Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 11 February 2010 at 17:15:00

A Defra-run initiative to centralise location data promises a range of benefits for public bodies, businesses and citizens

A little-known project to co-ordinate and centralise location data in the UK will greatly improve the country’s response to floods and the impacts of climate change, according to a recent government report.

The objective is to deliver a significant change in the management of geographic and spatial data and make it available in one place for the use of government, business and citizens in a model that could be accessed in a similar way to Google Maps.

Accurate location data on motorway and rail routes, gas and sewage pipeline infrastructures, hospital and school locations, emergency service hubs and population demographics has traditionally been kept by various government departments and agencies in separate databases.

Last year, the government decided it wanted to change that and set up the UK Location Council as part of Defra to oversee a four-year programme to improve the value of siloed location data by making it easier to access and compare.

Publishing the recent report looking at the first year of pro­gress, Huw Irranca-Davies, minister for marine and natural environment, said recent floods in Cumbria proved getting the most out of such data was vitally important.

“Location information is increasingly being used to ensure emergency services arrive at incidents in time, to support the formulation of policies to mitigate the impact of climate change… and to empower citizens and communities to manage their localities more effectively,” he said.

Many agencies are already making innovative use of location data before the strategy to improve it has really gained traction.

The Atlantis Initiative, a joint project between the British Geological Survey, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Environment Agency, the Met Office, the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office and Ordnance Survey has put together accurate data on areas likely to flood in particular weather conditions. The agencies maintain different data sets, but have ensured they are interoperable.

Another pilot project led by the UK Coal Authority will cross-map coal mine data with public footpaths and rights of way to help highlight the risks of subsidence and mine shafts to ramblers.

But at a wider national level many location-based data sets are not in the same format, are duplicated between agencies, and are difficult to find, reuse and integrate in collaborative projects.

To remedy this, The Location Council will oversee the creation of a common location information infrastructure to ensure data from different agencies is compatible.

And upcoming changes to the Public Sector Information (PSI) regulations will allow data to be shared more easily with the public and between departments.

Also at the beginning of this year an EU-inspired directive was transposed into UK law, laying down ground rules for a common licensing format for location data.

Additionally, a web-based “geoportal” will be developed next year to allow data providers to publish their data and services in one place and let users discover, view and evaluate the information.

The programme will incorporate a series of end-user application pilot projects next year, sponsored by stakeholder organisations, to ensure data can be compared and viewed in a user-friendly way. The data will also be available on the recently launched data.gov.uk site.

These measures will make it possible to combine different streams of information easily within a single application.

For example, an online map could be created showing how likely flood plains and electricity infrastructure overlap, or which areas of outstanding natural beauty are most vulnerable to climate change.

The government says the result will be increased ability to analyse location information in depth, improving planning decisions, service delivery and policy making.

Once the portal is up and running, the UK Location Council will look to persuade more public sector agencies to publish their data in a compatible form and encourage the creation of supporting products and applications that use that data.

Chris Holcroft, chief executive of the Association for Geographic Information, said: “At a time of acute focus on better public provision with fewer financial resources, the scheme offers a more effective way for government to assimilate and use this disparate yet vital information for the benefit of citizens.”

Database puts regional data on the map

Places Database is a database that draws statistical information from many different parts of government, including 12 central departments, and is seen as a prototype for the “geoportal”.

It shows statistical information such as population density, religion, health and crime rates, age, areas of employment and social demographics for any particular selected area.

Or it can be used to compare different areas, such as the difference in fire statistics between urban and rural areas.

The database is run by the Department of Communities and Local Government and is used to inform, plan and monitor decision-making.

The department will open up access to the database so it can inter-operate with other third-party systems next year.

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 23 October 2009 at 12:22:00

Automated Valuation Model is run by Capgemini

The government has spent £13.7m in total and £6.7m since September 2005 on a system that automatically assesses properties for council tax and business rates, according to a parliamentary answer.

The Automated Valuation Model is run by the Valuation Office, an agency of HM Revenue & Customs.

Treasury minister Ian Pearson said in a written answer that of the £6.7m, £4.3m was spend on IT development and consultancy and £2.4m on IT support costs.

The main contractor on the project is Capgemini, though work has been sub-contracted to a number of third parties.

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 22 October 2009 at 07:45:00

NAO tells agency it should look at scrapping UK’s faulty farm payments system

If a project being the subject of one National Audit Office (NAO) report is a misfortune, and of two careless, what does it mean when it reaches a third?

It was “a display of scant regard for protecting public money,” according to the NAO, whose normally clipped language was noticeably absent from a scathing report last week on the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

The agency has provided a masterclass in government IT mismanagement. Set up to administer payments to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy in 2005, the RPA has had three different chief operating officers overseeing the scheme. The agency has incurred £680m of unforeseen costs since 2005, and faces further fines from the EU if its system fails. It costs six times as much to administer payments through RPA as it does in Scotland – ­ £1,700 per claim.

The IT systems for the scheme cost £350m and the main contractor Accenture has been paid £84m in the last two years, more than double the original £36m forecast. So what went wrong?

When the system was introduced it was rushed in an overly tight time frame –­ putting pressure on systems and staff.

It was also task based –­ different people worked on different parts of a case. The idea was to generate efficiency savings, but this failed because of communication issues. As part of a review in 2007, this was changed to a case-based approach, but problems persist.

Subsequent changes to the software were invasive ­ – around a third involved changing the source code. And mistakes in data are embedded and difficult to root out, according to Philip Gibby, director of Defra value for money studies at the NAO.

“Each year the same inaccurate data is processed again and each year mistakes in payments come through,” he said.

The number of overpayments is uncertain, but the NAO estimates they total between £55m and £90m.

In 2007, analyst Gartner recommended an overhaul of the system, but changes made since then have not been recorded properly. “Records haven’t been made of changes to the systems, so nobody knows what’s been done,” said Gibby.

These changes going unrecorded risks tying the agency into support contracts with suppliers, because the system is so bespoke that others would not be able to take over its operation. “It will be difficult to move away from those contractors,” said Gibby.

The NAO recommends the agency look at scrapping the IT system completely, but this is difficult because under EU law the RPA must continue to process payments while purchasing a new system ­ – raising the possibility of having two systems on the books at once.

Even though the project was triggering alarms inside the RPA in 2008, 13 out of 15 reports sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) were “green lights”.

Defra is conducting a review of the scheme and officials will be hauled before the Public Accounts Committee later this month.

But action is needed soon. If the current creaking system did stop working –­ a situation the NAO does not rule out ­ – and payments were not made, the department would face EU fines as high as £6bn.

A tale of delays, mispayments and spiralling costs

In 2005, the single payments scheme was introduced as part of reforms to the EU Common Agricultural Policy to pay subsidies to farmers based on land area. The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) was set up to deliver the payments.

A year later, the agency experienced difficulty in processing payments on time and was fined by the EU. The problems generated a backlog of work that it struggled to clear.

In 2007, payments were being made on time, but of the wrong amounts. The RPA has set aside £290m in anticipation of further EU fines for these mistakes. A review by Gartner recommended a new system but the agency decided to upgrade instead. It has since spent £130m on IT upgrades, but payments are still inaccurate and expensive to process, according to the NAO.

Tom Young, Computing, Wednesday 21 October 2009 at 11:07:00

But site is sluggish on first day because of heavy demand

An interactive map that gives the public access to crime statistics and details on policing in their area was launched yesterday.

In January this year, police forces launched local maps that provide crime statistics online, but this more complex map allows people to compare crime in different areas and different time frames, as well as letting them evaluate local policing priorities.

But the launch was hampered as heavy demand made access sluggish.

A statement on the web site said: "Due to very high popularity, users may experience temporary issues accessing the site. The issues are being worked on and will be resolved as soon as possible."

The site was developed by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and police forces across England and Wales, on behalf of the Home Office.

Policing and crime minister David Hanson MP said: "Crime maps are a key part of delivering neighbourhood policing and giving communities access to information such as this not only improves public confidence, but ensures police are responding to local people's needs."

Residents will also be able to see details of their neighbourhood police team and information about events such as crime prevention meetings and local surgeries.

Steve Mortimore, NPIA deputy chief executive, said: "Fear of crime is known to outstrip the reality. The crime map will give people the facts about local crime and what forces are doing about it. It is a crucial way of improving the efforts to tackle local crime, since communities that are involved in policing help reduce crime and bring more offenders to justice."

Crime mapping is a key part of the National Policing Pledge, which sets out for the public the service that they can expect to receive from the police.

The move is also part of a government plan to make more state-held information available online, as recommended by the Power of Information Review.

Earlier this year the Home Office began putting data online.

Tom Young, Computing, Tuesday 20 October 2009 at 14:19:00

Court rules that convictions are relevant, however minor

Five police forces that want to keep records of minor criminal convictions have won an appeal to do so.

The appeal court yesterday rejected a ruling that such convictions be removed from computer records, saying they could help in the fight against crime.

The appeal was made by the chief constables of the Humberside, Staffordshire, Northumbria, West Midlands and Greater Manchester forces.

The forces said if they had lost, they could have been forced to delete details of as many as one million people.

Lord Justice Waller, said: “If the police say rationally and reasonably that convictions, however old or minor, have a value in the work that they do, that should, in effect, be the end of the matter.”

The original ruling came about after five people complained to the information commissioner because their criminal records showed up when they applied for jobs.

One of the cases was a record of a man who had been fined £15 at a juvenile court for the theft of a 99p packet of meat in 1984, when he was under 18.

Another involved a man who applied to work on a summer activity scheme with children but who had been convicted and fined for theft more than 25 years earlier.

The five convicted people who had contested the case were refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Under current policy, the records can remain on the police national computer for up to 100 years.

Ian Readhead, Director of Information at the association of chief police officer's (ACPO), welcomed the decision.

"This data assists police officers in their work in preventing crime and protecting the public and the loss of such valuable information would have been detrimental to that," he said.

"Although principally used for police purposes, these records are also critical to the Courts, the Criminal Records Bureau, the Independent Safeguarding Agency, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office, who all supported this appeal."

Tom Young, Computing, Monday 19 October 2009 at 12:02:00

Remote working, social marketing and better broadband are beneficial

Smaller businesses at the forefront of technology adoption have been least impacted by the recession, according to research from BT businesses.

Companies with a positive attitude to technology adoption had a 69 per cent better than average experience of the recession, whereas technology laggards suffered a recession that was 34 per cent worse than the average company.

The survey of 7,200 businesses found that smaller, more agile firms found it easier to adopt new technology.

Almost a third (30 per cent) say that they have saved money through using technology while over a quarter (28 per cent) say that they have found more customers through its use.

Almost one in five (18 per cent) cited the use of technology to support flexible working as important.

Mick Hegarty, strategy director at BT Business, said many small businesses who have kept pace with technology adoption feel the recession is coming to an end.

"More than ever technology has a critical role to play in the future success of these businesses, helping them to find new customers, market themselves more effectively and reduce costs," he said.

Nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of businesses said faster broadband speeds have had a positive impact on their business.

Smaller organisations are also increasingly turning to social media to improve the way they operate, with one in five respondents turning to support forums, Twitter and blogs to market their business and attract and retain customers, according to the research.

Former trade minister Lord Digby Jones, said: "The [research] highlights that optimism is on the rise. Equipping firms with the right technology and support will help tip the economy from recession into recovery in 2010."

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 15 October 2009 at 16:15:00

Successful running of operations since 2005 leads to further deal

Car manufacturer Renault has awarded a three-year IT services contract to Atos Origin.

The contract covers applications relating to vehicle design, manufacturing, sales and corporate functions.

The deal follows a similar contract between the firms dating back to 2005, which saw a succesful overhaul of IT development.

With the new contract, Renault has extended Atos Origin’s remit to include owner-operator support services, where the supplier will cover 75 per cent of the scope of applications.

Renault CIO François Gitton said: "We will continue this partnership and are counting on Atos Origin to take our IT systems to an even higher level, in our drive for competitive advantage. We will need to be even more proactive and continue to reduce our costs."

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 15 October 2009 at 12:44:00

Smartphone sales hit as mobile networks compete to sell iPhones

Nokia has reported a loss for its third quarter after sales sank by almost a fifth.

The company made a loss of €559m (£512m) for the period, compared with a profit of €1.09bn (£1bn) in the year-ago quarter.

Net quarterly sales fell 30 per cent to €9.8bn (£9bn) compared with €12.2bn (£11.2bn) last year.

Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said: "Our volumes and net sales were, however, somewhat constrained by component shortages we encountered across the portfolio."

Nokia is struggling in smartphones as mobile networks compete to sell Apple’s more popular iPhone.

The Finnish phone giant also suffered a €908m (£833m) write-down in its networks unit, citing challenging market conditions.

The company said the adjusted operating margin at its devices and services unit is expected to rise at least one percentage point in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter last year.

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 15 October 2009 at 09:29:00

NAO's third report into agency administering farm payments slams lack of progress and complexity of IT

The National Audit Office (NAO) has slammed a government agency set up to administer payments to farmers under the EU Common Agricultural Policy as a " masterclass of misadministration" in one of its most damning reports ever.

The Rural Payments Agency has been beset by problems administering the Single Payment Scheme since 2005.

The NAO has already looked at the scheme twice and officials now feel so frustrated with progress that they have qualified the agency's accounts.

Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, said: "There has been a serious lack of attention to the protection of taxpayers' interests over the administration of the scheme. There has been a lack of senior management ownership of the scheme in the agency and Defra, even though the risks were previously highlighted by the Committee of Public Accounts."

Although farmers are now being paid on time, they are still being paid inaccurately. And the cost of the scheme is high and increasing – the average claim costs £1,743 to process, six times as much as it costs in Scotland.

The agency has incurred £680m worth of unforeseen additional costs since 2005, and faces further fines from the EU if its system fails.

Philip Gibby, NAO director of value for money for Defra, said the IT system has been a major part of the problem for the agency.

"They had to rush in far too complex a system in too tight a timeframe," he said.

The IT systems for the scheme alone have cost £350m and the main contractor Accenture has been paid £84m in the past two years, more than twice as much as the £36m originally forecast.

Many of the agency's IT contracts are due to end this year, though Accenture's will expire next year.

Because the system is so bespoke and complex, sticking with the current IT system would most likely mean sticking with those contractors.

But the NAO is recommending that the agency looks seriously at scrapping the system and implementing a new one, as costs of processing claims continue to spiral.

"They have to cost a new system," said Gibby.

Tom Young, Computing, Tuesday 13 October 2009 at 17:23:00

Government considering bundling IT with human resources and back-office services to be run by private firms, say reports

The government is looking to privatise some of its back-office IT functions as part of the £16bn asset sale announced earlier this week, according to reports.

On Sunday, prime minister Gordon Brown announced a scheme to raise money by selling some state assets such as the Tote bookmaker and the student loans company.

"This can best be done in, or in partnership with, the private sector, potentially via new forms of public service companies," he said.

But the Wall Street Journal claims that the plans go further than those mentioned in the statement, and could see human resources, back-office services and IT assets bundled into a company and sold, citing sources.

Also citing sources, a report on the Sky News web site said: "These companies could ultimately be a home for thousands of civil servants working in areas such as human resources, IT, payroll and property. They could then operate under long-term contracts awarded by government."

Both reports emphasised that this was still just an idea being considered by some Whitehall civil servants and not an actual plan.

Such a move would fit with the government's vision of a greater role for the private and third sectors in the delivery of public services.

However, critics of private-sector involvement in government IT projects over the past 10 years will say that such deals are doomed to failure.

Tom Young, Computing, Monday 12 October 2009 at 17:27:00

Contractor must be able to build database and populate it with information

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has issued a contract notice for the construction of a database that will monitor progress towards human rights and equality.

The Equalities Measurement Framework (EMF) will be a database of carefully selected groups who represent an accurate cross section of society.

Data will be collected on areas including health, living standards, physical and legal security and right to self expression.

The database will run on the Commission's own IT equipment and be accessible by Commission staff and the general public by late spring 2010.

The data will in large part be collected from existing information sources such as national surveys and public sector administrative information.

The firm that wins the contract to build the database, will also be required to develop relationships with possible data providers and be able to input and analyse the data.

"The successful contractor must therefore be able to demonstrate strong relationships with data providers (to improve the quality and availability of data), or the ability to create them, and to show that it is able to conduct the necessary statistical analyses of the data and provide academic-standard presentation of the results," the contract notice said.

Because this role is so different from that of building the database, the Commission will accept bids from several contractors.

The EMF standards were developed for the Commission and the Government Equalities Office by a team based at the London School of Economics.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission must measure equality by law and report to parliament.

Tom Young, Computing, Monday 12 October 2009 at 10:57:00

Firm to examine rollout feasibility and financial implications

The government has contracted IT services firm Accenture to advise on a potential smart grid rollout in the UK.

The current UK "dumb" electricity grid dates from the 1960s and is in need of upgrade.

A smart grid would allow for better communication between electricity suppliers and consumers, preventing waste and enabling efficient distribution of power.

It would also allow decentralised power generation, meaning homes or businesses generating power can feed it back into the grid.

Accenture will analyse the UK’s current grid network and market structure, and advise on its readiness to adopt smart grid technology.

The firm will also work with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to develop a business case showing the financial viability and potential benefits of an implementation.

Omar Abbosh, managing director of Accenture’s Resources operating group, said working with local authorities will be a key step in installing the technology.

"Smart grids are a national priority but will be built locally. As such, city authorities will play a major part in making smart grids the basis for low carbon living, working and transport," he said.

Accenture is already running a smart grid trial with US utility Xcel in Boulder, Colorado. It has also created the Intelligent City Network, an online forum that shares best practice for utilities and city authorities around the world looking to work together to deploy smart grids.

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 9 October 2009 at 12:08:00

New deals will cut costs by £100m over six years

The Home Office has extended outsourcing contracts with its two major IT suppliers Atos Origin and Fujitsu.

The firms will provide IT services to 24,000 users across the Home Office and UK Border Agency.

The £430m agreements will reshape current services to deliver significant improvements between now and the end of the contracts in 2016 – cutting IT costs by around a quarter, some £100m over six years.

Helen Kilpatrick, Home Office director general, financial and commercial, said: “By working collaboratively with Atos Origin and Fujitsu from the outset, we have been able to re-engineer the existing contracts in record time."

The contracts cover the provision of IT services including desktop, applications hosting, networks and supporting infrastructure and services to around 70 per cent of the current Home Office user community.

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 8 October 2009 at 10:42:00

Best practice case studies and footprinting tool offered by educational body JISC

JISC, the body that oversees IT in education, has launched a three-year programme to support colleges and universities in their adoption of more environmentally friendly IT practices.

The programme began last week with invitations to universities and colleges to bid for funding for projects to investigate green IT and to run exemplar projects in energy-use reduction.

JISC programme manager Rob Bristow said the scheme was even more important now the government has proposed to link institutional capital funding to carbon reduction targets.

"Given that institutions’ ICT-related electricity bills in 2009 are likely to be in the order of £116m… it’s clear that action needs to be taken," he said.

"JISC is developing tools to help universities and colleges address the environmental impact of their ICT use."

Earlier this year, JISC released a report entitled Sustainable ICT in Further and Higher Education, which contained institutional examples of best practice.

It also gave recommendations on purchasing environmentally friendly hardware and software, as well as recommendations on server virtualisation, thin client technology, energy efficiency, power management and remote working.

The body has also launched a tool that helps institutes calculate their IT footprint.

Tom Young, Computing, Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 11:14:00

MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa proving succesful but malware attacks on banking customers rise

Card-not-present fraud – usually conducted over the phone or internet - fell 18 per cent to £134m in the six months to June 2009, from £163.9m in the previous six months, according to figures from Financial Fraud Action UK.

The group said the increasing use of sophisticated fraud detection tools by retailers and banks, as well as continuing growth in the use of authentication software such as MasterCard SecureCode and Verified by Visa by online retailers and cardholders have improved security.

But online banking fraud losses totalled £39m during the six months to June 2009 – a 55 per cent rise on the 2008 figure.

Katy Worobec, head of fraud control, said: "While industry online security initiatives such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode may be making their presence felt, the fraudsters are never going to shut up shop and, of course, there are emerging areas such as online banking fraud which has risen again."

Worobec said the increase is largely due to criminals employing more sophisticated methods to target online banking customers through malware scams – which target vulnerabilities in customers’ PCs - rather than the banks’ own systems, which have proved more difficult for the fraudsters to attack.

There were more than 26,000 phishing incidents during January to June 2009 – a 26 per cent increase on the amount seen in the same period last year.

Banks say they are working with government initiatives such as Bank Safe Online and Get Safe Online to try to stamp out online banking fraud.

Some such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB have introduced two-factor authentication, which provides real-time passwords for online banking, while others such as HSBC say they are concentrating on back-office fraud detection.

Banks do not release individual fraud figures.

Tom Young, Computing, Monday 5 October 2009 at 10:38:00

Consumers need clear information to receive full benefits, says energy watchdog

Energy watchdog Energy Saving Trust has backed the government position that smart meters must be accompanied by in-home displays so that consumers reap the full benefits from them.

Smart meters will be installed in every home in Britain by 2020 under government plans. They measure energy use more accurately so that bills are more accurate and energy firms have to generate less excess load.

But consumers will only really benefit if in-home displays are installed which allow them to see the energy use of separate areas in the household.

"Measures which effectively convey feedback in real time can help increase awareness and reduce waste," says the report from the Energy Saving Trust. "It can also bolster demand for the insulation of physical insulation measures, especially if the necessary supporting advice and support services are in place to make this link."

The Trust's research shows that analogue displays are the simplest for customers to use because they present information in the simplest form.

The installation of these displays should be accompanied with face-to-face advice on how to use them, to ensure consumers are capable of accessing the information they need.

The government needs to make a decision soon on these standards to enable the market to deliver the required number of displays in time for roll out, according to the Trust. Currently only one of the devices available in the UK meets all these requirements.

The Trust also calls on the government to make the technology used in the meters as open as possible, so they are capable of supporting new services such as water smart meters, smart grid developments, and automated home energy management systems at a later date.

The Trust also recommends that it be used to co-ordinate a national consumer campaign to persuade the public of the benefits of smart metering. And it says that those businesses or homes who are considering micro-generation should be among the first to receive smart meters.

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 1 October 2009 at 07:30:00

The UK’s Joint Academic Network is close to implementing a datacentre consolidation strategy in a bid to cut costs, says Tom Young

The Joint Academic Network (Janet) is considering using a shared services system in datacentres across the education sector.

Janet has issued a request for information from suppliers, with a view to consolidating datacentres over the next two years.

All further and higher education organisations and research councils in the UK are connected to Janet, but until now computing power has resided in respective institutions. However, a number of factors are increasing pressure on Janet to review this strategy, says Dan Perry, head of strategic business at Janet.

“The education and research sectors already benefit from Janet to provide a high-capacity, reliable, resilient enabling solution,” said Perry. “Now… the need for an inclusive sector-wide shared datacentre strategy is clear.”

Janet is carrying out a survey of institutions to get a better idea of what users might need from such a solution. Initial feedback suggests most face the same problems.

The recession is putting a squeeze on budgets at a time when power costs are likely to increase. Upcoming legislation, such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, will tax electricity beyond standard price rises for heavy users; and real estate on which to build a datacentre is becoming more valuable and less available.

Meanwhile, datacentre use is rising fast as all sectors of education become intensive IT users.

Lifetime running costs for datacentres often outstrip the cost of a datacentre itself, and a recent study by Gartner found that energy use and cost will become “the single most critical capacity constraint in large datacentres by 2010”.

Although institutions can virtualise their datacentres to a certain degree, the benefits are nowhere close to those that would arise from pooling computing power and virtualising centrally.

“There is some available capacity in many existing datacentres that can possibly be increased through virtualisation,” said Perry. “However, existing centres have only finite capacity, and it is clear from recent studies that demand is beyond the level that can be met by these facilities. New provision is one strand the strategy must include.”

Perry says some recent studies have estimated a shared high-end datacentre could make savings of £100m over 15 years.

Such a move would tie in with the trend for geography to matter less in data provision. Construction firm Taylor Wimpey has pushed many of its communications into the cloud, as has the University of Portsmouth; the UK government is also looking to create a government cloud.

The free flow of information is particularly important to academic institutions; after all, the internet has its roots in academic networks. Consolidation would support the increasing digitisation of data, online learning provision and hosted software as a service models.

Janet is still at an early planning stage on its datacentre consolidation strategy. Any solution will be tailored to the needs of particular institutions rather than forcing all of them to use central servers.

“The strategy that Janet is co-ordinating must recognise the need for local, regional, even national-scale solutions,” said Perry. “Larger datacentres offer efficiencies of both scale and scope, and aggregation and cost benefits. Smaller datacentres based around institutions with common interests offer high-trust environments for bespoke shared services.”

For example, institutions for climate research could share datacentres separately from institutes that share information on engineering research.

“There are services that the commercial market may best provide, and with responsible aggregated procurement the sector can benefit as part of an overall blend of in-house, small and larger shared datacentre and commercial provision,” Perry said. The strategy will be developed over the next three months, and Janet is actively seeking the views of stakeholders and suppliers.

History lesson

Janet was set up to share information between educational institutions and developed out of a number of local and research networks dating back to the 1970s.

By 1980, a number of networks had grown organically to connect educational facilities in London, Manchester, Bath, Edinburgh and Newcastle, where groups of institutions had pooled resources to provide better computing facilities than could be afforded individually.

In the early 1980s, the networks were standardised and interconnected. The system first went live in 1983 and was upgraded throughout the 1980s.

In 1993, SuperJanet, a solely IP network, was launched. Throughout the 1990s, SuperJanet was upgraded to include more educational institutes, and to increase capacity.

In 2006, the core SuperJanet4 backbone was upgraded. As well as serving research institutes, universities and further education, it also connects users in primary and secondary schools.

Tom Young, Computing, Tuesday 29 September 2009 at 17:30:00

Janet has issued a request for information from suppliers with a view to cutting costs

The UK education network Janet is considering consolidating datacentres across the higher education sector.

Janet has issued a request for information from suppliers with a view to taking action over the next two years.

All further- and higher-education organisations and Research Councils in the UK are connected to Janet, but until now computing power has resided in respective institutions.

But a number of factors are pressuring Janet to review this strategy, according to Dan Perry, head of strategic business at Janet.

"The education and research sectors already benefit from the Janet network to provide a high capacity, reliable, resilient enabling solution," he said "Now, in collaboration with stakeholders and sector and industry representatives, the need for a sector-wide shared datacentre strategy is clear."

Janet is currently carrying out a survey of institutions to get a better idea of what users might need from such a solution.

A strategy will be developed over the next three months and Janet is actively seeking the views of stakeholders and suppliers.

Tom Young, Computing, Monday 28 September 2009 at 12:04:00

Better links with suppliers and establishment of amount of time to be spent in role also recommended

Public sector buying agency the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has published a report aimed at improving the role of Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) in government procurement projects.

First introduced for IT projects after the McCartney report in 2000, the SRO role is the person with overall responsibility for a major government project such as the National Identity Scheme or the National Programme for IT.

The appointment of an SRO is now mandated for all major government projects and considered pivotal for successful delivery.

Previously, it had been difficult to identify the individual with responsibility for the successful outcome of a major project.

The report highlights the fact that some commercial suppliers for government IT projects have complained that they do not have enough contact with SROs and that the SROs are lacking in knowledge on commercial issues.

To remedy this the report recommends giving SROs time and opportunity to establish links with suppliers and ensuring that if SROs do not have knowledge in particular areas, that they have the appropriate training and support from other SROs or from experienced consultants.

Another major concern expressed by the National Audit Office and the Parliamentary Accounts Committee, echoed in the report, is the high turnover rate of SROs.

The average duration in post for the biggest projects is around 18 months, whereas most projects last between 3 and 10 years.

SROs should therefore have an expected time to be in the role established on appointment so that any change can happen after appropriate milestones are reached, rather than being seen as a loss of confidence in the project.

Speaking about the publication of the report OGC Chief Executive, Nigel Smith said the introduction of SROs for projects has been an important innovation in recent years.

"They are crucial in providing leadership to government projects and it is vital that their role is carried out well to help the public sector meet its considerable challenges," he said. "The recommendations highlighted in the lessons learned document build on good practice OGC has witnessed in government projects."

Tom Young, Computing, Thursday 24 September 2009 at 18:00:00

All non-EU migrants will carry an ID card from April 2011

The Home Office has brought forward by three months the rollout of ID cards for tier 2 skilled migrants - those whose employer needs them to transfer to the Uk from overseas.

From 1 January 2010 all skilled migrants renewing or applying for UK visas will be issued with an ID card.

The enrolment of skilled migrants and temporary workers under Tiers 1 and 5 of the points based immigration system has also been brought forward from 2011 to 2010.

The compulsory identity card for foreign nationals from outside Europe was introduced as legislation in November 2008, and the Home Office is targeting various groups throughout 2009 and 2010 to issue them with cards.

Under current roll-out plans any migrant extending their stay in the United Kingdom or visiting for more than six months will need to apply for an identity card by April 2011.

So far 90,000 cards have been issued, mainly to students renewing their visa under Tier 4 of the PBS and those renewing marriage visas.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson also announced today that the UK Border Agency is to trial technology at 17 Crown Post Offices where foreign nationals can enroll fingerprints for a fee of £8 in order to apply for cards.

"Our partnership with the Post Office will provide vital extra capacity enabling the UK Border Agency to further speed up the enrolment process and give extra work to help safeguard the Post Office network. It will also give more choice and convenience to migrants about where they can enroll," said Johnson.

Using one of the UK Border Agency or Identity and Passport Service Offices will remain free.

Regulations setting out the next stage of the roll out of Identity Cards for Foreign Nationals will be laid before Parliament in October.