Softcat Limited

Cloud Gateway SASE Platform

Cloud Gateway offers flexible networking and security solutions, rapidly connecting you to multiple cloud providers, the HSCN, PSN and internet. We build and manage your bespoke SASE solution. As a trusted public sector provider we hold Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO27001 and ISO9001 accreditations.

Features

• Cloud Connectivity Enterprise Connect
• RAS, Site & Data Centre Connectivity
• Managed WAN Services
• PSN and HSCN Connectivity
• Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS)
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Proxy Web Application
• Firewall (WAF)
• Core Connect & Transit-Only Connectivity
• My Cloud Gateway Portal
• FTPS and FTP VPN Access services

Benefits

• A digital foundation that enables transformation Connect anything to everything
• Get away from lengthy contract tie-ins
• Enable remote network access for your workforce
• Scalable and elastic cloud-native architecture
• No physical hardware constraints for rapid deployment
• Protect your network from security threats
• Control internet and application usage
• Gain visibility of network traffic, security events in real time
• Fully managed service with cloud networking expertise

£55.20 a unit

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  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 psitq@softcat.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

158691353861534

Contact

Charles Harrison
01628 403403
psitq@softcat.com

Service scope

• Service constraints: None
• System requirements:
  • Any end user device capable of IP based connectivity, BGP
  • A supported operating system that can support SSL VPN software
  • A presence in the same UK DC as Cloud Gateway
  • May be other requirements depending on specifics of your solution.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: SLA options offer 24x7 or Business hours support. P1 response under 24x7 support is 15 minutes at all times.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Standard support in business hours (Mon-Fri 09:00-17:30 excl Bank Holidays). SLA provided. Priority 1 incident response within 1 hour, resolution within 4 hours.; ; Premier support 24x7x365. SLA provided. Priority 1 incident response within 15 mins, resolution within 2 hours. Monthly Service reports and review meetings.; ; 5 days onboarding support included.; ; All customers receive access to the My Cloud Gateway portal which provides visibility of your network and security ecosystem including: ; - Dashboard; - Network connectivity status; - Licence utilisation data; - Bandwidth usage; - Firewall policy information if applicable; - Support / Ticket management
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: To ensure we design and build the right platform that fits your needs, our pre-sales team will work with you to understand your requirements and draw up a proposal. When the proposal has been signed off by you, our service delivery team will hold a kick-off session with you to plan the onboarding process. At this point we will ask you to provide some information which will vary depending on the nature of your deployment. Once all this information is received, we'll complete the technical deployment, test connectivity and security policy is working, before passing to you for a period of acceptance testing and sign off. As soon as you sign it off, we'll enter live service for the length of your contract term.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Cloud Gateway does not process data on behalf of customers. Where Cloud Gateway obtain customer data for the purposes of service and product delivery (including account management, financial payment and user support), it is only retained for as long as it is necessary to be kept, which may include compliance with legal obligations. At the end of a contract, or upon request from the customer where retention is not required by law, data will be deleted in accordance with our Data Retention policy.
• End-of-contract process: The customer has the opportunity to renew the service or end the contract. If the decision is to end then the customer has two options: 1 – The contract end date is confirmed to the customer and the service termination and billing will align to that date 2 – We work together to agree an exit plan to migrate the services to another supplier. This will be charged at our consultative rates. Any extension to our services during the transition will be chargeable.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Using the web interface: Using the web interface - When the service goes live, you will be given login details to access our customer portal, My Cloud Gateway. Through My Cloud Gateway, you can access reports and real-time analytics for your network connections and security events. My Cloud Gateway also provides a ticketing function, allowing you to speak directly to our support team to make a request or raise an incident. New features and functionality are added to My Cloud Gateway regularly to improve user experience.; ; Web interface accessibility standard - WCAG AA; ; Web interface accessibility testing - automated testing completed annually
• Web interface accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• Web interface accessibility testing: Automated testing completed at least annually
• API: No
• Command line interface: No

Scaling

• Scaling available: Yes
• Scaling type:
  • Automatic
  • Manual
• Independence of resources: We enforce customer segregation by using dedicated tenancies. This ensures that a customer's Cloud Gateway service is not affected or shared by other users.
• Usage notifications: Yes
• Usage reporting:
  • Email
  • Other
• Other usage reporting: Via our portal

Analytics

• Infrastructure or application metrics: Yes
• Metrics types:
  • HTTP request and response status
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Reseller (no extras)
• Organisation whose services are being resold: Cloud Gateway

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• 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 another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Backup and recovery

• Backup and recovery: Yes
• What’s backed up:
  • Log files and system configurations pertaining to the service
  • Extended metadata and log files can be accommodated
  • Backed-up data can be exported for reporting and analysis
• Backup controls: Users do not control backups. All backup and recovery administration is handled by us as part of our fully managed service. All back up files are encrypted, and priority is given to ensuring the best available encryption algorithms, such as AES-256 bit.
• Datacentre setup: Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
• Scheduling backups: Supplier controls the whole backup schedule
• Backup recovery: Users contact the support team

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: Networks under the control of Cloud Gateway are always managed with security by design and default.

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: 99.95% service availability across Cloud Gateway infrastructure to the customer site, not necessarily to the user as they may be connecting via other connectivity methods. Service credits are applicable in certain scenarios based on the infrastructure that is within Cloud Gateway's control.
• Approach to resilience: Our service is built using overlays inside a highly resilient hybrid cloud architecture. Consequently each component, each set of components, each stack and each full tenancy is designed to be resilient at multiple points. This is achieved in its simplest form by having more than one of each component part available (akin to traditional High Availability), but also by leveraging cloud resilient functions such as Multiple Availability Zones, Multiple Regions, or both.
• Outage reporting: Our service sends alerts to our monitoring and engineering teams to inform them of any potential outages. The issues are sanitised to see if they require manual intervention by our team, or whether automatic recovery has occurred. If manual intervention is required then a proactive alert ticket is raised within our service desk portal. Our service desk portal shows tickets that are being worked on and these can be viewed by the client at any time. In addition, e-mail alerts can be created against any incidents relating to an outage, which will then be sent to approved recipients.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Other user authentication: The exact configuration depends on the specific product/service (see Service Categories above), and can be tailored depending on customer requirement
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Our service has a robust set of multi-layered security functions at its core. Access to and from any service is managed, maintained and enforced in line with customer approved policy but also in line with access control procedures, such as following the principle of least privilege and adhering to the need-to-know, role-based access control methodology.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication:
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Description of management access authentication: The exact authentication method depends on the systems in use, which varies between product/service. At all times, a VPN connection (provided on a role-based access control basis and authenticated by SSO) is required to firstly gain access into the management areas to encrypt the connection and control the users that have access to the network. From here, both certificate based authentication and password based authentication is utilised.
• Devices users manage the service through:
  • Dedicated device over multiple services or networks
  • Any device but through a bastion host (a bastion host is a server that provides access to a private network from an external network such as the internet)
  • Directly from any device which may also be used for normal business (for example web browsing or viewing external email)

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: Between 1 month and 6 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: British Assessment Bureau
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 21/03/2024
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Nothing is not covered. Our accreditation covers the provision of networking and security services for the public and private sector within the United Kingdom and internationally.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: Yes
• Who accredited the PCI DSS certification: Coalfire Systems Inc.
• PCI DSS accreditation date: 03/01/2024
• What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover: The certification is achieved by our single card-payment processing vendor, Stripe. We do not process card payments any other way. Stripe are a level 1 PCI DSS compliant organisation and independently verified by Coalfire Systems Inc., as per their Attestation of Compliance
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• 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
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: Cyber Essentials Plus
• Information security policies and processes: Our service is built to adhere to the HMG UK Official guidelines, which in turn adhere to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) cloud security principles. We are an ISO 27001 certified business and have been since 2020. We are also Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials PLUS certified.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: All changes are assessed and implemented in line with the agreed change management process. We have a CMDB where all configurations, service components and CI mappings to Services are maintained.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: We take a proactive approach to identifying, logging and tracking new vulnerabilities. Potential threats are assessed through live monitoring and alerting within our platform. Using industry-standard tools, we also conduct purposeful vulnerability scans across the platform to test, track and confirm patch deployments and test security configurations. Scans are performed daily on critical assets and no less than weekly elsewhere across the platform. We also consume information on possible vulnerabilities through various threat intelligence feeds. Any high profile/risk vulnerabilities which require prompt action will be treated as an incident and response plans activated in line with the vulnerability type.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: We identify potential compromises through live monitoring and alerting on our platform. Our monitoring and alerting rules are based on the AWS CIS Foundations benchmarks with additional controls and alerts for any non AWS infrastructure. These events are sent to our SIEM where alarms are triggered based off a set of configured rules. Depending on the severity/activity, the event may be treated as an incident and response plans activated in line with the incident response procedure.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: At Cloud Gateway we operate a robust, ITIL based Incident Management process within our end to end support model. We have extensive monitoring, configured to proactively identify potential issues and mobilise internal teams to investigate and resolve Incidents promptly. Users can report Incidents to Cloud Gateway through our dedicated customer portals, by email, or by phone. In cases where a Major Incident has been identified, our Major Incident process kicks in and email communications are issued to affected users, providing them with regular status updates throughout the incident lifecycle.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Separation between users

• Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart: Yes
• Who implements virtualisation: Third-party
• Third-party virtualisation provider: AWS
• How shared infrastructure is kept separate: Our service is built on a variety of cloud platforms. It is separated by customer, and each customer has their own dedicated hosting environment, such that no two customers will ever share the same service components.

Energy efficiency

• Energy-efficient datacentres: Yes
• Description of energy efficient datacentres: Cloud Gateway provides on-net connectivity by means of a point of presence in Equinix and ARK data centers, based in the UK. Equinix and ARK data centres meet ISO 50001 Energy Management and ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standards and both are participants of the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency.

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Softcat are dedicated to reducing our environmental impact and actively promoting sustainability. Our commitment to sustainability is a core aspect of our business strategy, driving us to innovate and lead in the creation of a more sustainable future for our company and the communities we serve. This commitment is embedded in our policies, operating procedures, and training programs.; ; We are proud to be the first FTSE 250 company to be awarded 5-star status in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. ; ; We aim to achieve a Carbon Net-Zero Value Circle by 2040 by prioritising renewable energy, reducing natural resource use, minimising waste, and safeguarding biodiversity in compliance with environmental legislation.; ; At Softcat, we have taken significant steps towards securing renewable energy across our organisation, reducing our scope 1 & 2 emissions. We had the target of using 100% Renewable Energy across all our locations by 2024. We successfully delivered against this target ~2 years early.; ; In May 2023 we took delivery of 15 electric vehicles, replacing all existing fossil-fuelled company cars used by employees for business means. The implementation of the EV pool fleet will see a saving of over 80 tons of CO2e per year. A huge impact on our Net Zero targets.

  Tackling economic inequality

  As a value-add reseller, Softcat outsources the products, services, and solutions through our extensive network of partners, to best suit the needs of our broad client base. We always consider and promote SMEs and local providers where appropriate, particularly for the products and services we offer via the G Cloud framework.; ; We remain dedicated to improving employability and educational awareness across schools, colleges, and universities to help break down the barriers to joining technology organisations.; ; We work collaboratively with many schools that are close in proximity to our offices, to ensure we are actively supporting the community as well as schools from lower socio-economic backgrounds. ; ; We visit the schools to talk about the IT sector and the roles in our organisation, as well as promoting work-experience opportunities during the summer. In particular, we actively encourage students from diverse backgrounds to engage in work experience to appreciate the roles available in our sector.; ; For ambitious school and college leavers, a Softcat Apprenticeship is a great first step into the world of work, with 94% of our apprentices offered a permanent position at Softcat post apprenticeships, which goes to show the amazing opportunity available with us.; ; We were ranked 1st in IT & Consultancy, and 10th overall in by RateMyApprenticeship.com - Best 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2023-2024 list.; ; Softcat now also offer 12 month paid internships to University students looking to complete a year in industry as part of their undergraduate studies.

  Equal opportunity

  Our approach to diversity and inclusion is introduced first during our induction training, as part of our Softcat values, outlining responsibility to uphold our principles. This message is reinforced by our process and policies, networks, Allyship Training and Inclusion Awareness campaigns.; ; Softcat supports diversity and inclusion through various networks including:; - Supporting Women in Business (SWIB); - The Ethnic and Cultural Network; - The Pride Network; - The Family Network; - The Empowering Disability and Neurodiversity Network (EDN); - The Faith at Work Network; - Armed Forces & Veterans Network; These networks aim to create a supportive and inclusive work environment for all employees, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or family commitments.; ; Our allyship programme, Stronger Together, is a mixture of event and workshop-based training available to all staff. Programme topics include, bias, power, privilege, and being a greater ally. ; ; Inclusion Awareness campaigns include race, disability, sexual orientation, gender, faith, and caring responsibilities. These sessions highlight and celebrate minority groups, through panel sessions, Q&A sessions and training, providing an opportunity to discuss and understand ways to be more inclusive. ; ; Our efforts to improve diversity and inclusion have been incredibly successful. Since 2020, the number of female employees below management level has increased to 35%, and the number of ethnic minority employees rose to 17%.

  Wellbeing

  At Softcat, all employees are provided with access to our multidimensional wellbeing programme which includes flexible work arrangements, free nutritious breakfast, mental health support, employee benefits scheme, health and wellbeing week activities, and online workshops.; ; Giving back to the community is an innate part of who we are as a company. All Softcat employees are therefore given two volunteer days per year to support a charitable or community cause. ; ; Each of our 10 regional offices also support local charities through fundraising, donations and events. For example, our Manchester office has raised over £30,000 for the WeLoveMCR charity. This funding has supported young, disadvantaged Manchester citizens in gaining qualifications to broaden their work opportunities and supporting local groups in delivering indispensable services that enable community cohesion.

Pricing

• Price: £55.20 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: We can, at our discretion, provide a proof of concept. This will consist of a configurable, dedicated SASE platform for a set period of time with defined outcomes, to test connectivity and establish your business needs. If technical consultancy is required, this is chargeable at the prevailing daily rate.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  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 psitq@softcat.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.