LGSS IT Strategy - whatdotheyknow.com

LGSS IT STRATEGY

2015 Q2

By the public sector, for the public sector

1

Contents

Background 3

New Business Paradigms 4

Traditional IT 5

Customer Focused IT 6

Operating Model Overview (Local Authority) 7

Operating Model Description (Local Authority) 8

Conceptual Model (Roles & Relationships) 10

Programmes 11

Core Values 12

Programme Overview 13

Next Gen Working Programme 14

Stream 01 – Mobile Working 15

Stream 02 – SharePoint 16

Stream 03 – Unified Communications / Lync (UC) 17

Stream 04 – Wi-Fi 18

Digital First Programme 19

Stream 05 – Line of Business (LoB) Rationalisation 20

Stream 06 – System Development 21

Stream 07 – eForms 22

Stream 08 – Integration Service 23

Stream 09 – Government as a Platform (GaaP) 24

More With Less Programme 25

Stream 10 – Virtual Data Centre (VDC) 26

Stream 11 – LGSS Domain 27

Stream 12 – Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC) 28

Stream 13 – Hybrid Cloud 29

Stream 14 – Datacentre Consolidation 30

Stream 15 – Network Standardisation 31

New Business Opportunities 32


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Stream 16 – Systems Development 33

Stream 17 – Security Consultancy 34

Stream 18 – Hosting 35

Stream 19 – Strategic & Technical Consultancy 36

Stream 20 – Big Data Pilot 37

Stream 21 – Technology Partnerships 38

Stream 22 – Grow Our Own 39

Glossary 40


3

Background

LGSS is a regional, pan-public sector provider of services to a growing customer base. We provide common and convergent business services, IT infrastructure & systems to enable synergies and joined up working between our customers. We work with customers in Local Government, Care, Public Health, Housing, NHS, Education and Police. Our IT model is guided by and designed to support the delivery of: LGSS Strategic Plan 2014-2018

LGSS Workforce Strategy 2015-2018

Our customers’ strategic plans

The resulting model allows us to deliver our customers’ strategies whilst embracing their legacy IT functions. We apply our public sector expertise with a continual service improvement process and a holistic approach to service delivery resulting in our customers having an agile, efficient and trusted IT service delivered back to them.

Where there is commonality between our customers we look to identify best practice, centralise, consolidate and then redeploy across our entire customer base. Centralisation and continual improvement ensures we are able to offer superior service levels combined with efficiencies of scale in terms of technology, resources and savings. Where there is uniqueness in our customers operations we respect the specialism required whilst still applying continual improvements where they can be found to ensure optimal delivery of service and to showcase those functions to the wider community.


4

New Business Paradigms

The public sector has been in a sustained period of spending cuts for the several years and projections are that this will continue for at least several more years. Efficiency savings available from within the individual public sector organisations have been realised, yet still more savings need to be achieved. This reduction in funding combined with statutory requirements for services has exhausted what is achievable by individual public sector organisations. In order to continue operating in this environment, public sector organisations are looking outside of their traditional boundaries and operating models in order to transform their organisations. Sharing of services with peers across the public sector is the favoured approach to delivering services more efficiently both operationally and financially. LGSS has been created by the public sector to provide shared services across the public sector. We are an enabler of business transformation by applying our unique public sector knowledge and heritage. Customers of LGSS can not only tap into our skills and expertise, but also that of other LGSS customers. We have customers throughout the public sector and can identify and bring forth best practise from outside customers’ traditional service area. We can provide depth and skills of people, processes and technologies beyond the means of an individual customer. We can secure the best technologies for the best price through economies of scale to enable customers to achieve more for less. LGSS take care of back office services to allow customers to concentrate on their core function of running front line public services.


5

Traditional IT

The consumerisation of IT, with the rise of the internet and mobile technologies has led to a growing frustration with the way that traditional corporate IT is delivered. Customers’ expectations and demands of IT have run ahead of the technologies and resources available from a traditional IT department. The end result is that customers are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their IT service, the technologies it can deploy, the speed at which it can deploy them and the belief that everything with IT is a battle. IT can be viewed as a hindrance to a business rather than a vital enabler. IT on the other hand views their customers as not having realistic expectations of a service with limited resources and a very complex legacy IT portfolio to manage. There is no easy solution to this impasse, customers cannot reduce their need for and pace of change. The financial decline dictates that a customer has no choice but to transform its service. Equally traditional IT lives in this same environment of reducing funds and rapidly changing technologies. All of which makes for an uncomfortable truth…

The current model of IT delivery is broken


6

Customer Focused IT

LGSS has created an enabling and sustainable model of IT delivery. Customers are first and foremost in our service. We work with our customers to create an IT strategy unique to their requirements. Each customers IT strategy will contain both the customer’s plans and expectations from IT along with the work programmes and streams that LGSS IT will implement to achieve the customers strategy. We will meet with customers quarterly to review progress made against each and every work programme and stream. We are held to account by delivering customers strategies. IT is changing, more rapidly than ever before. To keep customers on the leading edge of technological innovations LGSS IT has a Strategy and Architecture arm dedicated to ensuring that customers have timely, trusted and secure access to the best use of technology available to either the public or private sector. Keeping on top of the legacy IT customers use, along with the new technology they are increasingly adopting is the role of our Operations arm. They combine teams dedicated to customers specific requirements with teams shared across customers to support common technologies. As a result they have a depth of resource unrivalled by individual customers. Finally we have our Service Management arm who are responsible for taking ownership of and managing issues when they occur along with oversight of changes to the Operations environment. In addition they also contain our IT procurement service, ensuring that they can gain maximum cost efficiency for our customers use of technology.


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Operating Model Overview (Local Authority)

Shared Domain

LGSS Managed common shared infrastructure (Network, Data Centres, Servers, Storage)

LGSS managed common shared core apps (ERP, eForms, Asset Management, Reporting)

LGSS managed common shared collaborative apps (email, Office, SharePoint, Lync)

LGSS managed common desktop and mobile solutions

NCC Retained

Apps

NoCC Retained

Apps

NBC Retained

Apps

OCS Retained

Apps

LGSS Retained

Apps

CCC Retained

Apps

NPH Retained

Apps

Common District Apps

IT Service Management Change & Incident

Management Service Desk

Vendor Management

Business Engagement Systems Teams

Digital Solution Teams

Customer Business Systems

Business Analysis

Digital Transformation

Requirements

IT Strategy Customer Solutions Architecture & Design Apps Roadmap

Security

Industry Standards Compliance

Shared Domain Ownership

Shared Solutions Ownership GIS Data Centres

IT Operations


Shared Domain LGSS Managed Common Shared Collaborative Applications

LGSS Managed Common Shared Core Applications

LGSS Managed Common Shared Infrastructure

NoCC Retained

Apps

NBC Retained

Apps

OCS Retained

Apps

LGSS Retained

Apps

CCC Retained

Apps

NPH Retained

Apps


NCC Retained

Apps

Common County Apps


8

Operating Model Description (Local Authority)

VDI

Atop our operating model we have customer facing solutions, covering all form factors from mobile phones, tablets, hybrids, laptops through to desktop devices.

Customers select from an approved list of devices.

Examples of this layer o Nokia Lumia 520 phones o Dell Hybrid devices o Dell laptops

Sitting on top of the LGSS Domain are our customers’ own domains. Within these domains exist the customers’ Line of Business (LoB) applications unique to their service area. We deploy continual service improvement processes in this area, working with our customers to see where the possibilities of sharing their LoB applications with other similar customers to promote best of breed solutions which can offer customers efficiency, productivity and financial gains compared to retaining their own silo LoB application.

We strive to be a strategic powerhouse for LoB convergence by taking a proactive approach to working with our customers to identify LoB renewal dates as natural opportunities for customers to converge onto best of breed solutions and to make those solutions available as commercial products to non LGSS customers.

Customers’ own LoB Solutions

Potential for sharing of common solutions with peers

Examples of this layer o Counties

Social Care Highways Education

o Districts Revs & Bens Planning Elections

NoCC Retained

Apps

NBC Retained

Apps

OCS Retained

Apps

LGSS Retained

Apps

CCC Retained

Apps

NPH Retained

Apps


NCC Retained

Apps

Common County Apps

Customer Line of Business Solutions



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At the core of our operating model is the LGSS Domain. It provides a common shared infrastructure across all of our customers, with its heart being located in our two main data centres in Northamptonshire & Cambridgeshire offering the highest levels of resilience. New customers can seamlessly join the domain and have core services delivered to them without the need for additional investment. The domain consists of three service layers:

Home to a common set of collaborative applications to enable customers to work with maximum efficiency and minimum investment.

Best of Breed Solutions offered to customers.

Examples of this service layer: o Email o Office o SharePoint o Lync

Home to services common to all of our customers enabling optimal service delivery and efficiencies of scale in providing these core applications.

Best of Breed Solutions offered to customers.

Examples of this service layer : o ERP o eForms o Asset Management o Reporting

Home to the physical assets of our domain and their associated software, securely hosting core services for all LGSS customers.

LGSS IT mandates solutions for all customers.

Examples of this service layer: o Data Centres o Networks o Servers o Storage

We employ a process of continual service improvement in the strategic use of the LGSS Domain; we review new services and applications for possible implementation into the domain and ensure that those services and applications already within the domain are still best served from the domain.

LGSS Managed Common Shared Collaborative Applications

LGSS Managed Common Shared Core Applications

LGSS Managed Common Shared Infrastructure


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Conceptual Model (Roles & Relationships)

LGSS operates a flexible model of fulfilling resource requirements allowing our multi skilled workforce to maximise their productivity and our service levels to customer. The underlying roles and relationships are illustrated above and described below:

For Health Customers o LGSS IT Strategy (Core)

LGSS IT (Health)

For Founding Partners o LGSS IT Strategy (Core)

LGSS IT (Local Authority)

Digital Solutions o Business Engagement o Ops

For Districts & Boroughs o LGSS IT Strategy (Core)

LGSS IT (Local Authority)

Business Engagement

Ops


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Programmes

Our customers’ current priorities for their IT requirements can be categorised as falling into one of the following three work programmes. All of the work streams commissioned as a result of this strategy will therefore be aligned accordingly with one or more work programmes. These programmes will support delivery of both the LGSS corporate services and that of all of its customers. They will demonstrate how LGSS IT will act as an enabler to our customers in their delivery of the highest quality public services “An approach to organising work that aims to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness in achieving job outcomes through a combination of flexibility, autonomy and collaboration, in parallel with optimising tools and work environments for employees” Definition from CIPD

A process of Continual Service Improvement (CSI) that ensures our technologies and processes are aligned with class leading peers and partners. CSI allows us to drive down the costs of IT to our customers whilst driving up the outcomes expected from IT.

“Digital services that are so straightforward and convenient that all those who can use them will choose to do so whilst those who can’t are not excluded.” Definition from Cabinet Office

Identifying gaps in the market or poorly serviced business areas where we believe that LGSS IT could better serve our customers directly. These services may also be marketed externally to non LGSS customers.

More With Less New Business Opportunities

Next Gen Working

Digital First


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Core Values

The Work Programmes we undertake must also align with the LGSS Core Values. All of the work streams commissioned as a result of the Work Programmes will therefore exemplify one or more work of our Core Values. These values will demonstrate the inherent advantages of an IT service provided by the public sector, for the public sector.

We will always put our customers first, whether they are LGSS customers, citizens or internal colleagues.

We will deliver services and solutions to our customers whenever and wherever they require IT.

We will improve our service levels, agility, resilience and scalability of services via the implementation of our Virtual Data Centre (vDC), Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC) & Hybrid Cloud work streams.

We will develop solutions in partnership with our customers using Agile methodologies to ensure the outcomes are tailored to their needs.

We will produce IT strategies, roadmaps and

plans to underpin the requirements of our customers.

We will be a trusted advisor to our customers in all matters of IT.

We will embrace new technologies and be an enabler of their use in the corporate environment.

We will continue to ensure PSN, PCI and all relevant IT Security compliance is maintained for our customers, whilst at the same time remaining vigilant for new or upcoming threats.

We will complete our data centre upgrades to improve our service levels and deliver efficiency savings back to our customers.

We will deploy the latest automation techniques within our data centres to facilitate improved delivery times and enhanced scalability techniques.

We will design innovative mobile solutions that are designed with both security and functionality in mind.

We will create a nimble infrastructure that enables LGSS to grow easily and remain flexible to the needs of our customers.

We will design once and use many times.

We will deliver a unified virtual data centre which calls upon the capacity and technology of all our combined data centres into a single service, allowing for additional capacity, resilience and scalability than previously delivered to our customers.

We will continue the roll out of virtual teams to grant additional breadth and depth of skills and resources to our customers.

We will continue to rationalise applications used across our customers in order to make more efficient use of technology and funds.

Expert Customer Focused

Trusted Think as one, deliver as one


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Programme Overview

Next Gen Working

• Mobile Working

• SharePoint

• Unified Communications / Lync

• WiFi

Digital First

• LoB Rationalisation

• System Development

• eForms

• Integration Service

• Government as a Platform

More with Less

• Virtual Data Centre (VDC)

• LGSS Domain

• Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC)

• Hybrid Cloud

• Data Centre Consolidation

• Network Standardisation

New Business Opportunities

• System Development

• Security Consultancy

• Hosting

• Strategic & Technical Consultancy

• Big Data Pilot

• Technology Partnerships

• Grow Our Own

IT Strategy


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Next Gen Working Programme

Next Gen Working

• Mobile Working • SharePoint • Unified Comms / Lync • WiFi

As we and our customers strive to offer better service, more efficiency, lower costs and higher motivation so has come a revision to the concept of ‘the workplace’. Our customers and our workforce have higher and yet more flexible demands of technology to enable them to work, and customers be served from any location, on any device at any time. Our Next Gen Working programme will implement an agnostic approach to creating a streamlined, agile and fluid workforce. We will implement tools, technologies and processes to allow work to be performed from anywhere, at any time and on any device. Having an agnostic approach to accessing work is only half the solution to a viable Next Gen Working programme. In tandem with access to work we will have collaborative and communicative tools available for workers to utilise. Our ultimate aim is to make Next Gen Working the preferred and most productive way of working possible.


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Stream 01 – Mobile Working

Objective To implement a Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) service for all customers to enable delivery of their Next Gen Working programmes. A key element of our customers’ Next Gen Working programmes, being able to work regardless of location on a device suited to an individual’s requirements and in an increasingly less formal & structured workplace. This stream will put the Line of Business (LoB) functionality into the hands of customers in a secure and managed environment. We will utilise a variety of techniques to ensure that LoB functionality is delivered regardless of the limitations of the LoB systems themselves.

Outcomes

Productivity – Possible to streamline LoB processes.

Productivity – Workforce can work from a variety of locations.

Productivity – Allows for paperless meetings.

Productivity – Allows for mixed technology usage, mobile, tablets.

Efficiency – Facilitates a workforce working in a reduced estate.

Scalable – Easier on-boarding of customers.

Revenue – Possible resale service to non LGSS customers.


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Stream 02 – SharePoint

Objective To create a SharePoint platform for our customers to host core services of their business. SharePoint is the ‘platform for business’, it provides core functionality, as detailed above along with an ecosystem of extended functionality provided either by 3rd party modules or developed by our in-house team. A key element of our customers’ Next Gen Working programmes, being able to collaborate regardless of location is crucial in an increasingly less formal & structured workplace. This stream will put the core collaboration functionality into the hands of customers.

Outcomes

Cost – SharePoint as a platform cheaper than LoB applications.

Productivity – Easier collaboration for customers.




Efficiency – Shared hosting platform.

Revenue – Possible resale SharePoint skills externally.


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Stream 03 – Unified Communications / Lync (UC)

Objective To roll out Unified Communications via the Microsoft Lync platform for all of our customers to allow for seamless communication services regardless of when, where or how customers wish to communicate. A key element of our customers’ Next Gen Working programmes, being able to communicate regardless of location or the type of communication is crucial in an increasingly less formal & structured workplace. This stream will put the core communication functionality into the hands of customers. Combined with the mobile working stream and we will deliver everything a mobile workers needs to be productive regardless of location.

Outcomes

Cost – Eventual replacement for fixed line telephony to desks.

Productivity – Easier communications for customers.





Scalable – Easier on-boarding of customers.

Revenue – Possible resale service to non LGSS customers.


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Stream 04 – Wi-Fi

Objective To roll out Wi-Fi to all of our customer buildings and other requested sites to enable access to corporate services in a secure environment. A key element of our customers’ Next Gen Working programmes, widely available secure Wi-Fi is the foundation for being able to deliver services to our customers in their rationalised workspaces and wider range of working locations.

Outcomes

Cost – Eventual replacement for wired cables to desks.





Scalable – Easier to scale up and down than fixed cables.

Scalable – Easier on/off-boarding of customers.


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Digital First Programme

Digital First

• LoB Rationalisation • System Development • eForms • Integration Service • Government as a Platform

Our Digital First programme is aimed at building the foundations for improving our customers’ services. We will achieve this by working with our customers to identify, procure and host Best of Breed solutions in each product category to help customers improve their services whilst at the same time realising a common platform and the efficiencies that can achieve. We will rationalise redundant or overlapping applications to remove waste from our customers’ portfolio and where necessary develop our own solutions when the market does not provide our customers with a viable solution. We will develop a Government as a Platform function to facilitate the move to federated services and functions in the public sector.


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Stream 05 – Line of Business (LoB) Rationalisation

Objective To facilitate the rationalising of LoB applications within our customers’ portfolio which have overlapping, redundant or shareable functionality. Any overlapping, redundant or shareable functionality is a wasted asset that we should review with an aim of removing and realising the associated savings. In addition we will look to identify the Best of Breed applications for our customers, promote them to become a shared Core or LoB asset and work with suppliers to negotiate a framework and optimal pricing for their product in order to have prepared, preferred solutions ready to put forward to our customers when requested. This will facilitate the move towards a common LoB architecture and allow for further savings to be realised.

Outcomes

Cost – LGSS preferred solutions will cost customers less.

Cost – Reduced application portfolio.

Efficiency – Less duplication of functionality.

Efficiency – Less training requirements.


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Stream 06 – System Development

Objective To create a development service capable of delivering full systems to our customers and beyond. Our customers are frequently allocating significant financial resources to procuring and maintaining software solutions not tailored to their requirements utilise outdated technologies and do not deliver value for money. We will seek to address this by identifying systems that the LGSS could better deliver than is currently being served by the market.

Outcomes

Cost – LGSS solutions will cost less than existing solutions.

Productivity – Solutions tailored to our customers’ requirements.

Productivity – Solutions will utilise open standards.

Productivity – Solutions will be mobile compliant.

Strategic – Solutions will raise LGSS profile.

Strategic – Solutions as a lead into new customers.

Strategic – Solutions can be used to leverage suppliers.

Scalable – Solutions designed to host multiple customers.

Revenue – All solutions we have commercial value.


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Stream 07 – eForms

Objective To create a unified eForms platform allowing for common eForms to be shared amongst our customers and to allow for customers to create their own eForms. We currently have several eForms solutions in our applications portfolio which limits the scope for sharing amongst our customers. Our current solutions have varying degrees of complexity in terms of development resulting in the customer needing to request access to developers to create eForms on their behalf. By allowing customers the option to create their own eForms we will ensure an agile, flexible development process.

Outcomes

Cost – LGSS preferred solutions will cost customers less.

Productivity – Options for customers to design their own eForms.

Productivity – Allows developers to concentrate on developing.

Efficiency – Sharing of eForms amongst customers

Efficiency – Standardised training.


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Stream 08 – Integration Service

Objective To create a central service allowing for any two applications to be integrated regardless of technology limits. Currently we have limited, sporadic, direct integrations between our applications which are not re-usable, easily maintained or enhanced. The proposal is to combine three technologies, BizTalk, NDL and Web Services to allow us to create a centrally controlled service which will allow for any two applications to be integrated in a controlled, auditable manner with scope for re-use across LGSS customers.

Outcomes

Cost – Reduction in need for expensive integrations.

Productivity – Less need to switch between applications.

Efficiency – Simplified integration architecture.

Efficiency – Centralised development and support.

Reliability – Consistent uniform approach to integrations.

Scalability – Reuse and easily adopted by new customers.


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Stream 09 – Government as a Platform (GaaP)

Objective To create a platform encompassing a standard set of service functions for the purpose of facilitating our customers’ need to move towards a federated model of service delivery. We will move away from a Vending Machine model of service delivery and become a marketplace of services to expedite the creation of public value and social innovation. Each LoB application or service that LGSS offers will be wrapped within a set of agreed standard functions. These ‘building blocks’ of service can then be mixed, replaced, enhanced or consumed by citizens, non-profits or the private sector to enable the delivery of their services.

Outcomes

Cost – Less need for internal software.

Strategic – Caters for federated service delivery model.

Strategic – Can be used to leverage suppliers.

Flexible – Creates ‘building blocks’ of LoB apps and services.

Productivity – Allows external consumption of services.

Efficiency – Allows external enhancement of services.

Scalability - Easier on/off-boarding of customers and suppliers.


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More With Less Programme

More With Less

• Virtual Data Centre (VDC) • LGSS Domain • Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC) • Hybrid Cloud • Data Centre Consolidation • Network Standardisation

The foundation of a robust IT service is its infrastructure. We have invested in hardware upgrades to our two main data centres and will now start a programme of work to build the most secure, agile and dynamic infrastructure services on top of our data centres. This programme will deliver an IT hosting platform with class leading technologies to rival best practise found amongst our peers and the private sector. We will provide the backbone of LGSS expansion, being able to facilitate the smooth on boarding of new customers and deliver back the benefits of being an LGSS customer with services from the LGSS Domain.


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Stream 10 – Virtual Data Centre (VDC)

Objective To remove the dependency on the services provided by our data centre from the underlying hardware. It achieves this by virtualising the services which were previously tied to the hardware to enable them to be provisioned in a more cost effective and flexible model. VDC brings benefits in itself, but is also a fundamental building block of our other streams built upon it. It aligns our data centre technologies with industry standards and customers’ expectations of the LGSS being able to host services to the standards of any commercial data centre provider.

Outcomes

Cost - Minimise requirement of additional assets.

Cost - Minimise hardware vendor lock in.

Cost - Minimise use of proprietary hardware.

Productivity - Improved delivery times.

Efficiency - Maximise use of assets.

Flexible - Allows for risk free prototyping of services.

Scalable - Easier on/off-boarding of customers.


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Stream 11 – LGSS Domain

Objective To setup a relationship between the networks of each LGSS customer in order to allow for the provision of services across the LGSS customer base from a single network. The LGSS Domain is a step up from the VDC stream. It allows for the virtual services created by VDC and its underlying hardware assets to be pooled into a single unit for our customers. This allows us to deliver the benefits of shared resources back to LGSS customers. As use of the domain expands it is envisaged that formerly silo based services will, where appropriate, migrate into the LGSS domain for the benefits of the domain to be returned to more service areas.

Outcomes

Cost - Procured once for use across all LGSS customers.


Efficiency - Maximise use of existing assets.

Productivity - Improved communication channels & workflow.

Resilience - Spread work across LGSS connected data centres.

Scalable - Easier on-boarding of customers.

Scalable - Pools LGSS resources into a single asset.


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Stream 12 – Software Defined Data Centre (SDDC)

Objective To build an overarching framework upon the VDC and LGSS Domain streams that take the pooled, virtualised services and add in an automation layer to speed up service delivery, resilience, and scalability. An SDDC implementation will transform our relatively static VDC into a dynamic resource which will share, expand & contract in response to our customers’ business requirements in order to deliver the most cost efficient data centre’s possible.

Outcomes


Cost – Consolidation of number of VDC.

Efficiency – Shared VDC resources.

Productivity – Services created and deployed in minutes.

Productivity – Centrally configured solutions.

Resilience – Full failover DR between VDC.

Scalable - Easier on-boarding and off-boarding of customers.

Scalable – Dynamic scaling of resources to meet demand.


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Stream 13 – Hybrid Cloud

Objective To supplement our core data centre architecture with on-demand use of an external data centre service. SDDC will achieve maximum efficiency by being able to move some volatile services into on-demand data centres. This prevents us paying for permanent on-premise capacity which will be required only infrequently. We will have access to unlimited resources, allowing us to scale up and down as needed, without being limited by capacity within our data centres. Our data centres can be scaled at their own pace and the workload re-apportioned into them. The end result is that we can deliver any business requirements, regardless of their size and always at the most cost effective rates.

Outcomes

Cost – Solutions served from lowest cost host.

Productivity – Unlimited resources available to customers.

Security – High risk services can be migrated.

Resilience – Failover DR externally in event of major outage.

Scalable – Easier on/off-boarding of customers.

Scalable – Unlimited scaling of resources to meet demand.


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Stream 14 – Datacentre Consolidation

Objective To ultimately consolidate the LGSS data centre estate to running from our two main data centres. With the implementation of the other data centre transformation streams (VDC, LGSS Domain, SDDC & Hybrid Cloud) we will have the infrastructure in place to seamlessly migrate our data centre workloads into the most viable locations. By consolidating into our two main data centres we can ensure the highest levels of service delivery combined with the lowest cost and environmental impact.

Outcomes

Cost – Reduced data centre estate.

Cost – Simplified procurement.

Efficiency – Shared capacity amongst all customers.

Security – No remote data centres.

Resilience – Full failover between data centres.


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Stream 15 – Network Standardisation

Objective To standardise the network platform across LGSS customers. Standardising on a common network platform would facilitate a move to aligning services and service levels across our customer base. With the same network platform we would be able to design a solution once and be confident that it could be deployed across our customer base, rather than having to design bespoke solutions for each customer based. We would be able to maximise usage of a common platform rather than designing for the lowest common denominator platform across our network estate.

Outcomes

Cost – Common platform allows for better negotiation on price.

Cost – Simplified procurement.

Productivity – Design once, deploy across all customers.

Efficiency – Reduced administration.

Efficiency – Reduced training requirements.

Efficiency – Centralised Monitoring.

Security – More agile response to threats.

Resilience – Easier to build in resilience on a common platform.


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• System Development • Security Consultancy • Hosting • Strategic & Technical Consultancy • Big Data Pilot • Technology Partnerships • Grow Our Own

As LGSS has grown we have accumulated people, processes and technologies beyond the means of our peers and private sector companies. We will look to utilise these assets to setup innovative services that we can then offer back to our customers and beyond. When we find a gap in the market where the incumbents are not serving their customers either a functional or financially competitive service we will offer a solution to ensure that customers’ requirements are met where the market has failed.


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Stream 16 – Systems Development

Objective To produce a business cases for viability of developing solutions in the following areas identified as being of strategic value.

Customer Portal. o Develop a solution / replacement customer portal to serve LGSS hosted

functions in a secure verified environment back to citizens.

Lightweight CMS. o Develop a lightweight CMS solution for our customer for when SharePoint is

not the appropriate solution.

eForms. o Develop a replacement for our various eForm solutions.

NDL Mobile. o Setup a development / consultancy service for non LGSS users of the NDL

platform.

Digital Consultancy. o Setup a design, consultancy and user experience service for LGSS customer

and non LGSS customers.


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Stream 17 – Security Consultancy

Objective

To produce a business cases for viability of creating an IT security consultancy specialising in the issues impacting on the public sector. With our own customers and beyond, IT security is a growing concern in the public sector. With more services being exposed to the internet than ever before due to ‘Digital First’ programmes, IT Security has expanded from having a local focus to needing to cater with all the issues that come with being exposed to the internet. Combined with the increasing complexity of technology and ever more innovate techniques deployed by nefarious activities of individuals, groups and states mean that public sector IT is at an increasing risk of being compromised.

Standards such as PSN and PCI force the public sector to reactively achieve a baseline level of security compliance that can leave security issues undetected for an entire year until the annual penetration testing then hopefully uncovers.

Even when those penetration tests are carried out, the issues raised do not take into account business criticality. A security issue identified with a room booking system would be given the same importance as a security issue identified with a social care system.

For the public sector reacting to such a low level of security compliance is beyond the means of many. To date security in the public sector has been a sub set of various peoples job descriptions, with few able to have dedicated knowledgeable security resources on hand to proactively identify, and resolve security issues. We would look to setup a team of security professionals able to provide a tailored proactive security services, to constantly monitor our customers IT security, react and resolve any issues found, taking public sector security to a level not currently available or viable.


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Stream 18 – Hosting

Objective To produce a business cases for offering IT hosting services to public sector customers outside of the LGSS. Due to the creation of the LGSS Domain and the underlying infrastructure the LGSS is now in possession of assets far above what any individual public sector organisation could achieve. Upon completion of our ‘More With Less’ Programme we will be in possession of a hosting environment to effectively rival the likes of private sector counterparts such as Amazon or Microsoft. Those private sector companies are currently battling for public sector adoption, where concerns about data security are paramount.

An LGSS hosting offering would be able to rival private sector counterparts whilst at the same time offering PSN, PCI and public sector knowledge that they do not possess, positioning the LGSS in a unique position to host public sector services from within our data centres.


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Stream 19 – Strategic & Technical Consultancy

Objective To produce a business cases for offering Strategic & Technical services to public sector customers outside of the LGSS. Upon completion of the strategic plan detailed above the LGSS would be in possession of technologies, processes and an IT service unrivalled in the public sector. At this point the plan and actions associated to achieve it would be a valuable blueprint for other organisations to adopt. Our strategists and architects could be utilised to work directly with other organisations or to promote the work that the LGSS had undertaken and the outcomes achieved as a lead in to other prospective customers.


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Stream 20 – Big Data Pilot

Objective To undertake a pilot stream to determine the viability of creating a Big Data service for our customers. Due to the size of the LGSS we have vast datasets of information that could potentially be tapped for value not currently being realised by our customers. For our pilot stream we will use predictive analytics to mine environmental crime datasets, overlaid with other datasets such as weather & events to find patterns in where and when crime occurs. We will then attempt to use these patterns to predict where and when crime will occur. Should the pilot prove a success we will enable our customers to focus their resources, pre-empt & reduce environmental crime.


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Stream 21 – Technology Partnerships

Objective

Suppliers To forge partnerships with our technology partners to facilitate moving to common platforms, saving costs and bringing innovative solutions from our suppliers back to our customers. Technology moves at a tremendous pace and the traditional customer / supplier arrangement struggles to keep the business in step with the technological expectations of our customers. As part of our move to common platforms, we will also look to forge technology partnerships with our chosen supplier in order to speed up the delivery of innovative solutions to our customers. The move will enhance the current customer / supplier relationship to allow the LGSS to deliver change to customers at the speed of their choosing and to showcase technology innovations to customers and potential customers alike.

Partners We will look to form working partnerships within the business and academic sectors within our geographic base. In our Western region we have potential partners in Motorsport Valley, manufacturing or the financial sector such as Barclaycard. In our Eastern region we have potential partners in Silicon Fen, Cambridge University or the financial sector such as Aviva.

The forms these partnerships will take are varied. It could be envisaged that we could provide traffic management IoT solutions for Motorsport Valle or facilitate having Barclaycard & Aviva bring their latest and greatest innovations to our area via our relationships with local authorities.


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Stream 22 – Grow Our Own

Objective To create a programme with our local education providers to provide pathways into working for our IT service. Working with our colleagues in LGSS OWD we have already successfully completed two rounds of nurturing local talent via apprenticeships, with the permanent roles being available upon completion. We will look to enhance this programme with an annual apprenticeship scheme. In addition we will look to work with our local Colleges and Universities for additional pathways. This could include more formal working as in a graduate internship programme or less formal working in the guise of Hack Days or Code Clubs.


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Glossary

CCC Cambridgeshire County Council. One of the LGSS founding partners. CMS Content Management System. A line of business application used to

create and manage content for websites. CSI Continual Service Improvement. A process to continually align and re-

align IT services to the changing needs of business. CYOD Choose Your Own Device. The provisioning of a range of specific devices

for employees to choose from for business usage. ERP Enterprise Resource Planning. Software to allow for the collection,

storage, management and interpretation of many business activities such as Payroll and Invoicing.

GaaP Government as a Platform. An IT framework build to allow for easier use, re-use and replacement of business functions.

IoT Internet of Things ITIL Information Technology Infrastructure Library. A set of practises that

focuses on aligning IT Services with the needs of business. LoB Line of Business. A product that services a particular customer

transaction or business need. For example a Social Care or Council Tax system.

NBC Northampton Borough Council. An LGSS customer. NCC Northamptonshire County Council. One of the LGSS founding partners. NHFT Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust. An LGSS customer. NoCC Norwich City Council. An LGSS customer. NPH Northampton Partnership Homes. An LGSS customer. OCS Olympus Care Services. An LGSS customer. OWD Organisational and Workforce Development PCI Payment Card Industry. Information security standard for handling credit

cards. PSN Public Services Network. Unified network infrastructure of UK public

services. SDDC Software Defined Data Centre. A data centre where computing resources

are orchestrated via automation. VDC Virtual Data Centre. A data centre where the computing resources have

been virtualised to separate them from physical hardware. VDI Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Documents

LGSS IT Strategy - whatdotheyknow.com