Government Technology Volume 8.11 by Public Sector Publishing

www.governmenttechnology.co.uk | Volume 8.11

UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

GREEN IT

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Digital surveillance Securing the integrity of digital recordings

Free prize draw to win a BlackBerry with iQlink see inside for details

IT SUPPORT & SERVICES MANAGEMENT ITL empowers the service desk

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With the click of a mouse, a new interactive online map will reveal if the area where you live is more crime-ridden than other parts of the country. The Crime Map, covering England and Wales, gives the public immediate access to figures on all crimes – and specifically burglary, robbery, violence, vehicle crime and anti social behaviour. CCTV can work as a deterrent to criminals, and with developments in surveillance technologies producing evidence that will stand up in court this is even more true. BSIA explains more on page 19. Look out for iQlink’s free prize draw to win a BlackBerry on page 22. iQlink provides mobile workers access to SAP using SkyMobile from Sky Technologies, enabling you to mobilise Government Technology. Enjoy the issue.

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8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk GT MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLISHING LTD 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 CONTROLLER Reiss Malone PRODUCTION DESIGN Jacqueline Grist

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© 2009 Public Sector Publishing 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 The Business Magazine for GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY

A practical strategy for transforming paper processes into connected government

Your roadmap to effective eGovernment

eGovernment initiatives not only facilitate enhanced services and cost savings, but also open the door to new challenges – from navigating paper-based processes to securing digital records.

Learn more about how EMC can help: http://uk.emc.com/government – Download our white paper “Solutions for National and Local Government”

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Contents GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY 8.11

4 NEWS

What is the government’s Carbon Reduction scheme and how it will affect the UK’s IT industry?

7 UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS Aligning business needs with ICT strategies paves the way for Unified Communications

11 IT SUPPORT & SERVICE MANAGEMENT What is ITIL and what can it deliver to the service desk?

15 IT MANAGEMENT We look at Intellect’s involvement in the Digital Britain programme

19 SECURITY The BSIA looks at the benefits and challenges of using digital evidence

23 GREEN IT How can the public sector achieve smart and quick carbon efficiency? The Green Grid looks at how advances in reporting aims to improve the consistency and accuracy of data centre efficiency metrics

30 SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT Many businesses are recognising the importance of software compliance but are finding the complexity daunting, says FAST

32 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Building controls can have a big impact on reducing energy bills, says the Building Controls Industry Association

34 CONTENT MANAGEMENT Doug Miles of AIIM Europe looks at the role of ECM in managing unstructured content

GT SUBSCRIPTION

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NEWSINBRIEF Socitm aims to grow

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NEWS Securing the airwaves for London Olympics fcom has set out its plans for how the airwaves will be managed during the London 2012 Games. Thousands of wireless applications will be needed during the seven-week event, presenting a unique logistical challenge, never faced before by the UK. From walkie-talkies used by event organisers to TV cameras broadcasting to a global audience of five billion viewers, the demand on radio spectrum will be unprecedented. In accordance with the government’s guarantees to the International Olympic

Ellen Jessett has been appointed head of membership by Socitm, the organisation for ICT and associated professionals in the public sector. The appointment follows Socitm’s commitment to open up membership to ICT and related professionals at all career stages, working in or for all parts of the public and third sectors. This is the first time Socitm has had a full time head of membership, which is one of three new posts created this year to develop the management team as Socitm diversifies its membership and broadens its role and activities. The two other posts are head of policy (filled by Martin Ferguson in May) and head of business relationships and commercial development, which is currently being recruited.

Ofcom launches Digital Participation Consortium A new Digital Participation Consortium, launched by Ofcom, is the latest initiative in the Digital Britain plan aimed at encouraging more people to use the internet. The new consortium was launched by Ofcom chairman Colette Bowe and minister for Digital Britain Stephen Timms, with the aim to increase the reach, breadth and depth of digital technology use across the UK. The group now has more than 50 members, including major media and communications companies such as BT, BBC, Channel 4 and BSkyB.

School recruitment website launched A new recruitment website that could save schools millions in advertising costs has been launched by the government. The Schools Recruitment Service offers a standardised application system for schools to recruit teachers, headteachers and support staff. So far 52 local authorities, with responsibility for more than 8,000 schools and 32 academies, have signed up, and ministers estimate that the service could save up to £30 million per year in time, administration and advertising costs, if all schools in England join. The government estimates that schools spend at least £46.7 million annually on advertising and filling vacancies.

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Committee, the Spectrum Plan outlines how spectrum will be made available to organisers and users from around 150 countries, while minimising the impact on day-to-day users. Ofcom will source the required spectrum in four main ways. Firstly by borrowing spectrum on a short-term basis from public sector bodies, such as the Ministry of Defence. Secondly by encouraging more efficient use of civil spectrum. Thirdly by making use of spectrum freed up by the digital switchover, and fourthly by using the licence exempt spectrum.

Training for councils on the EU Services Directive series of training courses, sponsored by The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), will teach local authorities how to implement the EU Services Directive. The EU Services Directive has to be implemented in local authorities by 28 December. Successful implementation will provide an electronic channel for authorities to receive and respond to applications in the scope of the Directive, provide access to more competitive suppliers, and

create broader market openings for local businesses. Failure to comply could open local authorities to legal action, judicial reviews or infraction under EU law. Delivered by Socitm Learning, the subsidised training courses will highlight what each authority needs to do to comply with the Directive and what support is available. The course is designed specifically for managers and supervisors responsible for the day-to-day running of business regulatory and licensing activities within the scope of the Services Directive.

Shared services can cut the cost of ECM rganisations can save as much as 10 to 20 per cent of their Enterprise Content Management (ECM) costs by moving to a shared services model, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts has said that shared services have become a practical way for enterprises to provide ECM services, and vendors under pressure from the economy are now willing to work with the shared services model as a way to drive business. “Enterprises have long struggled with multiple ECM deployments which have, in turn, created information silos and caused enterprises to pay for separate sets of software licenses, maintenance and support skills for too many ECM vendors,” said Mark Gilbert, research vice president at Gartner. “The troubled economy has forced many IT organisations to cut ECM costs, but traditional approaches to consolidating are slow, complex and costly. The shared services – or ECM as a service – approach promises at least a partial solution.”

The shared services approach is a delivery model in which an enterprise purchases ECM functions centrally and governs the types of services offered, while granting users a degree of ownership. The enterprise itself, or cloud-based service providers, can deliver these functions over the Internet, much the same as service-oriented architectures (SOAs) make reusable software procedures identifiable and callable. Shared services may also include support from experts on a particular topic, computing infrastructure and reference architectures.

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Jail sentences for illegal trade in personal data? he government has launched a public consultation on whether to introduce prison sentences for those found guilty of offences related to obtaining, disclosing, or selling personal data. Justice Minister Michael Wills, said: “The knowing and reckless misuse of personal data is a serious criminal offence. We have been monitoring this illegal trade closely with the help of the Information Commissioner and as there is a great deal of concern about the protection of personal data we think the time has now come to consider a more robust penalty.

“We are consulting on whether to enable the courts to impose a custodial sentence. A prison term would act as a strong deterrent, ensuring that those who commit this serious criminal offence and seek to profit from the illegal trade in personal data are punished appropriately.” The proposed new measure could see those convicted imprisoned for up to two years if the case is heard in the Crown Court, and up to 12 months if heard in the magistrates’ court. The courts will also be able to impose community sentences and fines if appropriate.

UK to see explosion in 3G and mobile broadband services he UK’s digital infrastructure is set to be boosted by the roll-out of next generation wireless broadband services and enhanced 3G coverage to as much as 90 per cent of the country. The government has launched a consultation setting out its intention to implement a series of recommendations made by the Independent Spectrum Broker (ISB), Kip Meek, on how to make the best use of the digital spectrum – the airwaves which all mobile telecommunications networks need to operate.

The proposals will make available parts of the spectrum suitable for mobile broadband and 3G to offer more sophisticated services and applications. Minister for Digital Britain, Stephen Timms said: “Digital Britain is the Government’s vision for creating a world-class digital infrastructure boosting jobs, growth and competitiveness. To realise that vision it’s vital that we make the best use of the digital spectrum and ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available for sophisticated next generation services, and not just calls and texts.”

Smartphones to help get more police on the front line ritish police forces will be supplied with smartphones by March 2010 according to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). It’s a move hoped to get more policemen on the frontline: officers with smartphones spend 30 minutes less in police stations per shift says Gary Cairns of the NPIA. 30 forces around the UK already use

smartphones in their daily duties and £80m funding from the government will go towards allowing more officers to access databases, such as the Police National Computer. Bedfordshire police is already using the smartphones and the force claims officers now spend ten per cent less time in police buildings.

NEWSINBRIEF First-time web surfers boost brain power UCLA scientists have found that middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience were able to trigger key centres in the brain that control decisionmaking and complex reasoning after just one week of surfing the web. The findings suggest that Internet training can stimulate neural activation patterns and could potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults. “We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function,” said study author Dr. Gary Small.

Tories aim to scrap broadband tax A Conservative government would scrap the mandatory 50p a month tax on phone lines proposed in the government’s Digital Britain report. Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Financial Times that any Conservative government would scrap the tax “as soon as possible” if it won the election due next summer. The proposal is not law yet but is expected to be brought before parliament in a ‘digital economy’ bill next month.

IT spending to rebound in 2010, say analysts The IT industry will return to growth with 2010 IT spending forecast to total $3.3 trillion, a 3.3 per cent increase from 2009. “While the IT industry will return to growth in 2010, the market will not recover to 2008 revenue levels before 2012,” said Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president at Gartner and global head of Research. “2010 is about balancing the focus on cost, risk, and growth. For more than 50 per cent of CIOs the IT budget will be 0 per cent or less in growth terms. It will only slowly improve in 2011.” The IT industry is exiting its worst year ever, as worldwide IT spending is on pace to decline 5.2 per cent this year, according to Gartner, Inc.

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Written by Julian Harriott, business manager, the Communications Management Association

unified communications

Aligning business with IT Understanding the needs of the end user and then aligning the ICT strategy to the business strategy provides the right framework for establishing Unified Communications Predictions abound, technical solutions exist and everybody keeps trying to find the silver bullet that will tip the Unified Communications (UC) market. Does such a thing exist? Forrester’s recent analysis ‘Sizing the Unified Communications (UC) Market’ identifies UC potential within enterprises of $14.5bn by 2015 across North America, Europe and Asia. The confidence stool is then kicked out from under this attractive number by the statement: “While all firms are demanding measurable business benefits to support UC business cases and deployment plans, the voyage to UC will be unique at each firm.” It’s all too bespoke and scenario-specific to identify any generic business benefits or give good odds on the market potential being reached. In the meantime, Microsoft, IBM Cisco, Avaya and others continue to invest in further UC developments and promotion on the basis of what could seem to be a hope and a prayer. Google have released Wave, a UC platform for

consumers. Its appeal is based on the core UC principle of communication and collaboration. Publish your trip of a lifetime diary and photos and invite friends to add their own experiences,

Having used the tools myself extensively in the Middle East and Africa, there were few surprises about the core needs they satisfied. In an e-mail culture, the trigger for the tools

“

Shifting focus to the needs of the business user (public and private sector) and aligning the ICT strategy to the business strategy provide the right framework to start establishing the requirements and sizeable opportunity for UC

”

maybe from the same holiday. They in turn can add other contacts to the collaborative effort and maybe extend this to other related topics. COMMUNICATING FROM THE MIDDLE EAST Microsoft’s Communicator is a businessfocused UC application that combines e-mail, IM and voice with presence and buddy lists.

to be used would often be a high-priority message or request. Finding people for more information or to take the next steps became easier as their presence and availability could be seen (or found after looking them up in the organisation directory). Response times can be better gauged as a result of knowing when contact can be made. Ping an IM across,

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

unified communications

Unified Communications is already here and is “making an increasingly powerful impact through business process specification ”

ask if someone can take a call, put on the headset and click to dial. Conference calls could be easily set up by selecting a name, dragging and dropping it into the dialogue box. Surprisingly, making and maintaining a VoIP call from Cairo to Johannesburg, among others, mostly worked with reasonable voice quality. Hands-on experience of several manufacturers’ UC products shows that they do work as a business enabler within the organisation boundaries. The majority of UC tools provide the same core service set as Microsoft and offer the potential for improved productivity and cost reduction. These are, however, very broad areas for investigation and business case ROI, and therefore subject to many different variables both during assessment and in implementation. Tangible measures of success are hard to tie down and will be open to interpretation while in service. So, is there a different approach to UC that takes some or all of the vagaries out of specifying an implementation need and creating a business case? RECOGNISING BUSINESS NEEDS Starting with an obvious statement, UC does seem to be a very good example of a solution looking for a problem. And it is presented in this way by some of the technology manufacturers to market. Shifting focus to the needs of the business user (public and private

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sector) and aligning the ICT strategy to the business strategy provide the right framework to start establishing the requirements and sizeable opportunity for UC. Mckinseys’ third annual Business Technology Survey1 reports the following as the top business issues: • Improving the efficiency of business processes • Improving the effectiveness of business processes • Reducing IT costs • Providing managers with information to support planning and decision making • Ensuring compliance with regulations • Creating new products and services • Entering new markets Working with Microsoft’s Communicator in the manner described earlier could be seen as the application being used as an accelerating factor in an escalation process. If this is accepted then, like any process, it can be captured and it can be replicated. It can also be measured by cost, time and efficiency amongst other factors and it can have targets attached. Framing the escalation process as a series of transactions allows the required communications functions to be identified and associated with each activity. The triggers needed to move through the process from start to finish can also be driven by the most appropriate communications method. In this format, the requirement and opportunity for UC matches the top two organisation needs and starts to become more measurable.

ANALYSING PROCESSES A great example of overcoming the challenge of framing UC requirements at the business opportunity level came up at a recent public sector UC event in London. John O’Neill of Lancashire County Council presented the details of the council’s investment in customer service centres. Challenged by the need to unify 550 existing services and provide consistently higher levels of customer satisfaction and interaction, John refused to look at the technology first. Instead, an analysis of the process that excellent service operators used to resolve enquiries and issues was undertaken. This resulted in a step-by-step communications and transactions template against which each of the existing services was reviewed. Identifying close similarities in the requirements for providing a successful customer experience drove unification and set the requirements for the provision of the remaining core services. Technologies that would deliver each part of the conversation to the right place at the right time could then be specified, designed and implemented. Starting from a clearly defined process made it possible to apply the communications template to a large number of services. It also allowed the underlying technologies to be specified for the overall process first and then tailored where needed to meet any bespoke requirements. Driving a business case ROI is obviously going to be helped by having a clear way of stepping from business opportunity, through the specification of communications requirements as a process, to a UC implementation. Making the wider case for UC as a whole is also helped by this approach. There are many generic processes that can benefit from UC being embedded into them. The final question to answer is whether there will be a growing requirement and opportunity for a communications and process approach to fuel the take off for UC? The rise of the online economy, worth £163bn in 2007 and growing 30 per cent year on year according to the ONS is already providing the opportunity. Processes are being described by independent software vendors that demand communications across a variety of devices. Some of these help with distribution processes, some with sales processes and others with customer services. There are varying degrees of complexity but all of them can be put into a standard framework and all of them can then be assessed for the potential business impact they will make. Unified Communications is already here and is making an increasingly powerful impact through business process specification. Decisions about the technologies can be made once the rigour of understanding the communications process has been completed and the opportunity impact assessed. Reference: 1. McKinsey third annual Business Technology Survey 2009, which was carried out in September 2008 and published in December 2008.

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Driving value, increasing efficiency and improving collaboration the SMART WAY t

here’s no doubt that UK public sector finances have been under pressure over the last few years and all those milestone reports on ‘transformation through technology’ are probably filed away on your PC. The truth is that the budgets have been there to maintain the status quo and not a lot has changed. However, there’s now an £800bn hole to plug. CSR10 will be the toughest yet by a serious margin and it’s going to require some radical rethinking on spending plans. One option is de-centralisation of services and that means a much more flexible, collaborative public sector. Whilst those at the front line are going to have to work together in new ways, collaborative procurement has a major role to play. At Cable&Wireless, we believe in this so much we’ve developed a whole new public sector IT strategy, namely G-Cloud. Underpinned by the Public Sector Network, this well proven ‘Cloud Computing’ architecture will deliver unprecedented change in the way we process, move, use and share data. In response to this, Cable&Wireless has developed the Secure Managed Exchange service. It is competitively priced and the fully loaded costs for an e-mail platform can be reduced by up to 40 per cent compared with local implementations. The solution is unique as it incorporates a portal, allowing local control to be retained within an agency, while delivering the advantages of a centrally hosted shared service. A great example of the huge cost savings and efficiency gains from this model is the NHSmail programme, the largest example of a single domain

Exchange 2007 deployment in the world. For the NHS, it means that whilst every Trust or even GP Practice has its own administrator, it all sits on one huge shared platform in ‘The Cloud’. The centralised platform meets the challenge of cost effectively upgrading and extending the service to include innovations such as collaboration, which can be delivered in a more cost effective and timely manner. With Secure Managed Exchange, the design, delivery and management of the platform is entirely de-risked for those responsible for procuring and operating the solution. For NHS staff, they also benefit from access to a directory containing the professional contact details of

people across the public sector. As a collaborative tool, employees can seek the expertise of others regardless of where they are in the country. This is helping to create ‘virtual communities’ where knowledge and expertise can be securely shared, up to ‘Restricted’. It’s clear then that whilst budget cuts in the public sector are inevitable, collaborative procurement is one way to achieve more with less. And in the case of Secure Managed Exchange, less is most definitely more!

FOR MORE INFORMATION E-mail: publicsector@cw.com Web: www.cw.com

UK Broadband – 4G WiMAX network provider using secure 3.5GHz licensed spectrum

K Broadband combines WiMAX technology with its licensed 3.5GHz spectrum to provide wholesale wireless connectivity and customised coverage to public and private sector customers in partnership with systems integrators, service providers and specialist solution companies. Unlike many wireless and mesh networks, which operate in unlicensed spectrum, our use of licensed spectrum means we do not suffer significant interference problems and are able to provide service level guarantees for coverage and capacity ensuring essential applications meet your needs. WiMAX has been specifically designed to provide efficient low cost wireless connectivity and is already proven with significant deployments across the world. It is supported by some of the biggest names in telecommunications and computing such as Intel, Motorola, Cisco, and Huawei. There are already a wide range of customer devices available to support varied applications such as mobile broadband for laptops and handhelds, replacement for fixed internet, not spot solutions, mobile vehicular data, diverse wireless connectivity for premises and soon voice handsets. Network resilience and security are highly customisable to meet individual project requirements. WiMAX has air-interface encryption capability built-in and can support further levels of encryption if required. Add to this existing security layers (such as VPN) etc. and we can provide a secure wireless network that can be used for any data or IP service that you want to

provide. We can prioritise traffic according to your requirements ensuring that the most important users get the capacity they need when they need it most. Our open network can be configured with a number of discrete user profiles and security settings which allows for different virtual networks to be created for different groups of users supporting aggregation of multiple public and private sector services onto the network. Our wholesale approach offers non-discriminatory access to the network allowing service providers to offer innovative new wireless services that will help

stimulate economic development in your area. Everything required to enable a WiMAX city or region is available now and we are able to demonstrate the benefits of 4G wireless on our live network in Reading.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0203 178 5880 Fax: 0203 178 5735 E-mail: info@ukbroadband.com Web: www.ukbroadband.com

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IT support

ITIL – Have its merits been trumpeted too loudly? You could never call ITIL ‘the elephant in the room’ – indeed, it’s a topic that has been hotly debated by its champions and detractors alike. But has it become too big for its own good? Or is it a framework for which the service desk is all ears, asks Brian Wall, editor of SupportWorld magazine Before going into the pros and cons of ITIL – or Information Technology Infrastructure Library, to give it its full title – it’s worth establishing what exactly ITIL is and, more importantly, what it can deliver to the service desk. Essentially, ITIL is a collection of best practices in IT Service Management (ITSM), providing a framework that can be utilised in any organisation to improve capabilities and service management. Originally released in the late 1980s by the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) – an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help government deliver best value from its spending and then known as the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency – it grew to become a collection of 44 books. ITIL V2, a set of seven books based around the two key books, Service Support and Service Delivery, was released early in 2000. May 2007 saw the launch internationally of ITIL V3, which was based on the service lifecycle approach. According to itSMF – the forum for IT service management professionals – that has increased synergy to other best practice, such as COBIT and CMMI: “… it talks more about business benefits delivered by IT and reflects many new practices in our industry, like outsourced service models and cultural change factors”, itSMF states. FRAMEWORK, NOT COOKBOOK But what does ITIL do and how does it function? “ITIL does not set in stone every action required on a day-to-day basis, because this is something that will vary from organisation to organisation,” states itSMF. “Being a framework and not a cookbook that requires the exact ingredients, ITIL provides an outline and models that specify the goals, general activities, inputs and outputs of the processes that can be incorporated and generally used in varying degrees of maturity in most organisations.” And this is where so much of the criticism of ITIL seems to originate from – an expectation that you somehow wind it up, set it loose in your organisation and watch it transform the business. If only life were that simple. Instead, ITIL has to be driven by people, preferably from the top down, as Susan Storey, an associate trainer for a number of organisations, including the Service Desk Institute, is at pains to point out. “The service desk is the face of IT and behind that lives

ITIL CHAMPIONS

Clearly, ITIL works for many organisations, with some household names amongst those that have embraced it. These include Procter & Gamble, IBM, Caterpillar, Shell Oil, Boeing and the US Internal Revenue Service. All have reported great success and significant operational cost savings as a direct result of ITIL adoption. Procter & Gamble publicly attributes nearly $125 million in IT cost savings per year to the adoption of ITIL, constituting nearly 10 per cent of its annual IT budget. No small achievement. Similarly, Shell Oil utilised ITIL best practices when overhauling its global desktop PC consolidation project, encompassing 80,000 desktops. With this project completed, it can now do software upgrades in less than 72 hours, it reports, potentially saving 6,000 working days and $5 million. It was also able to overhaul 80,000 desktop platforms. ITIL non-believers might have some difficulty explaining that one away.

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it support

the whole vast area where ITIL can deliver consensus. It can help you to partner up with the business, enabling you to use all of your resources to give greater value and allowing the service desk to shine. It is the face of IT and needs all of the knowledge it can get. ITIL empowers the service desk and shows how the whole IT infrastructure can be improved to benefit all of the organisation.” V3 has taken this a step further by providing organisations with the means to put together a clear and coherent business case. “It helps them to put a value on the business and demonstrate that – from the service desk right through the 27 processes that allow you to value your service and even how much it would cost you to implement your IT processes.” Both the itSMF and Storey see ITIL as delivering a proven method for planning and implementing common processes, roles and activities, with appropriate reference to each other that defines the lines of communication between these processes. More importantly, ITIL provides a common language that is an essential ingredient in the successful implementation of any improvement programme. VITAL ROLE Even the IT Skeptic (www.itskeptic.org), renowned for his often acerbic take on

the vendor/consultant/analyst community from hyping it as such, and building consulting, training and software markets off the back of it.” UNDER-UTILISED Yet many organisations are still failing to use ITIL to its full capability, it seems. Most organisations are still implementing the most commonly adopted ITIL V2 processes of incident, problem and change management under the name of V3, while maturing their ITSM deployments in readiness for new ITIL V3 processes, such as request fulfilment, service catalog and event management. More than 500 executives and senior managers from both commercial and government organisations took part in a survey, entitled ’ITIL State of the Nation’, which looked into international adoption rates of ITIL V3 since its launch in June 2007 and the associated drivers for, and barriers to, its deployment. According to the survey, the majority (56 per cent) of respondents are still using ITIL V2, with the remaining 44 per cent using ITIL V3; of those 44 per cent, 13 per cent have adopted ITIL V3 from scratch, whereas 31 per cent have moved to ITIL V3 from their existing ITIL V2 implementations. Of the organisations currently using ITIL V2, one third (32 per cent) intend to remain with

service desk is the face of IT and behind that lives “theThewhole vast area where ITIL can deliver consensus. It can help you to partner up with the business allowing the service desk to shine ” – Susan Storey, ITIL Trainer

many aspects of ITIL and ITSM, agrees that ITIL has a vital role to play for businesses. “Every organisation needs the processes ITIL describes. Every organisation already has them. ITIL is just one way of defining a standard approach to performing them. You may not need ITIL, but every IT shop needs to be doing what ITIL describes, one way or another.” There is nothing magic about ITIL, he adds – any project built around it should be justified and managed and held accountable in the same ways as any other. “ITIL is a useful tool in the context of a broader cultural change initiative to change the way people approach delivery of service. If there is a real need, and if there is a justifiable business case, then ITIL can usefully be employed as one input to culture change and process improvement, where it provides a template for generally agreed good practice.” However, some ITIL initiatives should never see the light of day; he argues, or, if they get that far, they should be put out of their misery. “The ITIL fad/hype/cult phenomenon creates proposals that are not an optimal use of resources. ITIL appeals to the IT taste for instant product solutions to complex problems. It looks like a nicely packaged, formulaic fix to serviceculture issues. It is not, but that has not stopped

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ITIL V2, but introduce some ITIL V3 concepts; one quarter (24 per cent) are considering upgrading to V3, with a further 8 per cent having an ITIL V3 project underway; one fifth (19 per cent) have not yet considered ITIL V3; and a further fifth (17 per cent) of respondents claim they are unlikely to consider moving to ITIL V3 or have already ruled it out completely. Although the service lifecycle approach is cited as the top driver for adopting ITIL V3, it is not being implemented. Most organisations are deploying ITIL V3 simply to ensure they are up to date with the latest version. In practice, many are still just implementing the most commonly adopted ITIL V2 processes of incident, problem and change management under another name (V3). LIFECYCLE APPROACH There is evidence that some of the ITIL V3 processes designed to aid the lifecycle approach to services are being adopted. Some 37 per cent of respondents have already implemented a service catalog, with a further 41 per cent developing one currently. Similarly, 42 per cent of respondents have already implemented a configuration management system (CMS) or database

(CMDB), with a further quarter (24 per cent) planning to develop one in the near future. When asked about the timeframe for implementing ITIL V3, an overwhelming 63 per cent of respondents who plan to move to ITIL V3 intend to do so within the next two years, indicating that many organisations are committed to maturing their existing ITIL V2 processes before moving on to ITIL V3. This reflects the overriding belief of survey participants that the more ITIL processes adopted, the more mature the IT services delivered, and the more likely the key goals and objectives of the overall business or organisation are met. The long timescale involved in moving to ITIL V3 also suggests the significant level of planning required for migration from one version of ITIL to another. 54 per cent of respondents believe they will have implemented most, if not all, the processes within each lifecycle phase of ITIL V3 by 2014. TARGETED TRAINING Meanwhile, how well are those responsible for promoting ITIL certification – namely the training providers and APMG UK, which specialises in the accreditation and certification of organisations, processes and people within a range of industries and management disciplines – serving the user community? On that score, Alan McCarthy, director at Pink Elephant EMEA, is not overly impressed. He believes any training should have (at least) two objectives: to develop the individual and to benefit the organisation – through knowledge gained on the course and applied to improve things ‘back at the ranch’. “So let’s stop thinking ‘expert’ and get back to thinking ‘practitioner’ or ‘manager’,” he advises. “Everything that APMG and the training providers do to promote the ‘new’ ITIL certification scheme – new? It’s almost two years old! – is geared around steering the individual towards becoming an ‘ITIL Expert’. This is providing value to the individual by increasing his/her qualifications and marketability, but what’s the value to the organisation? Exactly how is an organisation better off, if its staff are amongst the most qualified in the industry and are prime targets to be head-hunted away?” MONEY MACHINES McCarthy says Pink Elephant is hearing a lot of criticism from its customers lately about the V3 ITIL courses – such as “they’re just a moneymaking machine for the training companies and examination institutes” or “they’re just designed to get people through an examination”. Some of that criticism is true, he agrees. “For example, Pink Elephant stopped delivering the V2 to V3 Foundation Bridge, simply because it was there to get people through the exam – not to give them a real understanding of the differences. And we do know of trainers out there in the marketplace who can only really train to ‘get

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

IT support

the examination’. If the delegate wants to go ‘off piste’, asking questions that aren’t in the syllabus, the trainer gets stumped!” What is needed far more is carefully targeted education and training, aimed primarily at delivering value to the organisation. “So let’s get back on track with the ITIL Certification scheme,” he urges. “It’s not about the number of examinations that the examination institutes can sell; it’s about delivering knowledge to individuals who can then make a difference in their organisations. And it’s not just about being an ‘expert’; it’s about gaining real, practical knowledge.” RIGHT APPROACH In all fairness, ITIL is far less at fault as a concept than the hype and spin that have grown up around it. Maybe the right approach for any organisation is to expect benefits to vary, depending on the degree to which systems are already integrated within the business. IT departments often find that things start to backfire when they approach ITIL best practices as something that will deliver an end-to-end solution. Also, ITIL may just not be right for everyone’s particular way of working, where ‘best practices’ may turn out to be costly overkill. A piecemeal approach to ITIL might be the

solution here – to identify those issues that have the most impact on the organisation and concentrate on those, rather than seeing ITIL as indivisible and set in tablets of stone. Where ‘total ITIL’ would prove unwieldy, unworkable and, ultimately, unnecessary, taking a hammer and breaking it down into small, workable units might well bring the anticipated benefits. MASSIVE FAILURE The results of a recent survey carried out by Hornbill – ’ITIL State of the Nation’ – reveal that the majority of so-called ITIL V3 implementations today are failing to adopt a lifecycle approach to IT service management (ITSM), in reality taking a bite-size approach to the latest version of the ITIL best practice framework. Gerry Sweeney, CEO of Hornbill Systems, comments: “One notable aspect of ITIL V3 is its orientation towards business services, moving IT away from a pure technology play. Whichever version of ITIL organisations are looking to adopt, the drivers are the same: improving service quality and increasing customer satisfaction. Process can only take you so far. It is people that make the difference between poor and excellent service. This is what Hornbill calls the ‘human touch’ – putting customers at the core of everything we do and developing technology that can be used to drive excellence and prevent process stagnation.”

Take a bite-size approach

The service desk is IT’s shop window and, by ensuring that it is run by the right staff, with the right attitude and the right tools, IT can tackle service quality and customer satisfaction head on, instead of expecting processes alone to make a difference, Sweeney contends. “The challenge for IT remains to demonstrate some quick wins to secure business attention, then forge ahead with the more strategic aspects of ITIL V3, complete the service lifecycle and demonstrate the true benefits of ITIL.” To download a copy of Hornbill’s survey and white paper, go to: www.supportworld. co.uk/industry-resources/research

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Ark Continuity launches SQ17 at Spring Park

Active Network Systems expanding data storage

rk Continuity specialises in the design, build and operation of high integrity data centres, developed to deliver optimum security and availability with the highest levels of sustainability; from the ground up. Ark’s world class team are experienced in the complexities of delivering and operating mission critical infrastructure deployed to meet occupier’s individual requirements. Our structured methodology combined with proven and rigorous engineering results in highly modular architectures that are scalable, multi tiered, rapidly deployed and, above all, highly efficient. Ark is pleased to announce the opening of its data centre campus at Spring Park, Corsham, Wiltshire with the next phase ready for occupation in November 2009. Spring Park affords occupiers the opportunity to embrace best practice and sustainable principles in the design, construction, engineering and operation of their data centres. Two recent white papers entitled ‘Exploring the concept of comparative

ELIVERING mass storage and data management solutions for business infrastructure, addressing data protection and continuity, and improving performance optimisation, our experience includes installations in education, research, engineering, manufacturing, architecture, geotechnical marine surveying, CCTV surveillance and satellite imaging. Recent technological advances have introduced major evolutionary changes. New host interface connectivity includes iSCSI, External PCIe and SAS. Existing technologies have performance increases, for example 8Gb Fibre Channel and 10Gb Ethernet; the introduction of unified SAS/SATA backplanes for backplane connectivity enable massive storage consolidation; virtualisation, enterprise-class 2.5” disk drives and solid state disk technology lend themselves to storage consolidation and a reduction in environmental impact. ANS remains flexible to changing business needs, developing solutions addressing green issues by reducing energy consumption with the use of more

PUE – Is Power Usage Effectiveness a metric only suitable for comparing a data centre with itself?’ by Dr Ian F Bitterlin, and ‘Brunel helped build the Ark? - Ark Continuity: a tour de force in low carbon data centre construction.’ by Dr Ian F Bitterlin and Mr Pip O Squire are now available for review by visiting our website.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information about Ark Continuity and Spring Park, one of Europe’s leading sustainable data centre campuses either visit www.arkcontinuity.co.uk e-mail info@arkcontinuity.co.uk or call 0845 389 3355.

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efficient hardware, and managing the data with virtualisation, de-duplication, compression and archiving solutions. As an essential part of our service, we ensure the bespoke integrated hardware and software solutions selected meet your exact requirements. Analysing the requirements, taking technical and budgetary demands into account, we produce proposals to ensure the solutions meet all the criteria. Once commissioned we provide reliable ongoing system support and on-site hardware maintenance where appropriate.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01480 437997 Fax: 01480 436031 Web: www.ans-ltd.co.uk E-mail: sales@ans-ltd.co.uk

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

IT management

Let’s get digital Working closely with government, Intellect and its members have a vital role to play to ensure that Digital Britain is truly delivered The Digital Economy Bill aims to ensure a world-class digital future following the Digital Britain White Paper, published 16 June 2009. It sets out the government’s ambition to secure the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading digital knowledge economies and take forward a new, more active industrial policy to maximise the benefits from the digital revolution Intellect has already welcomed the publication of the Digital Britain white paper on the government’s plans for ensuring the UK has a world class digital future, and now is the time for action. While some of the proposals in the Bill require parliamentary legislation, much can be done now to start implementing the recommendations that do not require approval. Intellect aims to ensure industry is at the centre of any plans the government may publish and its objectives are to put a collective shoulder to the wheel of seeing through the Digital Britain ideas. It is vital that the momentum behind the government’s renewed commitment to the technology industry is maintained, and that the timetable for further action is preserved. TAKING ACTION Intellect and its members have a vital role to play working closely both with the current incumbent government and the next to ensure that Digital Britain is truly delivered. Intellect has proposed the creation of an ‘Digital Britain Report Implementation Group‘ (DBRIG) to help track and shape the reports outcomes, proposals and recommendations,

focusing our efforts through further action, engagement and formal consultation. The group will be formulated by Intellect sector champions from amongst membership, representing the key sections outlined in Intellect’s own response to the Digital Britain Report, namely Broadband, Radio, Spectrum, IPR, and Skills. Each champion will utilise their area of expertise to help drive a committed and unified industry approach, strengthening the groups standing, integrity and impact. OBJECTIVES The DBRIG will play an integral role engaging with government to ensure that industry needs are met and that the future strength of the UK economy is assured. The group will oversee Intellect’s Communications on Digital Britain. This will involve agreeing what success looks like to Intellect members, e.g. in 12 months and beyond. The group will also review and sense check Intellect external messaging. It will also track Digital Britain’s implementation, ensuring Intellect is able to provide informed commentary and analysis on the implementation of Digital Britain, and offer practical help, support, and advice where appropriate. DBRIG will also manage the relationship with critical stakeholders, e.g. Lord Carter’s successor and opposition parties. To this end work has already started with the engagement with Ofcom. In the Digital Britain Report, Chapter 4 – Creative Industries

ABOUT INTELLECT Intellect provides a collective voice for its members and drives connections with government and business to create a commercial environment in which they can thrive. Intellect represents over 750 companies ranging from SMEs to multinationals. As the hub for this community, Intellect is able to draw upon a wealth of experience and expertise to ensure that our members are best placed to tackle challenges now and in the future. in the Digital World – gave Ofcom a number of tasks around reducing unlawful peer-topeer file sharing, copyright infringement, technical measures and re-use fees for private copying and format shifting. This is of major interest to the industry and a delegation of our members will meet with Ofcom to discuss its role in more detail and to reinforce the industry views on copyright, file sharing and the technical measures that may be employed. In the longer term Intellect will be engaging with the Network and Procurement group responsible for the delivery of the Broadband Universal Service Commitment when it is set up to ensure that industry’s views are fully taken into account. The Digital Britain programme promises to be one of the most important that the Digital Communications industry has seen in a long time.

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

IT management

ENCOURAGING LOWER EMISSIONS What is the government’s Carbon Reduction scheme and how it will affect the UK’s IT industry? The government’s new Carbon Reduction Scheme risks penalising rather than incentivising energy efficient IT companies and could potentially stunt growth in the UK market, according to UK technology trade association Intellect. The government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is designed to improve energy efficiency in large public and private sector organisations. Targeted at organisations that spend over £0.5 million a year on electricity, business and public sector bodies will be required to purchase CO2 allowances, monitor their energy use and report their emissions. It is expected that by 2013 government will cap the number of allowances available each year and all allowances will be auctioned. DISCOURAGING GROWTH The CRC league table will rank companies according to changes in their absolute carbon outputs without taking account of changes in their operations or structure such as significant business growth. This effectively means that the CRC is discouraging growth. Data centre operators, for example, are likely to be penalised in this way due to the fact that while outsourcing of these functions may increase, the entire carbon liability falls to the utility bill payer, irrespective of whether the bill payer is in fact using the energy. In order to achieve the desired outcome – a decrease in absolute emissions – an incentive should be created for an inefficient company to outsource to a more efficient one and

also for an efficient company to accept business from an inefficient one (without the penalty of lower ranking). The current proposals for CRC do not achieve this. Laurence Harrison, director of Energy and Environment at technology trade association Intellect, said: “Whilst we support the Carbon Reduction Commitment’s aim to improve energy efficiency, I would urge the government to look again at the structure of the scheme, and particularly the league table, to make sure it takes account of the wider benefits of IT deployment and pushes companies towards rational decisions about their CO2 emissions.” He went on to say: “As it stands, this scheme will put the IT industry at the bottom of the CO2 emissions league table. This could damage the UK’s IT industry when in fact, as recognised by the WWF and the European Commission, our sector is playing a leading role in reducing carbon emissions across the rest of the economy.” About the Scheme The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme is the UK’s mandatory climate change and energy saving scheme, due to start in April 2010. It is designed to improve energy efficiency in large organisations. The scheme will operate as a ‘cap and trade’ mechanism, providing a financial incentive to reduce energy use by putting a price on carbon emissions from energy use. In CRC, organisations buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. The overall emissions reduction target is achieved by placing a ‘cap’

on the total allowances available to each group of CRC participants. Within that overall limit, individual organisations can determine the most cost-effective way to reduce their emissions. This could be through buying extra allowances or investing in ways to decrease the number of allowances they need to buy. All the money raised through the allowances will be recycled back to participants, according to how well they perform. The scheme features an annual performance league table that ranks participants on energy efficiency performance. Together with the financial and reputational considerations, the scheme encourages organisations to develop energy management strategies that promote a better understanding of energy consumptiton. eligible for CRC? The scheme is designed to tackle CO2 emissions not already covered by Climate Change Agreements and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The scheme will cover large public and private sector organisations, who are responsible for about ten per cent of the UK’s emissions. This will affect around 20,000 organisations. Organisations are eligible for CRC if they (and their subsidiaries) have at least one halfhourly electricity meter (HHM) settled on the half-hourly market. They also qualify if their total half-hourly electricity consumption exceeded 6,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) during 2008. Qualifying organisations will have to comply legally with the scheme or face financial and other penalties.

Corporate IT Forum – experience from peers you can rely on n an increasingly complex world IT professionals are bombarded by claims and counter-claims from IT vendors and consultants about products and services that promise to deliver the ‘optimum solution’ to the issues surrounding the delivery of technology to drive business needs. But where does the truth lie? Only users can determine fact from fiction? The Corporate IT Forum provides a unique environment where large IT user organisations, from both private and public sectors, can share and debate current issues in delivering business technology in a trusted, vendor free environment. By exchanging experience about successes and failures

public sector organisations, sharing the common goal to deliver better, more cost effective and secure IT to their businesses. Working together they constantly redefine best practice in every area of IT. While Forum membership is on an organisation basis, individuals can participate in events and purchase specific reports.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION organisations improve success rates, reduce errors, save on third party fees and add real value to their businesses. The Forum comprises senior IT professionals delivering world class IT to over 800 leading brands and major

For more information contact The Corporate IT Forum Tel: 01442 866634 E-mail: avmgrant@tif.co.uk Web: www.tif.co.uk

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Civica – Our expertise is public knowledge

Building great websites for the public sector

or organisations under pressure to deliver efficient and responsive services, it helps to have an experienced partner. The Civica Group is a market leader in software-based solutions that help organisations to improve service delivery and efficiency, combining expertise across local government, social housing, enforcement and education with financial stability and operational excellence. Civica’s activities are focused on the local imperatives customers need to achieve. Behind local transactions with 25 million people and businesses, Civica is managing more than £4 billion in local revenues and over one million properties

duserv is dedicated to the delivery of pragmatic technology services that meet the needs of the public sector and in particular education. We help public sector organisations build interactive, accessible and user-friendly websites. We work in partnership with our clients to help them realise their strategic objectives and our knowledge, experience and bespoke customer service means our satisfaction rates are exceptional. We’ve helped clients such as the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF), National Museum of Science and Industry (NMSI), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). Our services include: • Web hosting – we provide large-scale hosting services through secure data centres across the UK. Our hosting services are resilient, secure and green. • Content management and web development – we can design, develop, install, host and support your Content Management System. We create websites that can be easily maintained and edited by non-technical staff.

while supporting 6,000 mobile workers. The group is helping to: transform services across customer organisations; deliver genuine savings; share information quickly and effectively; and provide fresh insight into service capacity and choice. In addition to supplying 94 per cent of the UK’s local authorities, Civica now supplies more than 40 per cent of authorities in Australia and New Zealand, including over 70 per cent of the councils in Queensland and New South Wales.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0113 244 1404 Fax: 0113 244 0835 E-mail: marketing@civica.co.uk

We work with the IT industry’s leading hardware and software suppliers (Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, HP Business Partner, Sitecore Solution Partner, Google Enterprise Partner). BSI accredited for Quality EN ISO9001, Environment EN ISO 14001 and Health and Safety BS OHSAS 18001.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01225 474300 E-mail: andrew.tavener@eduserv.org.uk Web: www.eduserv.org.uk

Getting the job done again and again Seeking ways to keep pace with increasing workload? efore implementing Iken Business solutions, clients frequently tell us that their main business challenge is the need to handle more work with the same, or decreasing, staff resources. With Iken Case Management and Time Recording software, public sector teams, including legal, property, and social services, have been able to meet this challenge by freeing staff from repetitive, low-value tasks, in order to focus on what they do best. There’s no more drowning in paper, or spending hours searching for a relevant file, as all e-mails and documents are stored within an electronic case file in a central repository. So you can find information at the touch of a button, and quickly respond to enquiries regardless of who is in the office. Iken’s integrated diary functions ensure that you never miss a key date.

Powerful reporting helps managers to control risk, monitor the amount of time spent on particular areas of work, balance workload and ultimately demonstrate best value.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ON IT’s success has been based on our willingness to invest in understanding our customers’ business needs and ensuring that we help them meet their requirements. By delivering solutions built upon trust, innovation, delivery and value on a sustained basis we’re able to achieve our objective of cultivating long lasting relationships with our customers. It’s a win-win situation where they get reliability and results and we are rewarded with repeat business. We provide services such as software consultancy, business processes automation, application development and access to an IT human resource pool. ION IT’s core expertise is in the way we leverage our resources and deploy the right software and technological skills to deliver on time and at the right price; whilst also managing and

minimising any potential risk for you. Please visit http://www.ionit.co.uk for case studies including projects which have been delivered to Buckinghamshire County Council, Wycombe District Council, NHS Ealing Hospital and Hitachi Europe amongst others. Our quality processes are backed by ISO 9001:2000 TickIt and Investor in People accreditations. We are also certified solutions partners with Microsoft and Oracle. ION IT’s motto is “Value with Integrity”. We were established in 1995 and are based in High Wycombe Buckinghamshire.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For a free no obligation consultation please contact Abdul Akram or Chander Vasdev on 01494 512490 / 01494 753403 or abdul.akram@ionit.co.uk chander@ionit.co.uk.

To discover how Iken has helped over 70 public sector teams to enhance efficiency, increase teamwork, save money and improve service delivery, call us on: Tel: +44 (0)117 373 0790 E-mail: info@iken.biz Web: www.iken.biz/public

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Evolutionary Security Solutions to protect your budget and carbon footprint with Spend2Save volution (E.S.S.) has many years experience of working in MOD, public and private sectors and has built an unrivalled reputation in helping organisations get the best possible return on investment when purchasing security systems. Due to the current UK fiscal situation, finance directors and specifiers now have to take into account, not just the reducing of long term ownership costs but also lowering energy bills and CO2 emissions. It is worth talking to Evolution to discover the exciting new Spend2Save developments available. Simply choosing the right type of Access Control lock can provide lower energy consumption. Selecting solenoid or electric-strike locks instead of power-hungry electromagnetic locks can make significant energy savings over the life of the installation. The resultant savings reduce power supply and battery back-up requirements, ultimately increasing overall system reliability. The use of PoE (Power over Ethernet) is new to access control, but there are savings that can be made in the centralisation of power sources and the reduction of main spurs and their associated cabling and containment. Savings can even be made in access control cards. Looking at consolidating card usage with other systems, such as cashless vending, by using a common smart card can reduce your overall costs and simplify administration, generating even more savings. External CCTV cameras requiring semi-covert IR lighting have traditionally used power-hungry bulb IR lamps, and suffer with short bulb life. Alternatively, using IR LED lights, the power requirement can drop by as

CCTV and Intruder Detection Systems can provide significant savings on this overhead while providing improvements in safety, integrity, life-time cost savings, lower CO2 emissions and overall peace of mind. These examples above illustrate only a few of the innovative developments currently available. Evolution has the track record in electronic security and can show you how an integrated approach to security could provide a quick return on investment.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01494 539880 Fax: 01494 539881 E-mail: ral@evolutionsecurity.com Web: www.evolutionsecurity.com

Peace of mind for all your security concerns

High security products from Clearview

t Absolute Security Systems Ltd, our 20 years’ experience in electronic security systems installation and integration gives our clients peace of mind, when it comes to security and protection issues. In addition to systems such as CCTV, Access Control, Intruder Alarms and perimeter protection, we also install fire and safety solutions (such as lone working, nurse call, staff attack and public address systems). We have close working relationships with specialist suppliers of bombattack resistant window film, turnstiles, revolving doors, ballistic rated screens and doors, gates and fencing. A NSI Gold installer, we operate on a divisional set up and have specialist surveyors and engineering resources. Our clients say we repeatedly deliver a comprehensive and professional

learView designS, manufactures, installs and services a range of unique products and integrated systems for high security and police use including: CCTV, access control, intruder detection, intercom, gates, barriers and fencing, fire detection, TV distribution. Digital CCTV replay systems: ClearView’s range of “Digi-“ products automatically decoding analogue multiplex and digital CCTV formats including DigiVac – “labin-a-bag” for rapid deployment and downloading of digital CCTV on site. Intelligent Video: Observision Intelligent video systems which can be programmed to recognise and alarm on behaviour of people and vehicles including VideSearch – automatic video content search system which recognises colour.

much as 90 per cent, saving money, CO2 emissions and replacement costs as the working life of LED IR lights can be over five years. In addition, replacing a site’s perimeter flood-lighting, street lighting or other luminaries with white-light LED units, can save up to 75 per cent compared to sodium light bulb power requirements while providing better light for CCTV cameras. Replacing a DVR (digital video recorder) with a Hybrid or NVR variant, can result in savings when changing camera locations or adding new cameras by utilising the existing IT infrastructure data network/ethernet cabling and ducting. Labour costs for manned guarding can form a major part of any organisation’s security budget. Electronic Security Systems that combine Access Control,

service that they can rely on and trust. They come from a broad range of sectors – from blue chip, public sector, pharmaceutical, health authorities, education, high security, Network Rail to VIPs and celebrities. We work hard to a) ensure we select solutions that meet the latest security and protection standards, b) satisfy stringent quality measures when installing systems and c) maintain and service these systems professionally and efficiently.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Absolute Security Systems Ltd 5 Langham Park, Catteshall Lane, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1NG Tel: 01483 791500 Fax: 01483 791540 E-mail: sales@absolutesecurity.co.uk Web: www.absolutesecurity.co.uk

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Megapixel CCTV: New Megapixel cameras and recorders giving a minimum of three times the resolution of analogue PAL cameras. Wireless IP, GSM and 3G: Point-topoint video/audio/telemetry transmission up to 15km. Mesh networks for campus and town coverage. Re-deployable, GSM and 3G camera systems.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Andy Lockett ClearView Communications Ltd Robjohns Road, Chelmsford Essex, CM1 3AG Tel: +44 (0)1245 214104 Fax: +44 (0)1245 214101 E-mail: andy.lockett@ clearview-communications.com www.clearview-communications.com

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

security

Digital surveillance Proper procedures must be followed to secure the integrity of digital evidence so that it holds up in court, says Pauline Norstrom, Chairman, the BSIA CCTV Section In recent years we have witnessed the widespread adoption of powerful digital video recording systems as the world of surveillance parallels the digitalisation of all aspects of our lives – from the television we watch to the music we listen to. This step change in technology has opened up tremendous opportunities in terms of the capabilities of digital solutions compared to older analogue systems to deal with a wide range of criminal and terrorist threats. Thankfully the practical experience amongst police officers, and others, gathering video evidence from recording systems has moved on since the days when the pictures gathered from CCTV cameras were frequently discovered to be in a poor state. A combination of insufficient cleaning and maintenance, overuse of VCR tapes, inadequate lighting and lax operational procedures often led to problems in identifying potential crime culprits. SHIFTING EXPECTATIONS Of course this is not to say that the move to digital has been smooth sailing. It has also thrown-up some challenges, most notably, ensuring that end users, the judicial system and the police appreciate that digital video evidence is not the same as a tape based recording, which they had grown so accustomed to. Historically, with a standard VCR tape, there was the reassurance for security managers and the police of being able to physically touch the original as this was the medium directly recorded to. Not so with digital, as images have to be taken off the hard drive of a unit, where the original evidence is stored, and copied onto removable media. Bearing this in mind, for cases where digital images are being used for evidential purposes, it is imperative that proper consideration is given to securing the integrity of this material and, in particular, whether the digital video recording systems comply with the latest British Standards and best practice. In response to the pressing need to ensure that the proper procedures are being followed, and that adequate weight could be given to digital video evidence in the criminal justice system, at the BSIA we produced a Code of Practice for ‘Digital Recording’ systems. This process involved extensive consultation with interested bodies in the UK including the Association of British Insurers, the Law Society, and the Home Office Scientific Development Branch, plus input from police forensic experts. Moving on from this document, which was positively received by stakeholders, we assisted in the development of the new British Standard, BS8495, which also focuses on this critical area and takes on board many of the

This step change in technology has opened up “tremendous opportunities in terms of the capabilities of digital solutions compared to older analogue systems to deal with a wide range of criminal and terrorist threats ”

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

security

elements in our original Code of Practice. Published at the end of 2007, the landmark British Standard, BS8495, was ratified by BSI less than a year after our Code of Practice. BS8495 delivers invaluable recommendations for the specification, selection, installation and operation of digital CCTV recording systems that generate CCTV images that may be used in a court of law. It is aimed at assisting specifiers, installers, users, insurance companies, police, authorities and purchasing organisations to ensure systems are used more effectively to gather vital evidence. As a starting point BS8495 underlines the necessity of looking at the operational requirements of the CCTV solution before evaluating the clarity of the recording images as the judgement on this will to a large extent be dependent on what the CCTV has been deployed for. When it comes to the quality of digital CCTV images recorded there are a number of factors that can have an impact on the outcome such as the size of the subject in the field of view,

Another key point to consider is image integrity. There is a need to ensure that the integrity of the stored reference image remains by preventing any unauthorised access, this can be by physical or electronic means, while at the same time enabling images to be provided to legitimate third parties such as the police. It is also advisable that the time and date of recording is logged as part of an image’s metadata. Focusing on storage, to maximise the benefits of the latest digital video surveillance solutions, it is vital that sufficient storage capacity is available for the task at hand. Users should, for instance, have access to information regarding the number of days/hours of recording stored – or the time of the earliest recording – and how long this can be kept of the system. Another area, addressed within BS8495, is that of the process of image export. From an evidential point of view there is certainly a need to ensure that the stored reference image remains unchanged even when, for example, an

“

With CCTV playing an increasingly important role in crime prevention and detection, and the uptake of digital images for evidential purposes in high profile cases becoming widespread, certainly the importance of an independent benchmark like BS8495 has never been greater

lighting, maintenance, image transmission and specification of the camera/lens. Other key areas covered by BS8495 to ensure that digital video evidence stands-up in court include the fitness for purpose of recorded images, the importance of a detailed audit trail, the need to maintain image integrity by preventing unauthorised access, the role of time and date integrity, the considerations associated with effective storage and the export and replay of exported images. Looking at these elements in more detail, with regards to the fitness of purpose of recorded images this basically means that the digital CCTV recording solution should meet the operational requirements of each camera, specifically when it comes to the recorded image resolution, compression and per second record rate. AUDIT TRAIL When dealing with digital video evidence a vital concern is the ability to provide a robust audit trail. This should be verifiable and fully documented all the way from the recording of reference images to its presentation in court. Without such a process the validity of the evidence could be called into question. It is advisable that an audit trail be retained for at least six months. Information which may form part of this trail includes user log on and log off details, time and date changes, when recording is actually started or stopped alongside the ID of the user, whether any enhancements have been applied to the image and by whom and details regarding the export of images.

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enhanced version of the image is created, for example, by zooming in on a specific area, and that an appropriate audit trial can be provided. Another consideration for image export is that viewing software be included on any export media so, if necessary, it can be replayed on a PC. This is especially useful for the police to avoid unnecessary delays in evidence gathering. CAUGHT ON CAMERA With CCTV playing an increasingly important role in crime prevention and detection, and the uptake of digital images for evidential purposes in high profile cases becoming widespread, certainly the importance of an independent benchmark like BS8495 has never been greater. In recent times the advantages of effective digital video evidence have been amply demonstrated, through high profile events such as the Tonbridge depot robbery convictions and, particularly, during the London bombings investigation, which saw the gathering of footage from 28,000 CCTV cameras cutdown to seven hours of relevant footage. This massive intelligence exercise by London’s Metropolitan Police and surrounding forces was significantly aided by the presence of surveillance systems covering the streets, Tube stations and buses targeted in the attacks, as well as transport links elsewhere in the capital and surrounding counties. The pictures subsequently produced, such as those taken at Luton rail station of the 7/7 bombers on the way to their suicide missions, showed clear,

identifiable images of the perpetrators and underlined the value of this monitoring method. Digital video evidence is also playing a key role in dealing with a wide range of law enforcement issues including trouble caused by so-called football fans in towns and city centres. A case in point is how Cumbria Police recently applied mobile CCTV to deal with 20 plus Newcastle and Carlisle supporters who had arranged to meet up to fight outside a pub. With the digital CCTV footage officers from Cumbria Police were able to provide evidence to Northumbria Police so they could confirm the identities of the Newcastle supporters. The CCTV evidence led to a number of successful convictions – which included football banning orders, fines and community service. TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE The benefit of guidance and Codes of Practice, such as BS8495, when it comes to the collection and storage of CCTV images, is underlined by the dramatic and sometime bewildering changes in available CCTV technology. We have seen the move from analogue to digital allowing more powerful and flexible systems to be rolled out for commercial and public space surveillance, the ability to record more pictures per second, cheaper storage, mobile systems in community partnership vehicles and on public transport, the increasing application of CCTV in a networked environment and new ways to automatically analyse images –from automatic number plate recognition to patterns of behaviour – and associate images with data captured elsewhere. To reiterate, there is a pressing need for a verifiable, documented, audit trail from the recording of the reference images to its presentation in court and facilities at this juncture for media playback. A serious concern is that unless these audit trails and operator procedures can hold-up under scrutiny in court, the Crown Prosecution Service may not be able to use the image in the first place or defence lawyers will later be able to pick holes in the evidence, potentially jeopardising the case and undermining a significant part of the raison d’etre of the system, not to mention wasting police time spent putting the case together in the first place. Ultimately, we want to see the same confidence in the validity of digital media in the criminal justice system as there is in VHS tape from a traditional VCR, and there is little doubt that BS8495 standard is a significant step towards realising this goal. The British Security Industry Association is the trade association covering all aspects of the professional security industry in the UK. Its members provide over 70 per cent of UK security products and services and adhere to strict quality standards.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 389 3889 E-mail info@bsia.co.uk Web: www.bsia.co.uk

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

Integrated disk and tape based storage in practice Quantum Corporation’s international product marketing manager, Mark Galpin, discusses data backup, recovery and protection Integrated storage solutions that require less power and cooling and increase cost efficiencies, whilst retaining manageability, have come as a welcome relief. However, the volume of data businesses need to store is continuing to grow at an exponential rate and many are still backing-up, and in many cases duplicating, vast quantities of data both on and off-site to avert potential data disasters. To understand this more clearly, we will explore how achieving storage backup and recovery efficiencies in the data centre through integrated disk and tape technologies works in practice. In order to obtain the appropriate backup and recovery architecture a mixture of disk and tape is more often than not the appropriate choice. And with an integrated management process in place, a number of efficiencies can be achieved. Storage infrastructure planning is of course individual to each and every business, but with the appropriate disk and tape appliances at the correct tiers of the architecture, management processes can be

One factor to take into account is how much data needs to be sent between the two locations. As already mentioned, data capacities and storage needs are increasing year on year. As such, sufficient bandwidth needs to be allocated to allow timely replication of all changed data to the disaster recovery site. In the case of backup, this is something that has been difficult to achieve. A full backup will typically result in a completely new tape image of data being created – even though the same data may already have been backed up many times before. Data deduplication By leveraging data deduplication technology, storage requirements for backup can be significantly reduced and simplified. Remote replication, usually extremely expensive due to the excessive bandwidth requirements, now becomes affordable due to the reduction in data. Now being offered by many different manufacturers, deduplication has a major role

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In order to obtain the appropriate backup and recovery architecture a mixture of disk and tape is more often than not the appropriate choice. And with an integrated management process in place, a number of efficiencies can be achieved

implemented to allow organisations to be sure that their valuable data remains safe, secure and easily accessible should the unthinkable happen. business continuity One size does not fit all, so it is important to find a solution that suits your organisation. Data volumes, levels of access, retention periods and data security are all factors that differ, and as such, Quantum takes a consultative approach to selecting the right infrastructure, tailoring to each and every business. We all understand the importance of data backup. However, less is understood about business continuity. To achieve this, the use of a remote disaster recovery site is a valuable solution. Data can be replicated automatically to provide restoration from the remote location in the event of a disaster. This gives all businesses a far better chance of achieving business continuity.

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secure, low cost backup and fast, reliable restores across distributed sites. DXi2500-D solutions provide local disk backup and restore for remote offices, using deduplication to reduce capacity needs. For off-site protection, encrypted backups replicate to a central site where disaster recovery management and tape operations are centralised on DXi7500 systems. The end result is better protection, reduced management and lower costs.

to play in the ability to replicate large amounts of data to a remote site over a relatively small Internet Protocol (IP) connection. By extending the benefits of data deduplication, Quantum’s DXi family of disk based products dramatically increases the power of disk to support backup, data retention and disaster recovery. Allowing end users to reduce the disk space needed for backup and restore by 90 per cent or more, performance and reliability are increased, while demands for rack space, power, and cooling are reduced. Bandwidth requirements are also reduced for data transfer by 90 per cent or more, making replication a practical disaster recovery protection tool, reducing the need for removable media, and enabling secure, centralised tape operations.

DXi7500 The DXi7500 is a disk backup solution for data centre environments that allows users to add policy-based deduplication, remote replication and direct tape creation to their backup strategy to increase performance, enhance data protection and reduce costs. Scalable to 220TB usable capacity, the DXi7500 is designed for corporate data centres and consolidated storage in distributed environments. It is important to remember that each organisation’s requirements are invariably different and it is therefore vital to optimise the ratio of disk and tape used. Quantum is uniquely positioned to provide combinations of disk and tape, or if appropriate, just disk or just tape. Both types of storage play a vital role in the integrated storage architecture.

DXi2500-D The Quantum DXi2500-D is a deduplication and remote replication system that provides

Web: www.quantum.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

green it

Take the carbon challenge Simon Godfrey, director of business development and government relations at SAP, looks at how the public sector can achieve smart and quick carbon efficiency Stabilising the environment and reducing our carbon footprint is unquestionably an urgent matter. Colin Challen MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group recently said that we would need to reduce CO2 emissions by 76 per cent from their 1999 levels by 2050. The question, however, for many public sector organisations is: How can we do this quickly and effectively without incurring significant costs but still delivering real sustainable benefits? The challenge For carbon reduction to be effective it needs to be part of an organisation’s whole ethos – not just a one-off project but an embedded approach that underpins the organisation’s policies, practice and operations. But it’s tough to start from scratch and many public sector organisations face the challenge of having to work sustainability into their existing operations rather than implementing truly sustainable operations. ‘Retrofitting’ is a necessary approach. There are compelling reasons why public sector organisations must rise to this challenge. First and foremost, like any other organisation, they must comply with government legislation. The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) coming into force next April, the recent launch of the Climate Change Act and the COP15 global targets due out in December will require public and private organisations in the UK to provide evidence of their energy consumption in order for future carbon emissions standards to

be set. The emergence and evolution of these regulatory mandates related to trade, reporting and disclosure of green house gases, for example, increase the need to treat sustainability as a central component of an organisation’s long-term viability and license to operate. Public sector organisations are also under increasing pressure to ensure efficient operations in order to reduce costs to the taxpayer. Volatile energy costs provide the added need for organisations to utilise resources in a highly efficient manner. Technology is key Being able to effectively track, measure and communicate sustainability progress and targets is of great importance for any carbon reduction campaign. Technology provides the tools to perform effective emissions measurement and management. Public sector organisations must consider a full portfolio of tools and technologies to accelerate emission reductions. Cap and trade will drive behaviour and ensure solutions are found efficiently and at the lowest economic cost. Minimum energy efficiency standards will drive productivity improvements. Tax and other credit policies can encourage rapid innovation on required technology including sequestration, smart grids, and alternative energy. With organisations pressured to comply with a number of sustainability regulations, technology plays an important role, enabling organisations to:

• Measure carbon usage to manage resources and implement good environmental practices • Report on carbon emission performance to a wide range of stakeholders, including citizens who utilise public sector services • Change behaviours to find areas for improvement and make reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions • Establish a base line against which to measure improvements • Prepare for future legislative changes, new ways of accounting and reporting • Reduce energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions of operations and services. For example, business intelligence tools and governance, risk and compliance solutions enable effective measurement, reporting and verification of emissions performance. SAP Carbon Impact allows organisations to measure greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts across operations. These tools provide a ‘window’ through which an organisation can effectively monitor, measure and manage down its energy usage. More and more organisations are being asked to comply with a number of sustainability regulations, among other challenges such as the rising cost of energy and resources. But with the help of technology, public sector organisations can make sustainability an integral part of operations whilst increasing efficiencies and delivering cost savings. Sustainability needs to live and breathe in an organisation in order for smart and quick carbon efficiency to be achieved.

Msys SAP BI tools and content sys has been involved in SAP BI consulting and SAP BI product development for several years. Our extensive experience has prompted us to develop a suite of products to help our customers to save time and money and simultaneously improve the functionality of their existing SAP BI systems. Our suite of SAP BI Tools • MSys Copy Query tool - Copies queries between systems without using transports. • MSys Query documentation tool – Documents BW queries with technical name in html format or pdf format. • MSys Query Objects Cleanup tool – improves performance and deletes unused objects. • MSys Query Clean up tool – deletes

• MSys Query Migration tool – migrates BW 3.x queries to BW 70 version in batch mode. We also provide custom content in terms of data sources, transformation, info providers, queries and workbooks in our own reserved Name space. Some of our customers include a major oil company in Saudi, largest tobacco company in USA, leading aviation electronics company in USA a major motor cycle manufacturing company in USA.

unused BW Queries in batch mode. • MSys Multi Provider Validation tool – Validates multi provider for manual errors and decreases the QA time. • MSys Master Data Reporting tool – reports master data (slowly changing dimension) without writing a single line of code.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For pricing, demos and any other questions please contact us on + 44 (0)7795410994 or e-mail at ramprasad@msysinc.com or check us out at www.msysinc.com under our products section.

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making low carbon communities happen LowC is a renewable energy solutions provider, offering services spanning low carbon consultancy through specification, installation and operation of renewable energy assets The new Oakfield School and Sports College caters for 140 pupils aged between 13-19 with severe learning difficulties and physical disabilities. The heart of the school’s sustainable profile is the renewably fuelled low carbon energy centre. The LowC design incorporates several extremely innovative technologies that enable this solution to be commercially viable within the BSF affordability framework. Through the exclusive relationship with Phoenix Fuels, LowC Energy Services were able to ensure that the fuel for the scheme is grown, harvested and crushed within a 10 mile radius of the school, thus combining a robust and sustainable fuel supply strategy within the solution. Exceeding expectations Nottingham City Council had set a minimum requirement of 20 per cent onsite renewable energy for the scheme with aspirations to maximise the carbon reduction to the highest levels within the affordability constraints set by the BSF Framework. The LowC solution delivered more than 115 per cent. Green electricity is exported back onto the national grid network, enhancing the economics further. This installation delivers a saving of 258 tonnes of CO2 per year versus conventional energy supply. From consulting to operation and beyond, LowC enabled: • An affordable, renewable and low carbon solution far exceeding the Council’s aspirations and all UK planning targets • The performance specification, selection and procurement of the renewable technologies required • Project management and construction of the sites renewable energy centre installation • Fully accredited and sustainable fuel procurement across all schools involved • Ongoing maintenance and management contract for the renewable administration content • Full accreditation and compliance to meet CHPQa and Ofgem requirements. The core skills of LowC include not only a full understanding of a school’s occupancy profile but also the operational performance of the buildings, beyond normal design calculation methodology, this is key. Using specifically developed tools, the economic optimisation of the energy centre performance cycle was enabled. The consequent energy and carbon reduction strategy developed by LowC enabled Oakfield not only to form an important role in delivering Nottingham City Council’s target

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to be a carbon neutral city by 2016, but also helping meet their CRC commitments. The group, LowC Communities are now engaged by many project developers throughout the UK, and are actively leading the challenge to deliver affordable, and most importantly, commercially viable solutions that deliver in operation. Key Achievements delivered:

LowC has the single mission to make low carbon communities happen. With expertise spanning building physics, low carbon design and renewable energy supply solutions, LowC can guide clients seamlessly through design, implementation and operation of renewable energy infrastructure. LowC works with developers, property owners, private investors and government

Working with our clients we manage the complete “process, integrating concept, design, commercial and technical feasibility, specification, implementation, construction, operation and optimisation ” • 115 per cent onsite renewable energy • 88 per cent carbon reduction equating to 258 Tonnes of CO2 • Cost savings of £35,000/ yr compared to grid supply • £400,000 of DCSF funding released, by exceeding threshold of 60 per cent onsite renewable energy

LowC Communities LowC is a Renewable Energy Solutions Specialist, formed to “make low carbon communities happen”. Working with our clients we manage the complete process, integrating concept, design, commercial and technical feasibility, specification, implementation, construction, operation and optimisation. LowC bridges the traditional gap between consultancy and operation. (Carbon Trust accredited to the highest level on Carbon Management and Energy efficiency). LowC has access to all renewable technologies – we deliver what is right for you! LowC delivers: • Solutions delivering savings on electricity and heating bills • Solutions that successfully unlock the Salix funding, (plus other green capital grants) • Solutions that are easily incorporated into school boiler house refurbishment/ energy efficiency programmes. • Solutions delivering long term revenue streams • Complete management packages relieving admin burdens • Simple and uncomplicated operations • Reliable, effective technologies, proven long-term performance • Renewable solutions that bring educational benefit to pupils linked to the curriculum

bodies across all sectors and functions in four core business areas, consulting, technologies, construction and energy services: • LowC Consulting focuses on low and zero carbon solutions for the built environment, delivering improved returns and enhanced shareholder value by reducing costs, complying with new regulations and responding to market demands for improved environmental performance. • LowC Technologies offers capital sale, project management, installation and commissioning of renewable energy solutions. • LowC Construction manages the physical integration of renewable energy equipment into existing infrastructure. • LowC Energy Services works with clients to optimise returns on their investment in renewable energy technologies. Services include energy financing contracts and RESCo services, as well as utilities management and supply optimisation. LowC developed solutions now lead the way within the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme. LowC – Solutions that future proof your schools energy costs and carbon footprint.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more details on how we can help you visit www.lowc.co.uk or call Helen Fearn on 01778 590074

8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Government Technology | Volume 8.11

green it

How green is your data centre? While many organisations are willing to demonstrate their efforts to improve data centre energy efficiency, metrics can often be confusing and misleading. The Green Grid looks at how advances in reporting aims to improve this An increasing number of organisations and government departments are using The Green Grid’s PUE and DCiE metrics to promote the efficiency of their data centres. In general, this is a very positive trend as it demonstrates that the industry is willing to put forth a level of effort to improve on energy efficiency and challenge others to do the same. However, interpreting results from individual data centres can be confusing and at times misleading, and comparing different data centres has become challenging. Creating and promoting PUE or DCiE measurement information, while a great first step, actually falls short of what data centre managers need, because there are various ways to calculate results, and too much weight can be put on one-off circumstances. For example, the number doesn’t address when measurements were taken, where they were taken, or how often they were taken.

Considering each data centre is different, and “because the ability to take ongoing accurate measurements inside each data centres varies so

dramatically, The Green Grid has published guidelines and a required process for government departments and organisations alike to follow when determining the PUE or DCiE score for their data centres

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KNOW THE SCORE Considering each data centre is different, and because the ability to take ongoing accurate measurements inside each data centres varies so dramatically, The Green Grid has published guidelines and a required process for government departments and organisations alike to follow when determining the PUE or DCiE score for their data centres. This includes a standard nomenclature that will enable organisations to communicate more specific and relevant information about their scores. As a result, the “absolute” reported PUE or DCiE numbers will change, but the granularity will result in a more accurate “apples-toapples” comparison across different facilities. To provide a meaningful report of PUE or DCiE, the reporting organisation should provide additional information about the data collection process. The Green Grid has outlined four specific types of information: the ‘manner’ in which the data was collected, the ‘type of equipment’ from which the data was collected, the ‘timeframe’ covered by the reported value, and the ‘frequency’ with which individual data points were collected. This data falls into three levels: • Level 1 (Basic): The IT equipment is measured at the UPS, total facility power measured at the data centre input, and minimum measurement interval is monthly or weekly • Level 2 (Intermediate): The IT equipment is measured at the PDU, total facility power measured at the data centre input except for the HVAC, and

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Cut PC energy usage, save money, reduce carbon! Care Taker software can reduce the demand for electrical power across your organisation’s PC network by at least 35% and as much as 68%, without affecting your productivity – saving an average £28 and 141kg of CO2 per computer each year. Care Taker will also have paid for itself well within six months, leaving your organisation not only with a reduced electrical bill but a smaller carbon footprint! To learn more about Care Taker please contact 01224 224 235 or email info@carboncontrolsoftware.com

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Your business instincts tell You to defend Your network. to protect it from all predators and potential threats, daY and night, You need the strongest solution available: Network Box MaNaged Security Your organisation depends on the free flow of data and information. Every device makes millions of separate connections but every connection carries a risk. At Network Box, we manage that risk, giving you both peace of mind and increased productivity. Your business is safe, secure and shielded. Network Box combines the latest technology with intelligent, human intervention. Through a single device, we manage and monitor all your web and email use 24/7, reducing risk, ensuring compliance and providing commercial security in a competitive world.

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view the demo on www.network-box.com

Government Technology | Volume 8.11

8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk green it

minimal measurement interval is daily • Level 3 (Advanced): The IT equipment is measured at the device (server, switch, etc), total facility power is measured at the Data Centre input less shared HVAC plus building lighting, security, etc, and measurements are taken continuously. This additional information can be provided by adding a subscript to the name of the metric being reported. For example, PUE would be reported and formatted as PUEa,b ,where ‘a’ describes the metering placement level and ‘b’ describes the measurement frequency and averaging period. Similarly, DCiE would be reported as DCiEa,b. For example: • 0.51 DCiEL1,YM would mean: yearly average DCiE score of 0.51, using data points gathered monthly with a Level 1 meter placement • 1.8 PUEL2,WC would mean: weekly average PUE score of 1.8, using data points gathered continuously with a Level 2 meter placement. RESULTS Once end-users start to use these guidelines, The Green Grid plans to review results that end-users want to communicate to the public by categorising these results into four groups: 1. Unrecognised: This category appears when the reporting organisation does not provide any additional detail as to the means or manner through which the data was collected, the timeframe covered by the result, or the granularity with which individual data points in the result were collected. While The Green Grid applauds any attempt

to measure or calculate results, it will not comment on unrecognised, publicly reported figures. Accordingly, The Green Grid places no requirements on, nor has any specific recommendations for, unrecognised results. 2. Reported: The second class of results appears when the reporting organisation has submitted data using the proper nomenclature from The Green Grid and has self-certified using the measurement methodology defined for PUE and DCiE. The Green Grid will not recognise these results and will not provide any additional comment, and reported results that are not ‘Registered’ (see below) will also not be specifically referenced within The Green Grid’s website. 3. Registered: The third class of results falls under the category of “Registered.” To register a result with The Green Grid, the reporting organisation must provide additional data about the result and provide contextual data from The Green Grid’s database. This helps by providing key additional data that The Green Grid will use in commenting on and analysing overall industry performance and data centre energy efficiency trends. One key benefit in registering results is that the government body will receive a registration number if they meet the requirements, and this registration number may be used in any public document to verify that the organisation has met The Green Grid’s requirements. The Green Grid is working to provide a way for reporting bodies to record this data with The Green Grid – most likely

a page on The Green Grid’s website. In the meantime, The Green Grid’s site will have the most up-to-date information on specific data elements, which will be refined over time. 4. Certified: The fourth class of results, ‘Certified’, has the most stringent data reporting requirements. In addition to those items required for a result to be ‘Registered’, the reporting organisation will provide contextual data, and any additional data, for third-party validation or certification of results. This additional data will allow organisations to qualify for inclusion in future award or recognition programmes created by The Green Grid. The Green Grid will accept any original source materials or publications necessary to validate the claim. It’s also important to note that due to the limits of physics, any reports to The Green Grid with PUE measurements less than 1.0 or DCiE measurements greater than 100 per cent will automatically be rejected. It’s impossible for an organisation to be more than 100 per cent efficient using today’s metrics. Whether a government department wants to report their PUE or DCiE results to The Green Grid according to the Reported, Registered or Certified classifications, this is a step forward for the industry. It provides consistent, applesto-apples reporting, allows the industry to identify and promote exceptional results, and provides a level of quality assurance for all data centre managers. We hope The Green Grid’s PUE and DCiE reporting guidelines will lead to greater industry adoption of these metrics.

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8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Analysys Mason – supporting public sector projects nalysys Mason is a trusted advisor on telecoms, media and technology to private and public sector. Our team of over 250 people across 11 offices is respected worldwide for its exceptional quality of work, independence and flexibility in responding to client needs. For nearly 25 years, we have been helping clients in more than 100 countries resolve issues ranging from development of operator strategy, evolution of national sector regulation and execution of major financial transactions, to the deployment of public and private network infrastructure. We support the public sector, locally to globally delivering innovative and wideranging consultancy services including:

• Mobility solutions – experts in wireless technologies • IT and telecoms convergence – getting more from your network • Green IT – best practice in IT and data centre design • Information security – developing the right protection for your specific needs • Contact Centres – engaging with customers and connecting with citizens.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Bridie Douglas or Terry Smith Analysys Mason 5 Exchange Quay Manchester, M5 3EF Tel: +44 (0) 161 877 7808 E-mail: enquiries@analysysmason.com

Increase your information security by spending less he recession and subsequent impact on public spending means that many public sector bodies need to seriously consider how they’re going to meet future needs at a time of relentlessly growing demand but static (or even shrinking) IT budgets. Vistorm, an HP company, believes that the public sector needs to break from the annualised and tactical security problem solving that only addresses isolated threats and not the overall risk, by introducing a new holistic and integrated approach. We call it complete information security – a clearly defined, well managed and continuously optimised program that delivers substantial operational efficiencies

in terms of lower composite risk. Taking this approach will lead to increased security levels and deliver dramatic cost reductions. But don’t just take our word for it, independent figures by industry leading bodies have estimated this could reduce the security budget by up to 50 per cent.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about Vistorm’s Complete Information Security approach visit www.vistorm.com or contact George Burgess, Public Sector Sales Manager on 07545 503818 or via George.Burgess@Vistorm.com

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

green it

EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Efficiency Workspace Technology looks at how the implementation of the European Union best practices for Data Centres will help the public sector reduce CO2 emissions The introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will levy tax against high energy users and will become a reality in 2010. As part of CRC initiative the European Commission directive introduced the European Code of Conduct on Data Centre’s last year. This code of conduct provides a set of rules which will help drive down energy use and improve energy efficiency within the data centre environment. It is anticipated that public sector bodies will help lead the way in energy reduction programs. Workspace Technology recognised the potential impact that the CRC will have within the data centre market and became an early adopter of the European Code of Conduct on Data Centres which was introduced in late 2008. The Code of Conduct has a published set of ‘best practice’ recommendations designed to help improve energy efficiency of data centre environments. As a European Code of Conduct on Data Centres “Endorser” Workspace Technology actively: • Disseminates information on the Code of Conduct • Encourages organisations to become Code of Conduct Participants • Aids Code of Conduct Participants in putting into practice, the recommendations of Participant Guidelines and Best Practices. In line with this strategy Workspace Technology is able to offer public sector organisations services which will enable them to become an EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Efficiency “Participant”. EcoDesign™ is based on the implementation of a set of “common sense” design principles based on the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centre Efficiency “Best Practices” which when deployed intelligently contribute significantly to the energy efficiency and performance of a data centre. PRACTICAL DEPLOYMENT Workspace Technology works closely with organisations to identify issues and help design and implement practical and deliverable best practice solutions. One of the mandatory requirements of the Code of Conduct includes measurement. Workspace Technology’s EcoTronix energy/ PUE measure technology delivers real time monitoring of energy efficiency and its usage. Additional practical solutions include the

Principles of EcoDesign™ best practices Measurement

Without measurement it can be hard to understand why and where energy performance is poor and how to improve it. It is a recommendation of the Carbon Trust that sub-metering of high energy consumption infrastructure is implemented.

‘Right size’ architecture

Modular, scalable power and cooling architecture that allows deployment as needed. This is the crucial element for improving data centre efficiency. Efficient Cooling Technology The implementation of modern energy efficient cooling technologies reduce operational energy overhead. The configuration of AC system set points more appropriate to modern computer technology, will have a surprising contribution to data centre energy savings.

Clear segregated airflow

Ensuring a clear airflow path whilst eliminating the mixing of hot and cold air through the deployment of appropriate ducting, aisle containment and airflow management technology will contribute to significant reductions in the energy demand of the cooling system.

Efficient room layout

An efficient room layout will facilitate the deployment of appropriate cooling, allow for a modular growth strategy and assist airflow separation. Correctly positioned grille tiles will ensure airflow to equipment inlet positions.

Efficient UPS and electrical installation

The installation of modern modular transformerless UPS technology significantly improves efficiency and also saves on floor space at typical operating loads. The installation of well designed power paths combined with energy efficient lighting reduces energy consumption.

intelligent deployment airflow management and aisle containment technology, economizer “free air” cooling and energy efficient UPS systems. Becoming an EU Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy efficiency “participant” enables organisations to show leadership and ultimately helps stake holders drive energy efficiency reducing both operating costs and carbon emissions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please contact Roy Griffiths, Sales and Technical Manager at Workspace Technology Tel: 0121 354 4894 Fax: 0121 354 6447 E-mail: sales@workspace-technology.com Web: www.workspace-technology.com or www.flexaisle.com

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Written by Phil Heap, Head of Consultancy and Membership Products & Services, FAST Ltd

software management

Compliance complexity Many IT professionals are turning to managed services and on-demand solutions to deal with the complexity of being software compliant The recession has made all businesses re-evaluate their spending habits. It has also exacerbated a major trend that was already underway: the move from paying for IT with large chunks of capital, towards monthly instalments financed from operational budgets. Today’s resourcestrapped IT departments are not only searching for tools to ‘do the job’ but they are now looking for wider overarching services. This is because the complexity of managing multiple vendors means that managing licensing is becoming an unenviable task. With new technologies and new ways to procure software such as SaaS and virtualisation, the world of licensing is becoming more complex. Industry analyst Gartner predicts that SaaS deployments will grow 17 per cent through to 2011, double the rate of growth for the purchasing of enterprise application software as a whole. SOFTWARE COMPLIANCE Our recent FAST Annual Customer Survey for 2009 suggests that organisations are also becoming more aware of the importance of licensing and being software compliant but are finding the complexity daunting – over the last 12 months, there’s been a 50 per cent increase in the number of companies being audited by their software vendors. Therefore IT professionals are turning to managed services and on-demand solutions, where they can outsource the management of the tool as well as the software and focus on their core IT competencies. Today the challenge for IT departments is that they want software vendors to make complex processes easy to implement, deploy and use over time. In the current volatile business environment, companies are evolving quickly and they need to be responsive and flexible. This means that the IT solutions they put in place also need to be able to adapt just as rapidly. The wider trend is that the Credit Crunch will eventually reshape the way organisations buy IT, with SaaS, managed and hosted services, virtualisation and cloud computing all good examples of this. OUTSOURCING More organisations are beginning to see the benefits of Software Asset Management and that Software as a Service is one way of outsourcing and having part of your software managed for you. Instead of having software installed on a desktop, PC or server, software is delivered literally ‘as a service’ via a Web browser or via application virtualisation.

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SaaS does help to remove some of the complexity surrounding licensing because it becomes the vendor’s problem and not the end user’s. It is transparent; the vendor will see when you have changed the number of users and will instantly know that you need to amend your licence allocation. With on-demand services you can also rely on the third party provider to upgrade, improve and sustain all the hardware and tuning of the service whilst you retain control over your policies, access and controls. For organisations that may have over 150 different types of software applications (such as a customer at our recent FAST roundtable, Lloyds Register), managing all of this software can be a daunting task, therefore outsourcing some of it can be an attractive option to them.

Effective SAM is about determining where you are today, and then getting it right and managing those assets on a regular basis. It mitigates legal risk and delivers piece of mind for companies. SAM also delivers significant cost savings, by maximising the investment companies have already made and to save money in the future on licensing contracts with all vendors. Although SaaS is one way of effectively managing software assets as it removes the complexity surrounding licensing and ensures piece of mind for the end user – it’s not a panacea and it won’t solve all your problems, especially if you don’t have clearly defined processes in place. It is therefore important to realise that there’s not one correct way or route

With new technologies and new ways to procure “software such as SaaS and virtualisation, the world of licensing is becoming more complex. Industry analyst

Gartner predicts that SaaS deployments will grow 17 per cent through to 2011, double the rate of growth for the purchasing of enterprise application software as a whole SaaS can also mean that organisations can benefit from sharing more highly developed functionality and resilience combined with an automated, secure and robust platform and version updates are completed transparently. SaaS can be a good option because the expertise of the third party supplier is likely to be more knowledgeable than internal staff. This therefore allows an organisation’s team to focus on the running of business policy, and best utilisation of the service functions themselves rather than the monotonous running of the hardware and system itself. COMPLEX MANAGEMENT Managing software in today’s business has grown in complexity given the volume of software solutions available, the increase in software usage, and the complexity around licensing. Software today is not only a high value business asset and a significant financial investment, but it is also a critical enabler to business differentiation and success. In difficult times, what companies must get from their IT estate is predictability and reassurance, not unexpected, unbudgeted costs. So SAM and compliance are even more pertinent as organisations attempt to get their costs in check in a recession.

”

to effective Software Asset Management. And because it’s not likely that all technology within an organisation will be outsourced at one time – there will be technology that you want to keep on-premise and other technology that you feel quite comfortable outsourcing – this is where our independent services and support can act as an invaluable sounding board for assistance and advice. Each organisation is different, and business needs and goals will vary. At FAST Ltd, we offer a wide range of professional, consulting and managed services to UK organisations that want to benefit from smarter IT and Software Asset Management strategies, and ensure they have a legally compliant IT infrastructure. We offer the tools to not only ‘do the job’, but also provide a wider overarching service. Our advice, education and training services, along with tools such as FAST Compliance Manager, our software licence management tool and the FAST GAP Analysis reviews existing IT processes against best practice, helping to guide organisations on their path to software compliance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0844 815 5741 Web: www-fast-compliance.co.uk

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software management

about fast FAST Ltd, part of IRIS is a leading UK authority on Software Asset Management and IT Compliance, providing software, education, consulting and managed services. For over 24 years FAST Ltd has helped over 8,000 organisations control their IT costs, mitigate risk and deploy best practice IT using expert impartial and independent advice. The FAST Compliance programme focuses on helping organisations achieve ‘best practice’ in IT and software compliance. The business supports its 2,700 customers to reach and maintain The FAST Standard for Software Compliance (FSSC–1:2007), a private Standard which was developed in collaboration with BSi. The FAST Standard also addresses a significant proportion of the requirements of ISO/IEC 197701 the International Standard for Software Asset Management. The Federation Against Software Theft Investors in Software (FAST IiS), which aims to combat software piracy, endorses the Standard. FAST IiS, which is a not for profit organisation limited by guarantee, is owned and funded by its members – software publishers, solicitors, IT resellers etc. FAST Ltd has a mandate from FAST IiS to advise and help UK organisations on the issue of software compliance and promote the legal use of software and it is the only organisation that meets the FAST IiS’ mandate.

Can you pass the following test? Question 1: What do the following have in common?

SUPERMARKETS

LEISURE CENTRES

THE NHS

BANKS HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS

PRISON SERVICE

BUILDING SOCIETIES

AIRPORTS

INSURANCE COMPANIES

UTILITY COMPANIES

FACILITY MANAGERS

CHURCHES

RAILWAY OPERATORS

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

CHARITY SHOPS

HOTELS

QUANTITY SURVEYORS

MAJOR RETAILERS

MUSEUMS

SCHOOLS

PETROL COMPANIES

Question 2: Answer 1: Answer 2:

Are you sure that your Maintenance expenditure is value for money? They all use the nationally recognised National Schedule of Rates to reduce their maintenance costs and ensure value for money Please telephone NSR Management on 01296 339966 or email us at nsrm@nsrmanagement.co.uk to find out www.nsrm.co.uk

NSR Management

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Government Technology | Volume 8.11

facilities management

Tracking energy use Legislation and rising utility bills are forcing businesses to look for cost effective ways to cut energy waste around their buildings. This is where building controls can help, says Ian Ellis, President of the Building Controls Industry Association The pressure to cut energy waste is particularly strong in the public sector. Expected to lead by example, public sector buildings have been targeted with Display Energy Certificates to publicly track the success (or otherwise) of energy reduction programmes. More recently, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) began its first phase. Again, the public sector will be expected to lead the way in this scheme, which is a cap-and-trade mechanism targeting organisations based on their energy use. One problem for the public sector is that it has been very successful in reducing its energy waste, so finding further costeffective reductions is something of a challenge. However, within most buildings there is existing technology which can be used as the platform for a low-cost energy efficiency drive: building controls or a building management system (BMS). MONITORING ENERGY Approximately 70 per cent of building services equipment in existing buildings is controlled by a BMS. Controls influence every aspect of a buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s operation: heating and hot water, ventilation, cooling and air conditioning, lighting, windows and shading. Controls can therefore monitor and control every watt of energy used by the building at all times, so there are enormous opportunities to save energy simply by ensuring that the BMS is working correctly. This provides a cost-effective solution which can produce quick-wins for any organisation. The best place to start with a controls-based energy saving programme is probably with an energy audit. This will provide a clear picture of how your building is performing in terms of energy at the current time. It also means that energy and cost savings can be tracked. This is also a good opportunity to check the BMS itself to ensure that you are aware of problems such as number of alarms or maintenance call-outs so that improvements in these areas can also be monitored. CONDUCT A REVIEW A review of your current building controls and your control strategy is vital. Maintenance and commissioning, or re-commissioning, are the first steps to effective operation of controls.

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Simple steps can achieve immediate savings. For example, a walk-around check can identify where sensors may be broken or controls switched permanently to manual override. Another common problem can be that office moves have changed the internal environment, for example a photocopier placed under a sensor can result in cooling operating when it is not required. It is also advisable to ensure that meters are connected to the building management system. This can be overlooked, leading to energy use data not being logged or stored. Data collection is increasingly important for building managers, but it should not be collected for its own sake. It is possible to be so swamped by feedback from meters, that it is difficult to tell what actions need to be take. An adequate storage system is important so that the system can be managed. Building or facilities managers should also examine the controls strategy. Are your set temperature points too high or too low? This is a widely acknowledged cause of high energy bills. A few degrees can make a big impact on energy use. Also, if occupants are uncomfortable they can unintentionally sabotage energy-saving programmes by using under-desk heaters if they are cold, or desk fans to keep cool. Occupant comfort is therefore an important element of energy efficiency. RETROFITTING The use of controls is not only an option for new buildings. Controls are relatively easy to retrofit, and offer a scalable solution for most businesses. With wireless technologies, retrofitting has become much simpler and older buildings can benefit enormously from better controls. This is also a scalable technology, offering a wide range of options according to client needs. Metering is a growing area for buildings where Part L of the Building Regulations and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive require their installation. These rules are designed to ensure that building operators know how much energy is being used, and how energy consumption differs across zones in the building. Information gathered from meters is also used for energy certification and benchmarking. While metering can track energy use over

Ian Ellis, BCIA President

time, without added functionality from building controls, meters provide only part of the picture. Controls not only track energy use, they also help to automatically reduce energy consumption. By linking each meter so that its output can be used as an input to a corresponding control loop, the system can automatically optimise performance and reduce energy. Even simple control systems can work alongside required energy meters to reduce out-of-doors equipment operation, or prevent heating and cooling systems running simultaneously. Advanced BMS can also help match energy use exactly to occupant requirements. So for example, presence detection can ensure that lights are only on when required; or an automatic room booking system can set a meeting room to the required temperature only when a meeting is booked to start. Metering is needed to keep track of energy use, and identify areas of high energy consumption in a building. But metering on its own cannot achieve energy reductions. Monitoring and management are vital if information is to be used for controlling and minimising energy in the long term.

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

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facilities management

Meeting room mayhem in the public sector Government departments are needlessly frittering away millions of pounds each year through meeting room mismanagement, according to Paul Statham, managing director at RNM Systems/Condeco When it comes to implementing new ways of working, the office meeting room rarely comes into conversation. However, with one county council recently claiming that it had spent over £250K a year on hiring external meeting room venues, this is clearly an area of high wastage that many public sector organisations should be addressing in order to cut costs. In the private sector, most companies have slashed corporate travel budgets and returned to a culture of in-house meetings, as a direct product of the recession. Consequently, the meeting room has once again become an intrinsic hub in the workplace. Businesses have started to invest more in these communal office areas, spending heavily on video conferencing equipment, cutting-edge digital signage, WiFi access and room booking software in order to boost efficiency and create a strong impression for clients and customers. Poorly managed meeting rooms Whilst the business drivers and requirements of the public sector may differ dramatically, essentially the cost saving rationale is still the same. Poorly managed meeting rooms can be a major drain on resources and budgets. Many government departments tend to outsource these facilities, and those that do not often expand their meeting room capacity, taking on valuable office space on the false perception that they are utilising their meeting rooms to the maximum. In reality, occupancy of meeting rooms in the public sector is at approximately 60 per cent. Large rooms are booked for small meetings and there is always high demand for meetings during peak hours, adding to the perception that meeting rooms are always occupied. Up to 40 per cent of booked rooms can be affected by ‘no shows’, meaning that a room will appear to be booked, audiovisual equipment and catering will be ordered and the facilities will not be used. By managing this area more effectively, organisations would not need to squander money on outsourcing, expanding real estate and wasted catering. Smart meeting rooms RNM Systems/Condeco works with public sector organisations to help them optimise meeting room occupancy. By using tools, such as workspace management software, Condeco, organisations can conduct workplace

Case Study – COI One organisation leading the way with technology is the Central Office of Information. COI has recently installed Condeco along with Condeco meeting room touch screens in order to more effectively manage their meeting room space. The project was implemented alongside a conference suite refurbishment and AV overhaul. RNM Systems worked with Cable Television Services to implement a complete solution for COI that not only compliments the professional look and feel, but demonstrates the company’s commitment in using technology to support more efficient working practices and cost savings. surveys to audit meeting room utilisation. This will expose areas of under-utilisation and show where an organisation could increase and improve meeting room usage. More often than not, these surveys will uncover vast under-utilisation and highlight the need for smarter meeting room management. By implementing a real time room-booking tool along with the latest in touch screen digital signage, organisations can enable employees to cross reference and book, order necessary audiovisual equipment and catering facilities and cancel or postpone meeting rooms from an easy-to-use platform, like the company Intranet or Outlook. This will drastically reduce the running costs incurred through meeting rooms and paper-based room booking systems and help to cut under-utilisation. Condeco Screens are a real innovation in meeting room technology. The screens can either stand alone or work in conjunction with Condeco’s room booking system to display meeting details in front of each room. Employees can check-in and out of the meeting room before and after a meeting and if nobody attends the meeting, the room will be released and considered empty, allowing others to take full advantage. The screens can also enable RFID swipe card functionality to ensure the correct person who booked the room checks in. They have LED lights as standard to visually show if the room is occupied (red), free (green) or if there is a scheduled meeting (amber). The screens help to eliminate meeting conflicts whilst enhancing utilisation and reducing ‘no shows’.

Condeco is providing a large number of central and local government departments with the capacity to raise their meeting room utilisation and save money that is wasted through low occupancy levels, outsourced meeting spaces and real estate costs. Public sector Condeco users Some of the central and local government departments using Condeco: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Barnsley PCT, Camden PCT, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Cornwall County Council, Ofsted, County Durham NHS, The Insolvency Service, Ministry of Defence (MOD), Hampshire County Council, Tower Hamlets, Financial Service Authority (FSA) and many more. To see the full client list, visit www.condeco.co.uk About Condeco RNM Systems is a specialist in workspace management. Its Condeco software suite provides public sector organisations with the ability to manage office space with ease and fluidity. Condeco was awarded the best technology product 2008 at the BIFM annual awards.

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

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content management

Managing unstructured content Enterprise Content Management can bring an organisation’s unstructured content into a managed environment, says Doug Miles, managing director of AIIM Europe When the term Enterprise Content Management was first coined some seven or eight years ago, the objective was the same as it is today – to bring all of an organisation’s unstructured content into a managed environment for sharing, controlled access, findability and archive. The vision then was to provide a single repository, accessible by all staff, capable of dealing with all kinds of content, servicing business processes across the organisation, and providing a single, secure records archive with managed disposition. The obvious parallel was in the ERP and CRM systems that were already established as enterprise applications. To this end, the Document Management and Records Management vendors of that time set out on a path to become ECM vendors by equipping their products with modules to cover every type of content

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and content process, either by organic growth, or more frequently by acquisition. UNSTRUCTURED CONTENT Today, however, there is a general appreciation that ECM is more of a blanket term to cover information management technologies for unstructured content. In some organisations, it may indeed be a single system capable of dealing appropriately with many different types of content and records requirements. In others, it may be a collection of repositories and applications. The common goal, however, is to provide users with a single-access capability allowing them to find, retrieve and process information from wherever it is stored, without needing to login to multiple applications. Increasingly, underlying content services infrastructures have emerged as a base for content management and business process applications.

MANAGE IN PLACE The AIIM Industry Watch survey found that 35 per cent of organisations have a policy to migrate all content to a centralised ECM system. The remainder are taking a more pragmatic view, seeking to leave content in place in existing repositories, but provide a single-sign-on portal to link them together. This is largely to facilitate knowledge search by staff, but it increasingly provides a single control point for legal discovery and legal hold. Taking this one step further, the latest records management philosophy is “manage in place,” whereby documents within multiple repositories are search-matched against templates of particular document types, and the same records management and disposition rules are applied no matter which repository is holding the document.

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content management

About aiim Doug Miles is the UK managing director of AIIM Europe. 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. See www.aiim.org.uk. Doug can be contacted directly by e-mail, doug.miles@aiim.org.uk. SHAREPOINT Since its revision in 2007, Microsoft SharePoint has become astonishingly prevalent. 63 per cent of organisations are using or planning to use SharePoint. The most likely use is as a collaboration or shared-workspace tool, but document management and fileshare replacement is the next most common application. These projects are increasingly driven by the IT department rather than the records management staff, and in 29 per cent of companies, SharePoint is being implemented in parallel with or in competition with existing ECM suites, rather than being integrated with them. Having said that, SharePoint is the most popular single-sign on portal application for linking repositories compared to other suppliers or to Open Source solutions. ECM SUITES Although the ECM vendors have been selling multi-module integrated suites for some while, only 25 per cent of users have the basics of document management, records management, BPM/Workflow and Capture within the one suite, with a further 20 per cent or so having them integrated with their suite. E-mail is managed as a stand-alone application not-integrated with the ECM suite in 39 per cent of organisations, and not managed at all in 28 per cent. This is reflected in the finding that 55 per cent of organisations have little or no confidence that important e-mails are recorded, complete and retrievable. NEW CONTENT TYPES The goal of ECM has always been to impose management upon all types of file containing content that pertains to the running of the business. As technology has developed, content types have grown from scanned images, documents, faxes and pictures, through e-mails and web pages, sound and video files, and most recently, text messages, blogs and wikis. The AIIM survey asked respondents to rate how well managed each type of content was in their organisation, and it is interesting to match that against their level of importance to the business. Paper documents are still much better managed than electronic Office files, although there is a likely effect in many offices that paper filing procedures are deteriorating as electronic content takes over. E-mail attachments show up as being even less well managed than the e-mails themselves, and instant messages, SMS/text messages, blogs and wikis are largely off the corporate radar in 75 per cent of organisations. Heavy-handed governance of these nascent channels is considered to be oldfashioned but, given the potential external exposure, lack of policies and further lack of inclusion in the corporate archive are major risks. RETURN ON INVESTMENT Despite the fact that in 77 per cent of organisations it is considered important to justify records and document management initiatives with monetary or “hard dollar” savings, only 52 per cent of users have actually measured costs before and after their DM/RM projects. On the whole, hard dollar returns have come out very much as per user expectation. Overall, soft dollar benefits have come out somewhat better than expected, and returns generally are considered to be better than for other IT projects, with 79 per cent “better” or “the same” as other projects. Given that cost reduction is currently the prime driver for any IT investment, and that enterprise IT projects are notorious for high expectations and low realisation of expected cost-savings, these results indicate that ECM is potentially a high performer.

Ovum – research advisory, management consulting and sourcing he recession creates massive challenges for the public sector. Pressure is mounting to find substantial efficiency savings whilst sustaining and improving service delivery. No branch of government is unaffected and pressure is unlikely to abate for years to come. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly under the spotlight. It offers the potential to deliver efficiency savings but, quite rightly, is also the target of cost-saving initiatives. Money saved from better sourcing, implementation and management of ICT is available to improve front line services. However, the ICT market has shown a mixed level of success in helping the public sector to deliver those improvements. Impartial information can help public sector executives to assess their current ICT operations, deliver improvements, and implement efficiency programmes. Ovum provides the information,

analysis, and advice to help tackle those challenges. We monitor and research all aspects of the public sector and the suppliers that serve it. Ovum specialises in the UK public sector ICT market and has successfully focused on it for over a decade.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Tony Lacey Tel: +44 (0) 161 238 4075 Mobile +44 (0) 7766 541 582 Fax: + 44 (0) 207 657 4 657

Public sector success with Ektron CMS400.NET he NHS, The Royal Society and The Law Society have all chosen the same Web Content Management (WCM) platform to power their websites. As a global leader in WCM software and services, Ektron empowers public sector web developers, administrators and IT managers with the tools they need to maximise the effectiveness of government and organisation sites. With tools and functionality that can be used to grow online communication, notification and services strategies for any size government agency, Ektron CMS400.NET delivers valuable content to the people who are looking for it in an efficient and timely manner. Constituents and government officials are able to search for and find information on CMS400.NETpowered sites quickly and easily. Ektron empowers developers and non-technical business users alike; developers can take advantage of built-in server controls to deploy websites out of the box or customise

deployment using CMS400.NET’s API. New PageBuilder technology lets non-technical users build and deploy web pages independently, using drag-and-drop functionality created by developers. Subject matter experts and editors benefit from an intuitive user interface for managing website content and messaging. In addition to core content management, CMS400.NET ships with a wide array of functionality, including social networking, Web 2.0, geo-mapping and synchronization tools, all designed to optimise website experiences on both sides of the internet.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Ektron Sienna Court, The Broadway Maidenhead, SL6 1NJ Tel: +44 (0) 1628 509 040 Web: www.ektron.com

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content management

Online Information 2009 Conference Online Information exhibition and conference and the co-located Information Management Solutions (IMS) are approaching fast. We take a look at what is on the agenda for our readers The Online Information Exhibition – A compelling line up of innovative pavilions, forums and a record number of new exhibiting companies has been unveiled by Online Information 2009. Consisting of an exhibition attracting over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show floor seminar programme, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry. The driving force behind this year’s event is the goal to equip information professionals with the skills and knowledge required for their organisations to succeed in the changing and challenging information world. Covering the full spectrum of online content and information management solutions, Online Information is the definitive showcase for the information industry. Visitors to the event will experience the latest developments, launches and innovations first hand from more than 230 international exhibitors. The event covers six main sectors: Online content resources, ePublishing, Library Management Systems, Content Management, Web 2.0 Technologies and Search Solutions. Conference Programme Online Information 2009 Conference is taking the unprecedented step of featuring three opening keynote sessions dedicated to each of the conference tracks. Each track will be keynoted by speakers at the leading edge of their industry. The tone of the conference will be set during the opening keynote by Dame Wendy Hall and Professor Nigel Shadbolt, both thought leaders of the Semantic Web movement. The second day will be keynoted by a man internationally renowned for his understanding of information science, Blaise Cronin, editorin-chief of the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. And on the last day social media expert Charlene Li, co-author of ‘Groundswell – Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies’ will explore how organisations need to transform themselves to harness the ever-changing social web. All of these opening keynote sessions will give an exclusive insight into the three strong conference programme tracks set to showcase innovation and signpost emerging trends for 2010 – on an international platform. The Online Information conference regularly attracts in excess of 800 delegates from over 40 countries. The conference format is extremely flexible, so each delegate can tailor their own personal experience of the event. The topics from the three different

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tracks can be individually mixed and matched, there are in-depth pre-conference workshops and a dedicated conference social network to facilitate meetings with industry peers from across the globe. Conference Highlights The 2009 conference encompasses the whole knowledge spectrum needed by Information Professionals currently working in what is constantly being described as a changing and challenging environment. Here we give you an insight into what you can expect from this year’s event. Track 2: Day 1 – Twitter: value, pitfalls and the impact on the info pros: Defining the relationship between Government and the people in 140 Characters – Dave Briggs, community evangelist, Learning Pool will present a lively session on the development of conversational web services such as Twitter. He will discuss how these services provide an incredible opportunity for the public sector to each out and engage with citizens, organisations and community groups. Any such foray into the world of social networks and web 2.0 must, however, be properly thought through and considered. Looking at various examples of good and bad use of Twitter and other related tools, the session will leave attendees enthused about bringing their organisation into the Twittersphere. Track 1: Day 2 – Semantic Web: Principles and Advances (Semantic web developments in government) - Lessons learned implementing semantic web in UK Government – A joint presentation by David Pullinger, COI, and John Sheridan, OPSI The UK government has implemented semantic web using RDFa for four different information types. The session highlights lessons learned from personal experience. David explains: “Although an easy concept, the actual implementations were slower than expected or planned. This was caused by a number of factors: general ones associated with all new developments, for example organisational buy-in and the need for tools and skills; through to specific ones such as linking different ontologies, developing shared mark-up and identifying controlled vocabularies to use. We cover these and what has been learned, while describing what has been done to overcome them.” The paper builds on the one presented at last year’s conference to report actual delivery and experience as a case study. Track 2: Day 3 – The Social Web Transforms the Workplace – Workplace 2.0. Track Keynote: What

10 Facts about Online Information + IMS 2009 1. Over 70 countries represented at the events 2. 800 delegates attending the conference 3. 220 exhibitors 4. Over 9,700 visitors 5. 110 free show-floor seminars and over 7500 seminar attendees 6. 3 conference tracks and 27 sessions 7. Online Information has been running for over 30 years 8. 52,000 unique website visitors and 13,000 per month 9. 64 per cent of visitors spent four hours or more at the show 10. Almost 6,000 follow up appointments were made for after the event we have learned about social business design – Steve Dale, consultant, Semantix, UK, moderates and Lee Bryant, co-founder, Headhift speaks. The application of social tools and social networking within business is all too often regarded as a purely technical exercise, where simply installing new software can solve business problems. In fact, the really interesting lessons of this new era of social business tools are about the affordances, behaviours and new ways of working that social networking makes possible. This session will look at some of the areas in which key concepts such as information flows, ambient awareness, networked productivity and cheap, easy collaboration are impacting on business processes and business design in various sectors and industries. Conference Opportunities – Online Information is specifically designed to provide delegates with innovative insights into the most challenging aspects of being information professionals. For example it will give delegates the opportunity to learn about the advances in the semantic web and what it means for the information profession, how the social web is transforming the way we work, how to deliver and demonstrate value in difficult times and most importantly current and emerging library practice. Workshops The conference will also feature in-depth workshops led by industry experts. Delegates booking a workshop as part of their conference place will receive a special discount. Being held on Monday 30 November, the sessions will offer a valuable insight into the most pressing issues and latest technologies currently affecting information professionals.

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Opening Times Tues 1 December, 10:00 – 17:00 Weds 2 December, 10:00 – 17:00 Thurs 3 December, 10:00 – 16:00 Venue - Olympia Grand Hall, London UK the forum has been extended to a 3 day programme and will once again focus on various topical aspects of business, financial and legal information. Bureau van Dijk together with Lexis Nexis and OneSource are sponsoring and endorsing this growing platform for expert speakers and industry thought leaders, which has been developed in conjunction with an advisory panel of industry experts. Free show floor seminars – Here both Online Information and IMS visitors can identify a range of relevant sessions from over 110 hugely popular educational seminars. Attracting a year on year increase in attendees, track themes for 2009 will encompass STM information in focus, libraries and ebooks and epublishing solutions within the Online Information areas of interest. At IMS, web and enterprise content management, enterprise search solutions and marketing through social media will be on the agenda.

For example: ‘Turbo-charge Your Web Research’ presented by Mary Ellen Bates, owner, Bates Information Services, USA, will offer practical tools, techniques and resources to keep web researchers’ skills up to date and enable them to find the key information they need to open the opaque and collaborative web, wherever it is lurking. Another workshop likely to attract a lot of interest is ‘Sharepoint Academy; Everything You Wanted to Know’. Here presenter, Tony Byrne, founder, CMS watch, USA, will provide the real story behind implementing SharePoint or upgrading to the latest version. This intensive workshop will provide an insight into the platform’s true enterprise-readiness. European Library Pavilion – New for 2009 and located in the Gallery Suites on the gallery level at the show, the European Librarian Theatre will host sessions that focus on topical issues facing librarians, with speakers from a number of different countries providing a variety of viewpoints. This theatre also hosts the German, French, Italian and Nordic Forums. Online Information also welcomes

SLA Europe as its ‘Learning Partner’. All registered delegates will be invited to join the dedicated conference social network Crowdvine. Delegates will be invited to use the network to find others with similar interests in advance of the conference and then meet up with them to follow through. IMS 2009 Exhibition is co-located alongside Online Information. It is designed to provide a forum for IT, business, marketing and information management professionals to find unlimited relevant advice, educational content and to compare solutions all under one roof. IMS offers the perfect platform for those interested in Content Management, Search Solutions and Web 2.0 technologies. New for 2009 the XML Pavilion, sponsored by Mark Logic, is focusing on publishing production and addressing business technology and implementation issues. As well as offering case studies and expert panels, the XML Pavilion brings together some of the leading solutions to date. Global Business Information Forum – Following a successful launch in 2008,

Event information How to get there: Train: Kensington provides direct services to Clapham Junction, Gatwick Airport, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Rugby, Watford Junction and Willesden Junction. For further information, call +44 (0) 8457 484950 Tube: District line train services stop at Kensington Olympia. For more information, call +44 (0)20 7222 1234 Car: Olympia is situated on Hammersmith Road within easy reach of the M4, M40 and M3. There are 16 car parks in the area, including Olympia Way, Warwick road and Kings Mall. For more details call +44 (0)20 75982458 or 0800 056844. Bus: Buses to Olympia are numbers 9, 10, 27 and 28 Admission to exhibitions and conference: Entry is free to the exhibitions if you register in advance, or £15 on the door. Visitor badges allow free crossover between Online Information 2009 and the co-located IMS 2009 exhibitions. For full details on how to register in advance please visit: www.onlineinformation.co.uk , twitter tag: #online09

FOR MORE INFORMATION To view the full programme and obtain full details on how to register to attend the conference please visit www.onlineinformation.co.uk/conference or call + 44 (0)20 7316 9126. For comprehensive event and industry information and free downloads of conference podcasts, guru interviews, case-studies and white papers visit: www.online-information.co.uk IMS 2009 at www.ims-show.co.uk

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Who we are Extrium is a leading environmental and geographic information consultancy. We offer services to central, local and devolved government that can help support the Location Strategy for the United Kingdom.

Our services Policy and research • Transposition of European Directives • Policy options and impact assessments • Drafting of regulations and guidance • Assisting with reporting obligations

We combine our scientific understanding with knowledge of information policy, standards and regulation to help our clients deliver effective and compliant projects.

Environmental services • Environmental modelling and mapping • Environmental strategies and action plans • Assessment of noise, air quality, ﬂood and climate change • Demographic and risk analysis

Our consultants work with clients through all stages of the delivery cycle from transposing Directives, to delivering national mapping projects, disseminating data and final reporting. Organisations we have worked with include: • European Commission/Joint Research Centre • European Environment Agency • Defra • Welsh Assembly Government • Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland • Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland

Geospatial services • Data specifications, sourcing and capture • Geospatial data management • 3D, network, spatial and geo-statistical analysis • Web mapping and cartographic map production Commercial data management • Definition, packaging and licensing of data products • Identifying and assessing Intellectual Property Rights • Pricing data for commercial exploitation • Licensing and royalty negotiations Work with us At Extrium, we work proactively and pride ourselves on our positive relationships with clients and associates as well as our dynamic and flexible approach. If you would like to learn more about the services provided by Extrium or want to discuss any ideas for projects that you might be planning, please call us on 08708 031 321 or email us at enquiries@extrium.co.uk www.extrium.co.uk

8 www.governmenttechnology.co.uk

Government Technology | Volume 8.11

geographic information

The importance of place Chris Holcroft, director & CEO,  Association for Geographic Information, discusses developments in the UK Location Programme We may never think of ourselves as ‘geographers’ but the question “where?” is always present in managing and interacting operational data in the public and private sector. Virtually no item of business or public sector information exists without a position locating it to a place on the world’s surface, be this a house, a telegraph pole, a man-hole cover, a path, a parliamentary constituency, a railway line, the position of an ambulance or whatever. COMPUTER-BASED INFORMATION Over recent decades, as information has become digitally stored, its locational importance compounded with the need for better integrated management processes has powered the growth in use of computerbased Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geographic Information (GI). The value of sales and services in the UK Geographic Information market is estimated to be worth in excess of £600m per annum, but the ‘force multiplier’ is significant. Ordnance Survey data, for example, is claimed to underpin £100bn of economic activity. Today, very few branches of industry and public administration are not touched by GI and GIS somewhere. Effective use of GI and GIS can make a tremendous contribution to the delivery of private and public services and is central to effective administration. Baroness Andrews, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, CLG, put this well in the recent UK Location Strategy: “Good maps and location intelligence can help determine how quickly our ambulances turn up, where a policeman patrols, how we act in a national emergency. Knowing more about where we live can help us make the best decisions. But across the country there is still too little sharing of the best practice and we are wasting time and money trying to find the information we need. The Location Strategy will ensure we make better use of information already held so we can use it faster and with less expense.” at the heart of policy The UK Location Strategy, published in November 2008, placed GI and GIS squarely within government policy making and made it a vehicle to deliver not only better public services through better data discovery and sharing but also to deliver the mandatory EU INSPIRE Directive. In the public sector, the UK Office of Fair Trading (OFT) reported in 2006 that there are thousands of public sector information (PSI) holders in the UK; in local authorities, emergency services, trading funds, and central government departments.

Most data is geographically referenced. Nonetheless this information is often held in silos, often duplicated and not easily shared by public bodies for the purpose of better governance, not least through difficulties in achieving common licencing terms. The UK Location Strategy seeks to deal with much of this to maximise the use of geographic information for the benefit of the nation. The EU Dimension INSPIRE is short for Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community. It seeks to create a European Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) – a uniform way to identify, classify, store and share geographic/location information across public bodies. SDI creation is now a global phenomenon and considered central to enabling 21st century policy making. The initial motivation for creating a spatial information infrastructure was environmental. To be better able to formulate, implement and monitor environmental policies, bearing in mind massive cross border environmental impacts and the changing climate. The environment is still a driving force in the Directive, but environmental factors cross into so many other policy areas it will be used more widely. INSPIRE exerts a top-down influence on UK public policy and geographic information, be it strategy, data sharing and address infrastructure. It will be a major part of the UK Location Programme. Much progress has been made in 2009 with the UK highly influential in the detailed process planning and implementation processes. The UK plans to have INSPIRE transposed into law by the mid December 2009. delivering the Location Strategy Like INSPIRE at the pan European level, the UK Location Programme, born out of the UK Location Strategy, aims to provide a consistent framework to assist initiatives and service delivery through more robust geographic information across national, regional and local government. Successful implementation of the strategy will be of great benefit to local authorities, businesses and communities through better targeted and integrated services. Significantly the strategy is not about individuals or personal information. It is about objects, their position and information about them. Implementation involves cross-government funding and cooperation. Stakeholder interest is even wider ranging including private enterprise and the citizen. Defra is the lead department and a dedicated team within it – The UK SDI Programme Team – is conducting

the mechanics for both the Location Strategy and the UK INSPIRE implementation. In 2009 many achievements have been made. One has been securing funding to deliver stages of the Location Programme. In spring the UK Location Programme team, assisted by the Association for Geographic Information (AGI), engaged widely around the country seeking input on the transposition of INSPIRE to UK law. In late summer a ‘blue-print’ for the Location Programme Infrastructure – including details for a national spatial data discovery service and portal – was circulated in a national consultation exercise. This drew in a broad range of contributions from public and private bodies. The UK Location Council continues to provide governance, reporting to report to UK Ministers and has embarked on setting up the two subsidiary boards – the Location Interoperability and the Location User Group. In November, the UK Location Programme Team will be running a briefing event with the AGI in London for private sector GIS data, service and system suppliers. The Location Strategy is the most significant development in modern UK government concerning the importance of location. For the first time a coherent national framework has been identified and for the first time domestic affairs ministers have officially agreed on the importance of location for good governance. With the burgeoning of geographic devices in modern society – SatNav, Geotagging mobile phones, web-mapping and so on – it was perhaps easier for the whole of government in the first decade of the 21st century to recognise and embrace the potential. Many other drivers, including the Pitt Review following the significant flooding episodes of 2007 and the pending Marine Bill have location at their core. Additionally preparations by the Office of National Statistics for the next national Census have also highlighted the vital importance of a unified address infrastructure. All things happen somewhere. ‘Where’ is fundamental to public policy and the move to common frameworks to better obtain, use and share location information can only be welcomed by increasingly financially-constrained public bodies. Chris Holcroft is the director of the AGI. He is also a member of the UK Location Council. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the AGI or the UK Location Council.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.agi.org.uk

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Analysys Mason is the world’s premier advisor in telecoms, IT and media We support regional and national public sector organisations worldwide delivering innovative and wide-ranging consultancy services. Please see our overview of selected projects below. Department of Health – Ambulance Radio Programme Analysys Mason is the lead technical consultant for the Department of Health, delivering the Ambulance Radio Programme (ARP) nationally. The ARP is providing NHS ambulance services with a new digital radio network and associated communications services, including a managed service for the radio terminals, integrated communications control systems, and mobile data applications.

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