Focus Group

Focus Group Cloud Hosted Horizon IP Telephony and Unified Communications

Focus Group fully scalable enterprise-class hosted IP telephony service, with CRM systems integration, reporting and call recording, providing a fully managed voice service for organisations looking to leverage the power of cloud-based voice services and remote working without the management overhead.

Features

• Fully hosted cloud telephony service
• Think Healthcare Clinical integrations for Emis, SystemOne
• Full call recording for all inbound and outbound calls
• PC and MAC Soft Clients with Android and iOS Apps
• Call Centre features with multimedia options
• Microsoft Teams Integration
• Hot Desking – use any handset as your extension
• UC Collaboration and file sharing
• Real time call reporting and site performance monitoring
• Single Pane administration portal

Benefits

• Highly availability, scalable, reliable and secure IP Telephony Service
• On-demand service with a modular pricing structure
• Enables flexible working from any location and/or device
• Easy to use system administration
• Flexibility with number management to quickly provision new services
• Provide a stronger collaborative experience for remotely-based employees
• Improve customer service and call answering efficiency
• Full inbuilt disaster recovery and ability to identify faults remotely
• Intuitive system GUI and Automated network monitoring and alerts
• Improve customer service, increase productivity and call answering efficiency

£7.20 a licence a month

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at bid.team@focusgroup.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

148060935348854

Contact

Focus Group
03300242000
bid.team@focusgroup.co.uk

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model:
  • Public cloud
  • Community cloud
  • Hybrid cloud
• Service constraints: Focus Group Horizon service is based in the UK and therefore all calls will route out from the UK , regardless of where end users are located.; ; We do not support some fax and franking machines used with an ATA
• System requirements:
  • Each user requires their own user license
  • Internet access is required across a compatible Data network
  • IP handsets require power, either by PSU or POE switch
  • IP handsets must have access to a local DHCP server
  • Firewall ports require to be opened on customers own connectivity
  • Mobile Applications are available for Android or iOS
  • Soft Clients are available on PC or MAC
  • CRM Integration is 1st party for Windows
  • SIP ALG must be disabled
  • Data Access sized appropriately based upon the number of users

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our Service Level Targets are as follows:; ; P1 - Total loss of service at a customer premise/s, or critical service failure = 1 Hour; ; P2 - Partial loss of service to critical systems = 4 Hrs; ; P3 - Partial loss of service = 6 Hours; ; P4 - Configuration changes = by NBD
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support accessibility standard: None or don’t know
• How the web chat support is accessible: Web chat is available through our infocus customer portal
• Web chat accessibility testing: Web chat testing with assistive technology users is currently being developed, including user testing, where individuals reliant on assistive tools like screen readers or voice recognition software interact with the chat. Their feedback informs iterative improvements with beta testing involving inviting assistive technology users to test chat features before launch, ensuring real-world usability
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Our Service Level target fix times are as follows:; ; P1 - Total loss of service at a customer premise/s, or critical service failure = 8 hours target fix time.; ; P2 - Partial loss of service to critical systems = 8 hours target fix time.; ; P3 - Partial loss of service = 24 hours target fix time.; ; P4 - Configuration changes = by NBD; ; P4 requests for major programming changes may be chargeable.; ; Hosted Maintenance at an additional cost per user per month covers all P4 programming requests, along with a lifetime handset warranty.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Onsite training is provided for users, and administrators of the system. Full user guides including PDF documents and YouTube videos are also available.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Telephone numbers, user lists, call recordings, and call statistics can also be exported from the Horizon platform by company administrators.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the contract there is the option to renew the service for an additional term.; ; If the contract is not being renewed, the portal and the user's licences and information are deleted following the end of the agreement. Any managed equipment provided by Focus Group will need to be returned.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
  • MacOS
  • Windows
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: None
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: A web-based administration portal that provides access for an administrator to make all moves, adds, and changes in real time as standard.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: The service is accessible via a standard web browser, providing full access to all features and functions expected of a comprehensive business telephony solution. This access allows administrators and users to make any moves, additions, or changes across the telephony estate based on a permission basis.
• Accessibility testing: None
• API: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Users can choose from a range of enhancements on a per user basis, such as Mobile Applications, Soft Clients, CRM Integration, Call Centre, UC and Call Reporting to customise the service.; ; IP handsets can also be customised to present different options on line keys on a per user basis.; ; Branding can be uploaded to the administration and user portal.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: The service is a carrier grade, multi-instance platform, which currently supports 700,000 users, and has in-built capabilities for growth and support. There is the capacity to add more than double the number of users to the platform, and there is a review every month to ensure the next 5 years of capacity are met.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Horizon Core Services - User Subscription Availability.; ; Horizon Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Availability.; ; Auto Attendant, Call Recording, and Unified Messaging Subscriptions - Availability.; ; Horizon Core Network - PESQ - G711.; ; Horizon Core Network - PESQ - G729.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Reseller providing extra features and support
• Organisation whose services are being resold: Gamma Communications PLC

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Supplier-defined controls
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: From the Horizon portal users can easily export a full user list with all names, extension numbers and DDI's. Call Recordings and Statistics can be exported if privileges allow. A list of all hardware can be exported including any devices which are available to be assigned.
• Data export formats: CSV
• Data import formats: CSV

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: Private network or public sector network
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Horizon user subscriptions will be available 99.95% of the time within a calendar month. Service credits related to the monthly rental charges will be applicable should the level of core service availability not meet the target monthly percentage of 99.95%.; ; Availability - 99.90% - 99.94% = 10% Service Credit; Availability - 99.50% - 99.89% = 15% Service Credit; Availability - <99.50% = 25% Service Credit; ; Any agreed service credits would be satisfied by the issue of a credit note to be deducted from the next scheduled payment to be made.; ; TheGraphical User Interface (GUI) will be available to end customers 99.90% of the time.; ; Auto Attendant, Call Recording, and Unified Messaging subscriptions will be available 99.00% of the time.
• Approach to resilience: Full certification for the ISO22301 Societal Security standard is maintained. ISO22301 is based on a detailed business impact and risk analysis that enables us to build comprehensive business continuity plans and appropriate exercises and test plans for our products, services and infrastructure. The plans and test schedules are reviewed on a regular basis by independent external auditors to ensure that they are effective and appropriate. Compliance with the standard brings many business benefits including increased resilience when faced with organisational threat, improved competence to maintain critical business services through action plan rehearsal, and enhanced capability to handle disruption and protect customer reputation.
• Outage reporting: Major Service Outages (MSO) are communicated via email alerts to the main account contact email address. We have a virtual MSO team with dedicated responsibilities who react promptly when an MSO occurs. We negotiate bespoke updates from our suppliers to ensure we communicate efficiently to our customers. We proactively try and mitigate the effect of an MSO on Horizon by utilising the unreachable feature providing automatic call diversion.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: The management portal has three different levels of access; full company management, site management, and user management. Each level is provided to individuals with a unique username and a password. Administrative access can only be provided by Focus Group; ; Login pages and web interfaces are secured using https, and sessions and website access will be closed and killed automatically after 30 minutes of inactivity.; ; Password security and failed login attempts are also critical areas that are monitored and controlled, with 5 failed login attempts resulting in the freezing of the account that can only be reset by the Horizon administrator.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication: Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: At least 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: ISO Quality Services Ltd
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 30/06/2023
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Not Applicable
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Cyber Essentials

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: A change record has to be created and approved by Board which has to adhere to our Change Management Policy. The change record will only be approved if included there are details of the change being made, impact to the business, a security impact assessment, and a full backout plan. Without any of this information the change will not be accepted.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: We perform quarterly PEN tests and internal Rapid Fire scans to identify any internal or external vulnerabilities.; ; Based upon the reports from our quarterly tests, steps are taken to ensure we remain secure. The Information Security Manager will review all of the results with a RAG status and drive the actions to resolve.; ; Patches are deployed within three working weeks of release as per our Patch Policy.; ; Information is obtained from security and website news bulletins, updates from Microsoft, and from our Rapid Fire scans.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: We have event and audit logging enabled on our Active Directory which monitors key events. We have monitoring on our O365 looking for suspicious behaviour or malicious emails.; ; Alerts are raised to the Information Security Manager when key events occur. These are evaluated for potential compromises.; ; Potential compromises are investigated internally withing 1 hour and brought to resolution.; ; Potential compromises are responded to in real-time in line with our monitoring.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: We have an Incident Management Process used by our Helpdesk, in which users can raise tickets or call into to report an incident.; ; The Helpdesk will then review the incident, will resolve the issue, and provide a Route Cause Analysis (RCA), and then produce an incident report for the client.; ; All incidents that come in are logged in our Incident Management Log file which can be evaluated over time and historically reviewed.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: Yes
• Connected networks:
  • Public Services Network (PSN)
  • Joint Academic Network (JANET)

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  Fighting climate change

  Fighting climate change

  Our G-Cloud service provision is committed to fighting climate change ; ; Carbon Footprint Reduction: Our infrastructure is designed with energy efficiency in mind, minimising carbon emissions associated with hosting and delivering cloud services. We prioritise data center locations powered by renewable energy sources to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations.; ; Remote Work and Collaboration Tools: By offering robust remote work and collaboration tools, we facilitate telecommuting and virtual meetings, reducing the need for commuting and business travel. This helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, a significant contributor to climate change.; ; By aligning with these social value themes outlined in PPN 06/20, our G-Cloud service provision demonstrates a tangible commitment to fighting climate change and promoting environmental sustainability.

Pricing

• Price: £7.20 a licence a month
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: We can provide a trial of the Horizon service to include:; ; Pre-configured IP Handsets; Soft Clients; Mobile Applications; Collaboration Service; CRM Integration; Call Reporting; Portal Management; ; Connectivity is not included in a trial.; ; The trial period is available for 1 month.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at bid.team@focusgroup.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.