OAKLAND GROUP SERVICES LIMITED

Data Architecture Evaluation and Design Services

Oakland's Data Architecture Service is a full stack architectural design service that develops cloud services to meet the needs of our clients.
Our design approach starts at the business need and combines Enterprise, Data, Application, and Technical Architectures to define the right design for your needs.

Features

• Design Service ensuring business outcomes are met from cloud investment
• Incorporates Enterprise, Data, Application, and Technology Architectures
• Achieving business objectives remain core focus of our design outputs

Benefits

• Full design service that ensures positive business outcomes are achieved
• Design service includes organisation change management factors
• De-risks any cloud technology investment
• Factors organisational skill levels within cloud capabilties
• Ensures process to support cloud capability are factored

£20,000 to £100,000 a unit

• Education pricing 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 tenders@weareoakland.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

210215405595440

Contact

Phil Bent
0113 2341944
tenders@weareoakland.com

Planning

• Planning service: Yes
• How the planning service works: Oakland takes account of people and process factors, as well as cloud technology, when helping clients plan to implement cloud hosting and software capabilites. Our nearly 40 year heritage of operational excellence uniquely places us to match business needs and existing processes with cloud technology, such that when we implement the plan it is embraced by the organisation, enabling up-front benefits. ; ; Our planning follows 3 phases: ; ; Discovery Phase: We determine the baseline of where a client is and where they want to be in terms of data capability. We identify and mobilise quick wins and establish a clear point of reference from which work can begin. This enables the strategic vision to be established, allowing us to define the gaps from a client's 'as is' to that ambition to understand where to focus.; ; Define Phase: We then define a data capability to deliver on the vision for the future. We design the strategy, operating model, and associated technology architecture to achieve that vision. ; ; Planning Phase: We establish the processes, standards, technology, and organisational changes needed to manage a client's cloud implementation journey. We go into more detailed design and begin to socialisation the changes of the deployment to come.
• Planning service works with specific services: Yes
• Hosting or software services the planning service works with:
  • Data Platforms (full end-to-end data capabilities)
  • Data Analytics and Insights
  • Management Information Tools (e.g. Operational/ Analytical Dashboards)
  • Governance and Control (Master Data, Data Quality & Modelling)
  • Data Management (e.g. Data Acquisition & Transformation, Enterprise Data Repositories)
  • Our service can be applied to almost any business need

Training

• Training service provided: Yes
• How the training service works: Oakland provide knowledge transfer on an ongoing basis. As we deliver tested functionality and features, we train the users during UAT and work with them to write User Guides. We provide training for both cloud hosting and software services.
• Training is tied to specific services: Yes
• Services the training service works with:
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Databricks
  • We also train on open source cloud services

Setup and migration

• Setup or migration service available: Yes
• How the setup or migration service works: Before we conduct any migration we will have agreed a design and approach with the client. ; We will then typically set up the agreed cloud service under the name of the client (enabling them to retain full control), and build the end-to-end data capability to meet the requirements. ; This capability will then undergo a series of tests to ensure it is secure, and the system is robust (we typically use representative data for these tests). ; Only then will we start to ingest a client's actual data form existing on premise databases. ; Typically we establish an ingestion process of a client's data into a Data Lake. This data then goes through transformation steps (data integration, data quality, metadata management) to provide a single source of truth, structured and curated database for use in onward analytics and reporting. ; ; We will then operate the cloud capability for a limited time in parallel with existing capability to ensure it operates to the client's needs. Only then will we work with the client and start to migrate them and their users across to the cloud capability.
• Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services: Yes
• List of supported services:
  • Microsoft Azure
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Databricks
  • Snowflake
  • We also work with many open source cloud services

Quality assurance and performance testing

• Quality assurance and performance testing service: Yes
• How the quality assurance and performance testing works: Comprehensive test plans to ensure not only the quality of the deliverables but that they meet user expectation. This includes:; • Automated Unit testing; • Developer Integration testing; • System Testing; • User Acceptance Testing (UAT); • Performance testing ; • Security testing including NPM audit and OWST scan; For iterative projects, such as Agile, this is done as functionality is delivered and end-to-end testing at the end.

Security testing

• Security services: Yes
• Security services type:
  • Security strategy
  • Security risk management
  • Security design

Ongoing support

• Ongoing support service: Yes
• Types of service supported:
  • Buyer hosting or software
  • Hosting or software provided by your organisation
  • Hosting or software provided by a third-party organisation
• How the support service works: We can provide support across the spectrum of full stack cloud technologies (AWS, Azure, GCP, etc). We are technology agnostic, meaning we are experts across a range of technologies including Azure, AWS, Databricks, GCP, Github, and have experience operating in secure environments.

Service scope

• Service constraints: Oakland do not provide these services as standard during the weekend - this can be a potential optional extra. We provide our services via a blend of on-premise and remote means.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support response times: As standard we do not cover weekend support, however this can be discussed and options provided.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 A
• Phone support: No
• Web chat support: No
• Support levels: We provide the following levels of on-site support dependent on the nature of the issue:; Principal Consultant/Technical Account Manager: £1,400/day;; Snr Consultant/Cloud Engineer: £1,200/day;; Mid Consultant/Cloud Engineer: £1,050/ day;; Jnr Cloud Engineer: £850/day.

Resellers

• Supplier type: Reseller providing extra features and support
• Organisation whose services are being resold: Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, DataBricks

Staff security

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

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Lloyds Register
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 25/06/2020
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Nil
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

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

  Fighting climate change

  At Oakland, we embrace our environmental responsibility with our Green Ops framework. Building on Fin Ops principles, Green Ops equips data delivery teams to manage and reduce their environmental impact, and is an action-orientated approach, based on a four-stage lifecycle which enables continuous improvement. 1. Display: use data to build a holistic view of impact 2. Diagnose: analyse intensity areas 3. Decide: craft actionable plans based on diagnostics 4. Deliver: execute and monitor. As a minimum, we will utilize Green Ops for all projects undertaken by Oakland. Green Ops is data-led. We will define clear metrics that attribute environmental impact to data activity (e.g. cloud subscriptions or data projects). We propose these to include, but not be limited to: • Cloud and on-premise resource consumption (compute / storage) • Energy consumption (kWh) • Energy carbon intensity (kg/Co2) • Activity scale (e.g. no. of production solutions and services, total live projects) Supplementing these metrics with more dimensions such as time-periods and user groups will create a granular view of impact. Environmental measures must be analysed and visualised to drive Green Ops execution, either via existing dashboards or standalone reports. If preferred, we can deploy pre-created Power BI Green Ops dashboards which can be rapidly configured. Oakland have built these (and the supporting data platform) as part of our Data Platform Hosting offering.

  Tackling economic inequality

  We ensure our recruitment practices, our culture and the people experience all meet the five principles from the Good Work Plan that will attract good candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds. These include worker satisfaction, good pay, participation and progression, wellbeing, safety and security and voice and autonomy. Values based recruitment, unconscious bias training & fair and consistent recruitment practices. Creating social value through our matched giving scheme and B Corp activities and status.

  Equal opportunity

  We will not tolerate discrimination or harassment, and are committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. Those who work for us, and anyone applying for a job with us, will receive fair and equal treatment. We ensure, where possible, full access for everyone applying for a vacancy. Decisions about transfers and internal promotions are made, so far as possible, using only objective criteria. We will never victimise anyone who makes a legitimate complaint to us about harassment or discrimination, or who supports a colleague in their complaint. Our futher commitments and aims include:; A working environment free from all forms of unlawful discrimination, including victimisation and harassment.; A workplace capable of allowing everyone to achieve their greatest potential, and where individuals are willing to give their best.; A policy of ensuring employment opportunities are open to all qualified candidates, so that we recruit from the largest possible pool of available talent and recruit the best-qualified staff.; A commitment to recruiting based on ability to do the job, that also reflects the multicultural composition of our local community.; A commitment to amending our polices and approaches if we think it has become outdated, or circumstances suggest to us that it needs updating.; A commitment to protecting staff, wherever possible, from being victimised or treated less fairly if they make or support a complaint in good faith under our policies.

  Wellbeing

  At Oakland, mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of everything we do and in this ever evolving hybrid world we are constantly looking for ways to support our employees as we adjust to the new ways of living and working.; ; Psychological safety in the workplace is of primary importance and we want our employees to feel safe, valued and heard and secure in the knowledge that they will not be discriminated against for being their true, authentic selves. As part of this support, we also promote diversity and inclusion so everyone feels they can bring their ‘Whole Self’ to work.; As a company we make big investments into our wellbeing initiatives and actively engage with our team to allow us to gain their input, improve our benefits and provide the vital support they need to maintain their optimum health and wellbeing.; We also have a robust employee assistance programme which includes access to private healthcare, mental health support and therapies and offers a 24 hour support line. We regularly roll out wellbeing training across the business and bring in wellbeing experts to engage with the team and have enlisted Mental Health First Aiders within the organisation. We actively promote healthy lifestyles, positive mental health and share a variety of ways our team can support their own wellbeing and create a healthy work/life balance. We also offer a wide range of company benefits (which include discounted gym memberships and a ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme).; We firmly believe that if you look after your staff, your staff will look after you.

Pricing

• Price: £20,000 to £100,000 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes

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