witness first-hand the problems encountered and the damage that poorly implemented IT can cause to an organisation.

BRINGING THE INDUSTRY TOGETHER Against this backdrop comes the Service Desk & IT Support Show, which for 17 years has brought the industry together at a national two-day event; this year it bills itself as providing new ideas for issues that matter. The sentiment is sound: even though the pressure to save money is greater than it has ever been, it is difficult for any department or organisation to conjure up fresh ways of shaving costs, given that making savings and getting more for less are permanent fixtures for any IT department.

The Service Desk & IT Support Show therefore offers a meeting point for those seeking

The Service Desk & IT Support Show offers a meeting point for those seeking inspiration, allowing free sharing of ideas and experiences for people keen to discover fresh ideas to implement within their organisation

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Feature Rich Service Request Software Powerful browser-delivered software that doesn’t cut back on features.

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

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IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

EVENT INFORMATION The Service Desk & IT Support Show takes place 19-20 April at Earls Court, London inspiration, allowing free sharing of ideas and experiences for people keen to discover fresh ideas to implement within their organisation.

HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATIONS More than 250 products, services and experts will be available over the two-day event, providing hands-on demonstrations and access to the people who have helped businesses make their service desks a vital element in IT delivery.

One of the biggest draws of the Service Desk & IT Support Show is its strong educational programme, and the organisers have excelled this year by putting together 70 sessions covering all aspects of IT service management. The standout new addition to the free programme is the Ovum Knowledge Center, which will showcase the latest thinking and research from the highly respected analyst group. Highlights include a panel debate, which will investigate how service desks can harness the growing influence of social media, and presentations from leading Ovum analysts looking at hot topics such as

making the transition to ITIL Version 3, the role of service management in IT security and delivering business value as budgets are cut.

Spaces in the Ovum Knowledge Center will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis at the registration desk each day, so be sure to make that your first port of call to avoid missing out.

For early risers, the event offers two opportunities to learn about technologies that will very much define the IT experience over the coming years. The breakfast briefing on day one will reveal findings of an extensive survey carried out by the Service Desk Institute (SDI) about the use of self-service technologies. The proposition at the heart of self-service – giving users instant access to support information around the clock, while potentially reducing headcount – makes it extremely appealing to any business balancing budgets. The research will show why some deployments are successful and offer advice on how self-service best practice can be applied in other environments.

For the breakfast briefing on day two, the focus shifts to the service desk software used to underpin the entire support operation.

Hosted by FrontRange, this session looks at the future of the service desk – what it will look like in five years – considering the impact of moving away from its core focus of IT support

towards becoming a central hub for dealing with all internal business problems. Those keen to stay ahead of the market and learn how to capitalise on the emerging trends in IT are advised to take advantage of this session.

HOT TOPIC ZONE Those visitors wanting to absorb rapid-fire advice from some of the leading thinkers in the industry should look for the Hot Topic Zone, which will host 50-minute sessions covering areas such as improving the first time fix rate, finding metrics that matter to the business and making use of a service catalogue.

Another big draw for visitors is hearing from peers and again the Service Desk & IT Support Show delivers. Speakers from organisations including Roehampton University, Solihull NHS Trust, Kent and Medway Health Informatics Service and Northumbria University will be sharing their experiences, offering blow-by-blow accounts of the problems they have successfully overcome.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on the exhibitors and seminar programme, and to secure your free ticket, visit www.servicedeskshow.com

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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

49

Desktop Management Software for the Modern IT Support Team

www.netsupportservicedesk.com

www.netsupportmanager.com

Web-based Incident Management

Remote Access & Desktop Management

With over 20 years experience and a global install base approaching 9,000,000 systems, NetSupport products have a proven reputation in the Service Management industry. Web-based and ITIL compliant, NetSupport ServiceDesk provides your IT support team with the tools needed to pro-actively manage the Incidents, Problems and Change Requests that may be impacting on the availability of your business critical systems.

As the complexity and diversity of systems has evolved, remote control tools have also had to evolve to ensure that a single technology solution can manage and negotiate a wide range of platforms and environments. NetSupport Manager provides a single operator console that delivers a unified approach to the connectivity and management of multi-platform computers, including MAC, Linux and Mobile, across LAN, WAN or the Internet.

Easily integrated into your existing IT Infrastructure, NetSupport ServiceDesk’s intuitive interface and streamlined workflow processes ensure your support team are focused on resolving issues and managing customer expectations. Real-time status reports gauge the effectiveness of how support requests are being managed while your customers can search online for answers before logging a support request as well as check and review the status of their reported incidents.

All of the key elements you would expect from a leading remote control solution are catered for - screen control and recording, the ability to interact with keyboard and mouse, transfer files, log activity to a central point, chat, message and instant request help.

What sets NetSupport Manager apart is its ease of use. Real-time visual thumbnails of all connected computers, with the option to dynamically group by platform and operating system, ensures an operator, from a single viewpoint, is able to identify all activity across the environment and pinpoint where assistance is needed.

www.netsupportnotify.com

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Desktop Alerting

IT Asset Management

Sometimes you can’t wait for someone to read their emails or check the intranet and sometimes you just need to get your message out there in a hurry!

Providing you with the tools needed to manage the TCO of your IT Assets, NetSupport DNA is a modular solution that delivers best-ofbreed Hardware & Software Inventory and License Management - vital information if purchasing decisions are to be made from an entirely informed position.

NetSupport Notify removes the barriers associated with traditional forms of communication by enabling administrators and technical support teams to deliver attention-grabbing alerts and notifications direct to all or selected desktops across your network within seconds. Whether it’s general news, IT announcements or even security alerts, NetSupport Notify ensures your message can’t get lost in a busy inbox, saved for later or ignored. With its notification gateway component, a single message can be delivered to staff across many sites or locations in a single action, with full delivery/ receipt logging and reporting. Messages can be fully branded to fit with your corporate identity and can include an audible alert for added impact.

Including Application and Internet Metering, Software Distribution and an eco-friendly Energy Monitor component, NetSupport DNA also provides an integrated communication gateway allowing secure interaction with your assets, anywhere, over the internet without the need for a VPN or changes to your existing network or firewall configuration.

OFFER ENDS 31 MARCH 2011.

FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT US: corporate@netsupportsoftware.co.uk

See us at Service Desk & IT Support Show Stand 824, 19-20 April 2011, Earls Court - London

Download free 30-day trials at: www.netsupportsoftware.com. Email us at: corporate@netsupportsoftware.co.uk

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

REDUCING IT SUPPORT COSTS WITHOUT AFFECTING SERVICE Chris Lovesey, marketing manager at software developer NetSupport, provides a timely reminder of the steps IT teams can take to deliver more with less IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, IT departments are under as much pressure as other areas of the organisation to reduce costs.

The perennial dilemma, however, is: how do you cut your cloth without impacting on the quality of service expected by customers?

For today’s forward-looking IT managers, buzz terms like “Return On Investment” and “Total Cost Of Ownership” are almost part of everyday vocabulary. But when trying to build a case for the latest time and money saving device, are budget holders going to be swayed by the science or turned off by the upfront costs?

In 1989, when NetSupport first started, producing desktop management software, the business case was simple. The concept of being able to remotely control a PC located in one part of the building while sitting in the

Fast forward to today’s internet and gadgetdriven world, where fuel and utility bills are rocketing and decision makers have to consider the environmental impact of their choices. The modern corporate IT landscape and working practices have certainly changed dramatically and helpdesk products, much like the technology they are used to support and report on, have also had to evolve.

MOVING WITH THE TIMES Remote control products still aim to provide the same cost and productivity benefits they did in the 1980s but it is no longer simply about being able to view a DOS-based machine located down the corridor or firing up the Quattro so you can dash out to one of your branch offices because someone

The modern corporate IT landscape and working practices have certainly changed dramatically and ‘helpdesk’ products, much like the technology they are used to support and report on, have also had to evolve comfort of your own workstation brought instant appeal to the new breed of increasingly overworked helpdesk analysts. Modernisation through the use of computers was great but with this came extra overheads in terms of support. In those halcyon days it was easy to present a compelling case as to why, with a little upfront investment, you would see a rapid return on your investment.

REMOTE CONTROL SOFTWARE Remote control software enabled you to diagnose and resolve the majority of PC and system-related issues without the need for a visit to the user; the combined benefits being that you cut out a lot of wasteful travel time while simultaneously making the support desk instantly more productive.

In the intervening 22 years technology has moved on apace but the underlying issues remain the same. Support teams are still expected to work leaner and smarter but, if you are finding that the bean counters are using the current economic climate as an excuse to be a little more blinkered to the mid- to longterm benefits that can be realised from that bit of initial investment, perhaps it’s an ideal time to give them a nudge in the right direction!

has asked you what ‘Format C:’ means!

Our own remote control solution, NetSupport Manager, has had to adapt in order to support the increasingly diverse range of devices, platforms and operating systems now in use across the modern enterprise and the move among cost-conscious employers to offer home or mobile working as an alternative to using office resources.

The business case surely stacks up more today than it ever did. Corporate IT departments need their Remote Access tools to connect them securely to users located anywhere in the world, irrespective of the type of system they are using. While Windows desktops may still dominate, mac, Linux and the raft of mobile devices should also not present any barriers to the successful operation of your service desk.

Remote control is just one of the tools today’s IT departments can call upon to provide a proactive service. Successful network management is often built around a core of complementary solutions. Flick through the tech magazines and it quickly becomes clear that service management and IT asset management are hot topics right now.

We increasingly see the alignment of remote control technologies with helpdesk

systems that, when combined with system inventories, provide a reporting, diagnostic and subsequent resolution tool from a single desktop with minimal impact on the end user.

Ensuring IT assets are properly managed and maintained should be a high priority but, without the appropriate reporting mechanisms in place, it isn’t easy to identify when kit is past its sell-by date or if you are about to breach your software licensing agreements.

The annual cost of supporting your IT infrastructure can often result in costs spiralling out of control, where the initial purchase price of IT assets pales into insignificance.

Undertaking proactive asset management ensures compliance with software licence agreements and makes budget forecasting more accurate. Knowing how many of your users are using a specific application at any given time will allow for both effective trimming of software budgets and a realistic prediction of future software investment.

DELIVERING MORE WITH LESS NetSupport DNA is typical of the new genre of ITAM solutions that are helping organisations make informed decisions about upgrades and the rollout of new technology. Based on its powerful Hardware and Software Inventory component, DNA helps you uncover savings through process improvement, gain control of all inventory across the enterprise, increase accountability to ensure compliance and enhance the performance of assets and their life cycle management. There’s also an Energy Monitor that helps you meet your environmental responsibilities!

Armed with the right combination of management tools, it’s easy for any IT support team to deliver more with less!

FOR MORE INFORMATION NetSupport solutions are available to trial free for 30 days at www.netsupportsoftware.com You will also be able to meet the NetSupport team at the Service Desk & IT Support Show, 19-20 April, Earls Court, Stand 824.

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

IT SERVICE MANAGEMENT

ULTIMA – WE MAKE IT HAPPEN Ultima Business Solutions has evolved into one of the UK’s leading providers of secure, available and scalable IT infrastructure solutions to private and public sector organisations whether it be your end to end desktop lifecycle, integrating acquired infrastructure from mergers and acquisitions, to consolidation of data centres and Greenfield deployments.

Key services include: • Asset and Site Audits • Infrastructure Health Checks • Technology Strategic Reviews • Security Audits and Testing • Compliance Auditing • Business Continuity Planning • Proof Of Concepts and Pilots • Server and Infrastructure Design • Infrastructure Deployments • Data Centre and Office Relocations • Decommissions and Re-Organisations • Desktop Rollouts and Refreshes • Application Packaging Services • Desktop and Server Configuration • Desktop Lifecycle Management FORMED IN 1990, Ultima has evolved into one of the UK’s leading providers of secure, available and scalable IT infrastructure solutions to private and public sector organisations over the past 20 years. As a leading IT infrastructure, security and management company, we focus on the provision of tailored infrastructure solutions to corporate customers, delivered by our extensive team of technical services personnel. Ultima, as a business, is split into four core offerings as detailed below.

FULFILMENT SERVICES Ultima provides end-to-end fulfilment services ranging from product acquisition, configuration and stock holding, shipment throughout the UK and EMEA, asset tracking and decommissioning. These services can be managed through our online InterAct Portal, which is a fully integrated Client Relationship Management system available to you 24/7. Key services include hardware supply, software supply, asset management, configuration and maintenance.

SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES Ultima can provide a range of IT consultancy and engineering services that can be customised to ensure that a solution is tailored to your business needs. We can boast extensive expertise and real world experience of delivering enterprise solutions from leading technology vendors. Amongst others, we are a seven times Microsoft Gold Partner, VMware Premier Partner and Citrix Gold Solutions Advisor. Key services include Microsoft Infrastructure, Messaging and Collaboration, Server Virtualisation, Application Delivery through to Storage and Backup.

SUPPORT SERVICES Ultima has over ten years’ experience in delivering proactive Managed Services and co-sourced Support Desks. Our qualified on-site staff currently support in excess of 20,000 network devices. In addition, we are able to provide 24/7 technical support across a range of technologies such as Microsoft, Citrix, VMware, Cisco and Check Point from our purpose built, ISO27001 accredited technical support centre (pictured). Key services include: • Unified Telephone Support – Ultima can offer 24/7 remote support for multiple support partners, SLA’s and core technologies with access to our pool of certified professionals.

• Hosted Managed Services – Ultima can supply Shared, Virtual or Dedicated hosting models to suit your needs, using the latest VMware, Citrix and Microsoft technology.

• Helpdesk – Ultima operates a number of high profile Helpdesk’s (BMW, Olswang, Toyota, Honda) with under 4 per cent staff turnover, backed by SLA’s for quality of cover.

• Network and Unified Communications – Our support centre is geared to monitor and manage a range of global LAN/WAN/ MPLS/VOIP/VPN/ technologies including Cisco.

• Managed Security – Ultima delivers security solutions that can reduce risk, increase uptime and help adhere to legislation, such as ISO27001 and PCI standards.

WHY ULTIMA? With 20 years of experience in providing cutting edge IT solutions, year on year growth and consistent record of delivery, Ultima is ideally placed to deliver end to end services and solutions to your business. We have a proven track record of supplying enterprise-class solutions into a wide range of corporate environments.

Our mission is to be recognised as a leading UK provider and maintainer of IT Infrastructure Solutions with a focus on the provision of high quality and complementary technical services.

Visit Ultima on stand 530 at this year’s Service Desk and IT Support Show at Earls Court in London. This huge, annual event will take place 19-20 April and you are welcome to come along for free and meet our friendly team of IT experts to learn more about our offerings and have your questions answered.

Don’t miss your chance to enter our free prize draw for a chance to win a Telephone Support Contract (worth up to £2,500) or £250 of Marks & Spencer shopping vouchers among other great prizes! We look forward to welcoming you to the show.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0118 9027500 Fax: 0118 9027400 E-mail: enquiries@ultimabusiness.com Web: www.ultimabusiness.com

DEPLOYMENT SERVICES Ultima has vast experience in desktop and server deployment services, which are tailored and delivered by our team of project managers, consultants and engineers. Our teams are able to look after any aspect of your estate,

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

53

FAST Silent Cubes Secure Data Storage for Long-Term Archiving

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With benefits such as increased first contact resolution rate, lower overall call handling costs and better service resulting in happier agents and citizens it is easy to see the attraction.

So why are so many Councils and Housing Associations not Multi-skilling their agents?

“Agent Multi-Skilling Viability”, a white paper from SKS Solutions, examines some of the challenges and what needs to be done to address them.

For your complimentary copy email: multi-skilling@sks-solutions.com

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

CONTACT CENTRES

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN DRIVING DOWN COST Paul Smedley, executive director of the Professional Planning Forum, uncovers the secrets of five recent successful customer contact stories and finds that it’s not the technology but how it’s used that makes the critical difference FOLLOWING THE COMPREHENSIVE spending review, it’s clear that all public sector services are going to need further and deeper plans to drive efficiency, delivering more with less. In this new world, technology appears again and again in transformation plans and budgets.

Equally it’s clear that the technology alone doesn’t drive down costs. As David McElhinney, acting chief executive of Liverpool Council, said at our Public Sector seminar on 23 November, just buying new laptops never saved a penny, but getting people to work differently does.

Public sector managers need to get clever about how to work differently and understanding where technology is a key enabler and where it actually isn’t necessary.

Putting the customer at the heart of the decision is one key factor that sets apart the best – with a focus on simplicity and processes re-design.

SHARING BEST PRACTICE Five recent success stories – all shortlisted for the Customer Contact Innovation Awards 2011 – demonstrate the scale of impact that can be achieved when there is a vision and commitment, together with the skills and resources to make change happen.

One project in Liverpool that’s made a dramatic difference is the ground breaking Careline service, which uniquely offers full 24/7 social care support by telephone for vulnerable children, adults and families throughout Liverpool.

Highly skilled call-handlers now assess all new cases in this extremely sensitive area of work, supported 24-hours by trained social workers within the team. Costs are down 23 per cent, with 20 per cent more calls answered and fewer cases passed to area social work teams – and employee survey scores for communication are up 26 per cent.

Social care is a brave area for innovation in the public sector, with high risks and huge consequences if the wrong judgements are made. What’s significant at Liverpool is that work in this area was able to build on the wider infrastructure – of technology and business process experience – which already exists in Liverpool Direct ltd. Furthermore once the concept has been proven successful it can now be offered to other authorities looking to achieve a similar transformation.

A totally different approach can be seen at Wokingham Council, where smart working was introduced, using flexible hours and

home-based agents, with the aim of making council-wide savings of £1 million.

Taking a different approach to resourcing services is key to delivery of real benefit – whether cost reduction or service improvement.

The council also merged the front and back office operations of council tax and benefits.

Breaking down silos has delivered budget savings of £100k, cut e-mail response time from ten days to one day, and reduced abandonment rates from 40 per cent to under five per cent.

A major lesson at the council is the use of technology such as cloud computing, webchat and SMS to make contact quick, cheap and easy for customers – in particular cloud computing can be a cost-effective way of introducing new technology and changing processes.

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT At the NHS Business Services Authority, resource flexibility and efficiency has been massively improved, by implementing a preference-based scheduling and workforce management system. This saved £150k in year one, with further savings of £250k expected, through full union consultation.

While preference-based scheduling is a more complex approach, its introduction has increased flexibility, improved work/life balance for employees and allows better planning of training, recruitment, meetings, reviews and coaching. It has even freed up time for 45 employees to complete their NVQs. And all this was achieved in just three months.

Another authority famous for transforming customer service is Surrey County Council, commended at the European Call Centre Awards. They developed a new model contact centre to successfully streamline processes, halve complaints, and raise colleague satisfaction to 72 per cent – all while saving £400,000 for the tax payer.

Working with customers, front-line staff and other departments, the council drove improvement projects that have reduced the number of calls coming in by 11.5 per cent.

Thanks to a holistic channel strategy and setting up a web service team within the contact centre, problems are identified as soon as they occur and cost per contact has been reduced by 28 per cent.

HUMAN FACTORS In these inspiring models of change, we see that technology has a major role to play, but that none of these successes have been led

SIX TOP TIPS TO SUCCESSFUL CUSTOMER CONTACT • Start with the customers – does it make their life simpler?

• Change the thinking in your own organisation • Engage your front-line teams so that they feel listened to • Good planning creates a framework for engagement and continuous improvement • Measure the impact – and check you are delivering what you plan • Learn from others; there is such a lot of good practice out there already by the technology itself. What drives change is a vision, careful planning and a belief that a real difference can be made – together with close attention to what the customer wants and to the needs of employees.

Portsmouth City Council provides a valuable example of a different kind of approach which is even less reliant on technology.

Here we can discover what happens when an organisation changes the thinking that drives service design and delivery.

Portsmouth transformed the housing service and halved the cost of repair, by applying Vanguard’s Systems Thinking methods and uncovering what creates true customer satisfaction. Repairs are provided at the specific time/day requested by tenants – 75 per cent within 48 hours – and completed to a high standard on the first visit. Most managers would argue that it couldn’t be done or would be massively expensive. In fact, focus on people and value, rather than cost and process, has cost less – with £2m annual savings, fewer properties left empty and double the grounds maintenance at no cost.

All these organisations are speaking about how they achieved their success at Contact Centre Planning 2011 in Birmingham on 11-12 April. Special one-day rates are available for public sector employees.

This material is copyright Professional Planning Forum 2010.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0333 1235960 E-mail: paul.smedley@planningforum.co.uk Web: www.planningforum.co.uk

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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Realising cost savings & efficiency gains Bury Metropolitan Borough Council required a robust call accounting solution that could monitor, report and analyse the approximately seven million phone calls that its telecoms network handles on an annual basis over 3,000 extensions in more than 30 locations. The Borough’s main requirement for the system was that it must be able to report and analyse call traffic levels within all of the Council’s departments, including council tax, housing, benefits and transport as well as the numerous disparate internal teams within these units. The call accounting system was needed to advise the communications and human resources teams when each section was at its busiest so that appropriate staffing resources could be allocated.

Efficient & effective Jessica Nacarlo, Telephone Support Team Leader for Bury Council, commented: “To ensure that Bury Council is able to react to the needs of its community effectively and efficiently, we required a call accounting solution that would help us achieve the highest level of customer service. Just as we must be flexible and reactive to the needs of our population, the system needed to help us identify and forecast when certain departments and incoming call levels were at their highest to ensure our staffing levels were reflective of this.”

To meet these needs, Bury Council specified Proteus Enterprise from CTI Group and

subsequently upgraded by incorporating Fraud Guard. Proteus Enterprise provides the Council with a user-friendly graphical frontend dashboard that is constantly updated providing real-time call information and can be accessed from a user’s desktop.

Delivering return on investment Furthermore, to assist the Borough in meeting its auditory requirements, all call traffic information is instantly available via automated reports that offer ‘click through’ and ‘drill down’ functionality from the main screen. Quick and easy access to historical data is also an important feature, Mrs Nacarlo added: “We have been delighted with the level of service and performance that the

Proteus Enterprise solution from CTI Group has provided the Borough. From a customer service perspective, its extensive range of analytical reports allows us to ensure that staffing levels meet the needs and expectations that our community has for the Council. Furthermore, the built-in Fraud Guard application gives us the option to look into highlighting any fraudulent activity immediately, regardless of whether it is perpetrated internally or externally.

“

As with any public sector service, Bury Council needs to exhibit the use of Best Practice solutions and CTI Group’s Proteus Enterprise has consistently delivered this and its return on investment (ROI) has been evident throughout the past five years.

Cutting costs, improving quality... ...Proteus Enterprise from CTI Group, the call management and reporting solution for public sector organisations Quick to deploy, simple to manage and easy to use, implement Proteus Enterprise in your public sector organisation to: Reduce communication costs Increase employee productivity Improve customer service Find out how Proteus Enterprise can help you gain maximum efficiency from your existing voice systems, call +44 (0) 800 0925 835 or email info@ctigroup.com CTI Group | www.ctigroup.com | info@ctigroup.com | +44 (0) 800 0925 835

“

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

CONNECTED BUSINESS ANYWHERE Unified Communications is set to change the way every organisation works. Ensure you understand its implications, and are ready to take advantage of all that these rapidly-emerging technologies have to offer UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS EXPO, the UK’s leading business communications event will give you first-hand information and knowledge that will strengthen and protect your business in 2011 and beyond.

Bringing together high-profile experts and business professionals over two days, the event will showcase new as well as mature communication technologies from collaboration tools to CRM. Discover practical solutions that will make a real difference to the way you work in today’s fast-changing world. Meet key communications experts in a specially designed Expo, giving you plenty of room to conduct business and comfortable leisure areas to get together and talk.

FREE EDUCATION PROGRAMME The free education programme at Unified Communications Expo covers all facets of business communication and collaboration: • The Flexible Working Theatre addresses the real benefits of flexible working with mobile, audio, web and video conferencing and how to leverage best working practices. Seminars in this field are all about connecting your teams in the field, from knowledge workers to service personnel, efficiently and in real time.

• The Collaboration & Messaging Theatre shows you the benefits of a single, consistent management infrastructure, new capabilities to increase availability, and interoperability with existing systems.

• The Microsoft UC Experience Theatre showcases the benefits of Microsoft Lync Server 2010 – a game changer in communications.

• Learn how to deliver a holistic customer experience across multiple channels and the social web in the seminars covering Customer Contact and Management.

• You’ll find an invaluable guide to the implementation and management challenges in the IP Convergence & SIP Theatre.

• Find out how your own mobile technology can increase profitability, productivity and customer service in the Enterprise Mobility Theatre.

• The Small Business Communications Theatre specifically addresses the communications and collaboration needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

• The Social Business & Collaboration Theatre explores the most effective ways to engage and collaborate through social platforms.

• Learn about an entirely new way to build, deploy and scale enterprise communications systems in the Cloud Communications Seminars.

Key speakers to look out for include: • Duncan Wood, CRM product manager, Sage UK presents on Stay Connected with Sage • Nathan Winters, Unified Communications Technical Specialist, Microsoft speaks on What’s new in Lync 2010 • Bruce Everest, solution development principal, Vodafone presents on Making real-time collaboration more productive for Enterprises and End-Users through a People-Centric Approach • Jon Mell, social collaboration software leader North Europe, on Dispelling the myths of social software • Ian Taylor, programme change manager Google and Sean McAnrew Jaguar Land Rover programme manager on Living with Google Apps Unified Communications Expo takes place 8-9 March at London’s Olympia and places for visitor places are free if they are registered before 8 March.

THE CMA ANNUAL CONFERENCE This year the CMA Annual Conference will be co-hosted at Unified Communications Expo.

The 2011 CMA Annual Conference will spotlight the pivotal role that communications is playing in the development of UK business wealth. The conference will address management opportunities and challenges in: • Social business and Enterprise 2.0 • Providing solutions for an increasingly mobile workforce • Managing cyber threats to UK Plc

• Pitfalls to avoid in managing large projects • How international and UK communications policy affects you • Traffic management – protecting your business • Bandwidth wars – who’s winning and how could it affect your business.

BUSINESS BULLETIN Unified Communications Business Bulletin is a fortnightly bulletin on the business drivers and collaborative technologies that make an organisation work faster and smarter.

Whether you are involved in mobility, customer relations with different touch points or hosted communications, this bulletin is about how to make your business work better.

Communications is the glue that holds most businesses together in the modern age and yet it’s seen as a side-line by so many organisations. Take a strategic view rather than just assume it’s something that needs to be fulfilled and it can save money, increase customer satisfaction and boost profits.

Editor Guy Clapperton keeps readers up to date with new developments and technologies, and also provides summaries of some of the best presentations from the Unified Communications Expo events at http://online.ucexpo.co.uk Subscribe free online today and get access to all the seminars from this year’s event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.ucexpo.co.uk

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

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The future of integrated technology IT decisions 2011 28-29 June 2011 QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London

Next generation computing for a converging world Almost every aspect of the digital world is now converging at an unstoppable rate: data, voice and video; email, messaging and social media; desktop, remote and mobile devices. The conventional lines between work, social and home lives are blurring and there is a growing need for information to be available on-demand from almost any location.

IT Decisions 2011 presents an integrated view of: • Virtualisation, Storage & Datacentre Optimisation • Cloud Computing & Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) • Enterprise 2.0, Social Media & Collaborative Working • Unified Communications & VOIP

• • • • • •

Mobile & Wireless Accessibility e-Identity & Security in the Cloud Green IT, Governance & Compliance Open Source Software Development Interoperability & Standards Risk Management, Procurement & Contractual Issues

Access an extensive programme of thought-provoking keynotes and seminars, executive briefings, independent advice clinics and demonstrations of all the latest innovations – helping you to understand and evaluate their significance within a wider strategic context.

Apply for your FREE place now at

www.itdshow.com

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

IT STRATEGY

IT DECISIONS 2011 TO FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY CONVERGENCE Revolution Events and BCS bring their innovative IT forum to the QEII Centre in London’s Westminster, 28-29th June WITH LAST YEAR’S SPENDING REVIEW placing huge pressure on budgets, government IT departments are being asked to make very careful decisions to ensure best value from their technology investments, whilst also innovating to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

This is why one of the UK’s leading organisers, Revolution Events, is bringing its acclaimed IT Decisions event to central London in 2011, providing better accessibility and improved facilities at the prestigious QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.

Almost every aspect of digital communications are now converging at an unstoppable rate: data, voice and video; e-mail, messaging and social media; and desktop, remote and mobile devices. The conventional lines between work, social and home lives are blurring and there is a growing need for information to be available on-demand from almost any location – by citizens, employees and senior government leaders.

Innovations such as cloud computing and the G-Cloud, virtualisation, unified communications, web-based applications, e-identity, service oriented architectures, content management, hosted storage, Enterprise 2.0, Web 3.0 and increasingly sophisticated mobile devices are all key components in the move towards this pervasive information layer.

SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS Individually, these technologies can all deliver significant benefits to businesses and government organisations, helping to build IT systems that are more flexible, accessible and secure than ever before. But the most significant opportunities emerge when they are integrated within a long-term strategy to maximise availability and interaction between the providers of public services and their customers: improving service levels, reducing response times and delivering efficiency gains at every stage of the process.

Held in partnership with BCS The Chartered Institute for IT, IT Decisions 2011 is the only UK event to present an integrated view of technology convergence, addressing all the most important technology trends and new innovations so that senior executives can assess their significance within a wider strategic context – together with invaluable advice on the essential procurement and contractual considerations that play a key role in mitigating risk and maximising the returns from major IT investments.

Using rich educational content and a

wide range of independent speakers, IT Decisions aims to provide an annual one stop shop for understanding technology convergence, explaining the potential efficiency benefits and helping IT departments to generate a direct return on investment from their new and ongoing projects.

KEY THEMES Key themes for 2011 include: • Virtualisation, Storage & Datacentre Optimisation • Cloud Computing & Software as-a-Service (SaaS) • Enterprise 2.0, Social Media & Collaborative Working • Unified Communications & VOIP • Mobile & Wireless Accessibility • e-Identity & Security in the Cloud • Green IT, Governance & Compliance • Open Source Software Development • Interoperability & Standards • Risk Management, Procurement & Contractual Issues The unique two-day event will also run a special stream of free FastForward seminars, showcasing emerging technologies for the next three to five years and assessing their likely chance of widescale adoption. Each theme will be supported by a comprehensive range of educational seminars, advice clinics, supplier briefings and demonstrations led by independent experts such as Ovum, BCS, Verdantix, EEMA and the 451 Group, plus a wide range of endusers and technology innovators such as Google, Intel, VMware and many more.

The involvement of these market leaders and other service providers is a key component for ensuring the event addresses the full spectrum of market developments and different perspectives. “A common concern about single-focus or cluster-style technology events is whether they exist simply to peddle the latest IT ‘snake-oil’ by hyping a single set of technologies or promoting a rather biased vision of the future,” explains Rich Tribe, joint managing director of Revolution Events. “With IT Decisions, we decided to take a completely non-partisan approach to the technology landscape, presenting all the most significant innovations alongside each other and including competing views about their likely impact. This doesn’t mean that none of our speakers will have a specific point of view – but rather that delegates can access a wide range of opinions and counter-opinions

without interference from us as the organisers.”

By uncoupling itself from the single-focus approach, IT Decisions helps users understand how the latest technologies are converging, overlapping and complementing each other, so that they can arrive at an IT strategy that supports and integrates with their own business objectives.

To add even more value, the educational programme at IT Decisions also includes several briefings on the IT buying process itself, providing expert advice on best practice for IT, finance and purchasing departments. As technology has become increasingly commoditised over the past decade, effective procurement procedures have become an important consideration for reducing risk in major projects and controlling costs at all levels of expenditure. Building an accurate specification, sourcing and selecting the right partners, negotiating a fair price and putting a robust contract in place can sometimes be more important than the solution itself – yet many organisations feel ill-equipped to tackle these thorny issues when planning IT projects.

Attendance at IT Decisions is free for senior IT decision makers, directors and managers working in the public and private sectors.

You can find out more at the event website, including information on how to register and the latest news on key participants.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.itdshow.com

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DELivEring LowEr Cost inCiDEnt ManagEMEnt through tEChnoLogy Business Design Centre, Islington, London | Conference & Exhibition: 13-14 April

Designed to educate and inform, the 13th annual BAPCO Conference and Exhibition addresses how to deliver success at a time of exceptional financial restrictions

The annual conference and exhibition for all professionals engaged in major incident public safety communications and information management

Images courtesy of Hertforshire Fire and Rescue Service, British Transport Police and Frequentis

Exhibition

• Over 100 specialist suppliers showcasing the latest equipment, technology and information & data management systems • Gain expert advice on the use, implementation and management of communication equipment • Compare and source new products, systems and services direct with the supplier

ConfErEnCE

• Delegates can choose from a comprehensive programme of topics under the theme ‘Delivering lower cost incident management through technology’. The full conference programme is available at www.bapco.co.uk • Recognised as a vocational training opportunity that can count towards CPD points • Explore how the latest technology can help deliver lower cost incident management

for exhibition and conference enquiries, contact: Lucy McPhail

t +44 (0)20 7973 6635 E l.mcphail@hgluk.com

Jude Coverdale

t +44 (0)20 7973 6671 E j.coverdale@hgluk.com

Register now at www.bapco.co.uk

Government Technology | Volume 10.2

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

LICENSE TO SAVE MONEY AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY How do you do more with less? This is one of the questions organisations have been asking since the public sector spending cuts were announced. Some answers can be found in reassessing existing software licensing agreements and looking at new ways to improve productivity ONE AREA WHERE SAVINGS can be made without impacting performance of service to citizens, is with software licensing. It accounts for 30 per cent of the IT budget, but is often overlooked as a source of potential cost savings.

Central Bedfordshire Council looked closely at the spend on licenses for its PDF software. PDF is the council’s file format of choice for saving and sharing documents, because it saves hard drive space, and negates file format compatibility issues. More importantly, with so much confidential and sensitive information being exchanged internally and externally by the council, the format’s advanced security features are used to prevent unintended recipients from opening, editing and printing PDFs, unless they have permission to do so.

Although the council recognised the benefits of PDFs, it didn’t appreciate the license costs associated with its former PDF solution. In order to save costs, the council conducted an assessment of the market’s major PDF creation and conversion software applications, evaluating the price, performance, features and compatibility with its Citrix environment. Nuance’s awardwinning PDF Converter Professional solution – which is the best-selling alternative to Adobe Acrobat – rose above alternatives in price, performance and feature set.

£300,000 SAVING Further increasing its appeal, was Nuance’s flexible Site License Program, which made it possible to extend the deployment across 3,000 desks at the council, where the price of competing PDF solutions would have made such a large deployment cost-prohibitive. Rob Wood, IT manager at Central Bedfordshire Council, outlines the subsequent savings: “We are saving nearly £300,000 for the deployment compared to other PDF solutions.

The considerable price advantage offered by Nuance’s PDF solution made it feasible to extend the current deployment to all users at the council. By adopting one uniform PDF solution for many users, we don’t need to worry about who has access to the product and who does not, nor do we have bottle necks waiting for PDF documents to be created or amended. While the price advantage and value favoured our selection of Nuance’s solution, its advanced feature set means it also does everything that we need it to do.”

Just over 100 miles away in East Sussex, the County Council went through a similar assessment of its how it was using and paying for its former PDF software solution.

By standardising on Nuance PDF Converter Professional, it was able to realise a procurement saving in excess of £16,000,

without compromising on the features, functionality and accuracy of more expensive alternatives. The solution’s built-in redaction feature also negated the need for the council to invest in separate redaction software, which resulted in a potential expenditure savings of £48,000. The council uses the redaction feature included within PDF Converter Professional when sharing documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act, as it enables sensitive data to be securely removed from the PDF. INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY Reviewing software licenses is one way to reduce costs. Optimising productivity and improving process efficiency saves money, too.

One technology that has consistently proven to

deliver significant productivity gains is desktop speech recognition software. Today’s solutions – including Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® 11 and Dragon Dictate for Mac from Nuance – are now even easier to use, and boast recognition accuracy rates of up to 99 per cent.

Typically, we speak three times faster than we can type, so using Dragon enables users to accomplish more during the day. They give departmental users a voice to perform almost any computer based task, to quickly and easily create documents, complete forms and reports, create, reply to and send e-mails, conduct research on the internet, and interact with their favourite applications. Speech recognition technology has already proven itself to be a natural interface, and people in the public and private sectors – including medical, legal and education professionals, students, writers and bloggers – already use Dragon to invest more of their time working and creating, rather than clicking and typing.

Dragon can also help organisations honour their Access to Work responsibilities, to provide improved accessibility and mitigate the risk of RSI injuries. Leading national charity, the Citizens Advice, is using Dragon to create and amend content for AdviserNet, a proprietary webbased legal information resource used by Citizens Advice Bureau advisors. Dragon NaturallySpeaking has been shown to reduce temporary labour costs and insurance premiums by reducing repetitive stress injuries and worker compensation claims.

Cost savings and increased productivity are going to be the judgment criteria for public sector organisations in 2011.

To help achieve this, Nuance is offering public sector organisations product trials and special introductory offers on Dragon and its PDF software for new users, and upgrade pricing for existing users.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on these offers – which are valid up to 31 March 2011 – and to learn how public sector organisations are already saving money and maximising value from existing resources using solutions from Nuance, please e-mail dragon@nuance.co.uk

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www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

ADVERTISERS INDEX The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service Advanced Computer Software Group

GID-Quantor

54

Phoenix Datacom

20

AIIM Roadshow

40

Iansyst

14

Quantum Corporation

38

BAPCO 2011

60

Infosecurity Europe

24

RNIB

14

Blueprint

34

IT Decisions

58

Service Desk & IT Support Show

52

Call Systems Technology

32

L3 TRL Technology

25

SKS Solutions

54

Lombard

28

Sourcefire

19

Trustmarque Solutions

20

Certero

62

6

36, 46

Cherwell Software

42

Misco

Clockwork IT

49

Mongoose IT

36

Twinhead International Corporation

Cloud Computing World Forum

30

NetSupport

50

Ultima Business Solutions

53

Contact Associates

10

Nuance Communications

61

Unified Communications Expo

26

Credativ

14

OKI Printing Solutions

16

Versadev

48

CTI Group

56

Opus Vision

45

Widgit Software

12

FGI

49

Parker Software

54

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