The Access Group

Access Cloud Hosting & Services

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Hosting platform offering PAYG or Capital Funded cloud hosting based in UK datacentres with 100% uptime guarantee and no bandwidth cap

Features

• 100% uptime guarantee
• Full VMWare Suite for Operational Control and Reporting
• Enterprise Storage Options providing multiple performance tiers
• Hypervisor Based Disaster Recovery and Backup
• Firewall Services, Load Balancing and Intrusion Detection Services
• Multiple Data Centre locations in the UK

Benefits

• Enterprise class solution with infinite scale to meet demands
• Replication Testing and custom schedules available to maximise availability
• Tailored deployment options for staged migrations
• ISO27001 accredited organisation for security and peace of mind
• Option to switch between PAYG and Private Hosting Models
• Full visibility of environment for end-to-end accountability

£50 a virtual machine 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 tendernotifications@theaccessgroup.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

237069180931115

Contact

Access UK
01206322575
tendernotifications@theaccessgroup.com

Service scope

• Service constraints: Provision is limited to VMWware environments only.
• System requirements: Internet Access

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Main Support Hours are 9:00 - 18:00; Extended Support Hours are 9:00 - 22:00; Out of hours (critical cover only) 24/7/365; ; The following outlines our response time during Main Support Hours only; ; Priority 1 cases are responded to within 1 hour; Priority 2 cases are responded to within 2 hour; Priority 3 cases are responded to within 4 hour; Priority 4 cases are responded to within 1 business day
• 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: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: No
• Support levels: At Access Alto we've got a fresh approach to support that we believe is the best in the industry. ; We attract experienced, qualified engineers with good communication skills to our headquarters in the UK, and then continue to train them to the highest levels. ; We won't filter your calls or emails with unqualified 1st line staff or call centre gatekeepers. ; Our team are available 24 hours a day and the end result is exceptional support that we know you will love. .
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: The Access Alto team are available to assist with the migration of the machines from a consultancy and assistance basis by contacting the support desk. ; ; They will be able to assist with the planning of the migration and assistance with configuration of the tooling to meet your requirements to support the project at the outset and also through our continual service improvement program.; ; We are also able to offer training on use of the Administration and Technical Tools through our partner organisations. This training is either provided remotely or through a classroom session depending on requirements and needs analysis.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • ODF
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Customers have full access to their data at all times either via their Virtual Machines or at a VMware Data store Level.; ; At the end of the contract customers are welcome to extract their data directly using the admin tools provided as part of the service - there is no additional charge levied for self-extraction of the data.; ; If required we are able to provide access to our secure FTP server to transfer images.; ; We also offer a fully managed extraction service were the data will be extracted for you. An additional charge may be levied for this service if it is required.
• End-of-contract process: Included in the price of the contract for all solutions is:; 1) Resources (vCPU, RAM, Storage) sized to fit requirements.; 2) Required VMware Licencing.; 4) 1Gbps Internet Feed with unlimited data transfer; 5) IPV4 Allocation (from our public pool sized to fit requirements); 6) 24*7*365 Monitoring & Support; 7) VMware Admin Access (either via vCloud Director or vSphere); ; What is not included; ; 1) Additional licencing not specified above; 2) Migration Services - migration of machines; 3) Build Services - building Virtual Machines or post configuration

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Using the web interface: Access to the environment is provided via either VMware vCloud Director or VMware vSphere Access secure web portal. ; Customers will be assigned admin level access to the environment and both portals allow direct access to environment enabling full configuration of the system and resources using standard VMware methods and API's.; Shared resources such as storage or networking will be provided in pre-configured format where required.; Additional resources, outside of the pre-configured pool, and changes to shared resources must be made via a Support Ticket and cannot be made through the standard portal
• Web interface accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 A
• Web interface accessibility testing: Access is provided by standard VMware technologies that support assistive technology users that is reviewed and documented regularly.; ; More details can be found ; http://www.vmware.com/uk/help/accessibility.html
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: We expose the standard VMware vCloud Director API and the vSphere API to users.; Access is provided at Admin Level to the instance created.; More details on the methods supported are listed:; vCloud Director (https://www.vmware.com/support/vcd/doc/rest-api-doc-1.5-html/); vSphere (https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.wssdk.apiref.doc%2Fright-pane.html)
• API automation tools:
  • Ansible
  • Chef
  • Puppet
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• Command line interface: No

Scaling

• Scaling available: No
• Independence of resources: We assign resource pools and QOS to customers to define and control resources assigned to the service. Resource Pools are discrete to each customer and effectively ring fence purchased resources for exclusive use.; ; In addition we utilise advanced monitoring techniques and platform optimisation procedures to ensure that workloads are distributed for maximum performance.; ; We also offer the option of completely dedicated blade servers for dedicated compute resources and can provide on request dedicated SAN and Network devices if required
• Usage notifications: Yes
• Usage reporting: Email

Analytics

• Infrastructure or application metrics: Yes
• Metrics types:
  • CPU
  • Disk
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• 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
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • Hardware containing data is completely destroyed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Backup and recovery

• Backup and recovery: Yes
• What’s backed up: Virtual Machines
• Backup controls: Backups are configured as part of our Managed Backup Service and can be configured as per requirements dependent on the options chosen.; ; The ability to choose a custom schedule for backups and a different retention period is available on application.
• Datacentre setup: Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
• Scheduling backups: Users contact the support team to schedule backups
• Backup recovery: Users contact the support team

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Access Alto will use all reasonable efforts to ensure that Service is available for 100% of each calendar month. The Service will be deemed unavailable if it cannot be reached from a functioning Internet Connection. Any instances of unavailability shall have to be ratified by the Access Alto monitoring system. ; ; The Access Alto Service shall not be deemed unavailable (without limitation) in the event of any of the following: ; ; 2.1.1 Periods of scheduled maintenance of which the Client has been notified. ; 2.1.2 Failure of the Client or End User connection to the Access Alto Network (e.g. via the public internet or the Client’s own network, or any 3rd party telecommunications tail circuits); ; 2.1.3 Malfunction of Client’s or End User’s own computing systems; ; ; If Access Alto fails to achieve the Service Level Target, and if the Client requests Access Alto to do so within twenty (20) Business Days after the target is not met to the service desk Alto will issue the Client service credits against future periods of service.
• Approach to resilience: We operate a dual active-passive environment and all hardware components are provided at N+1 level or greater. More details are available on request.
• Outage reporting: We operate a public dashboard for our services. Options exist for email, SMS and API alerting.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication:
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: We operate role profile based Access Control - based on least privilege access. This applies to all our services
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
• Devices users manage the service through:
  • Dedicated device on a segregated network (providers own provision)
  • Dedicated device over multiple services or networks

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: 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: ISOQAR
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 01/09/2014
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Nothing is excluded from the Standard
• 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: All controls included within Annex A of the ISO27001:2013 standard.; Statement Of Applicability (SOA) available on request.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Configuration and change management approach: All change management is undertaken in line with ISO27001:2013 using JIRA for audit purposes and internal Change Control Processes.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Patched and audited by our patch management system. All non-critical OS patches are applied within one calendar month of release, first into pre-production and then into production, as part of the scheduled maintenance window.; AV Updates - Signatures are updated hourly. / Rules are reviewed at minimum every 3 months. Logs are reviewed at minimum every 3 months. ; Access staff responsible for the maintenance of our hosting services subscribe to industry newsletters, belong to various security forums and we additionally receive notifications from our vendors.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: The environment is protected by multi-tiered security that includes, heuristics based anti-virus, IPS Services and regular Pentest reviews from a CREST approved supplier.; Alerts are forwarded to our log aggregation engine which are then subject to automated and human review by our NOC and security partners.; In response to an incident, security issues are prioritised with high priority events responded to within 15 minutes.; Security Operations will then perform standard mitigation steps before engaging relevant parties for ultimate resolution.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: We operate a robust incident management process in line with ISO27001:2013 ; Staff are encouraged to report all incidents using a pre-defined process using a form available on our Company Collaborate site; Incident reports will be provided following forensics and closure of incident

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: VMWARE ESXi
• How shared infrastructure is kept separate: We operate either a public cloud model utilising VMware vCloud Director isolation or fully dedicated environments using vSphere Access. ; Storage is either provided via dedicated LUNs from our shared storage or fully dedicated SAN technology dependent on requirement.

Energy efficiency

• Energy-efficient datacentres: Yes
• Description of energy efficient datacentres: Telehouse N2 is both ISO4001:2015 and ISO50001:2001 certified and has a robust and comprehensive Environmental and Energy Management Process including:; The implementation of and Energy Management System certified to ISO50001; Identification of all significant areas of energy use (SAEU); Setting targets for energy efficiency ; Training of energy efficiency with staff members.; ; Additionally the facility is cooled by the world's first multi-story indirect adiabatic cooling system to BREEAM Excellent Standard and as such is rated as one of the most energy efficient DC locations in the world.

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  Access UK Limited is a Software author and provide associated services, including Hosting, Payroll Bureau and Payment services. We recognise that although we do not undertake manufacturing, our day to day operations will have impact on the environment at global, national, and local level. We are committed to the care of the environment and the prevention of pollution. •Access ensures that all our operations are carried out in with the minimum adverse effect on the environment but implementing many available resources and approved processes •We protect the environment by striving to prevent and minimise our contribution to pollution of land, air, and water •We keep wastage to a minimum and maximise the efficient use of materials and resources, and manage disposal of all waste in a responsible manner •We use energy, water, and natural resources wisely and prevent pollution by minimising waste, recycling whenever possible and properly disposing of waste that cannot be recycled. •Our management processes are developed to ensure that environmental factors are considered during planning and implementation •We raise employee awareness and encourage best practices for sustainability at work

  Equal opportunity

  We want everyone to feel at home at Access, knowing that they are valued for what they do, not who they are. We want people to feel that they truly belong here regardless of their age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes them individual; after all, if we were all the same it would be a pretty dull place. We love the fact that we’re all different. Having more diverse perspectives at work improves how we run our business, helps us support our customers, and when you think about it, it's just more fun. For us, this all starts with helping everyone feel part of the family and being at their best every day, making Access a place where everyone can love what they do and do what they love. We all have regular check-ins with our leaders, take part in monthly employee surveys, have lots of chances to share our views and ask for help, and with our own learning system, 'Access Shine', we really can make things even better each and every day. At Access we'll always hire the best candidate but we're continually looking for creative ways to increase the mix of diverse candidates into our recruitment process. On the basis that you ‘have to see it, to be it’, one thing we're doing is sharing more stories to celebrate the wonderful diverse range of talent we have at Access. It is important for us that our employees understand and reflect the customers and communities we support, and we want everyone to feel at home here, knowing that they are valued for what they do, not who they are. We want people to feel that they truly belong here regardless of their age, gender, race, sexual orientation, or anything else that makes them individual.

  Wellbeing

  Access places specific emphasis on the health and wellbeing of its staff and provides a “Well-being” hub in workspace that provides support for Mental Health, Finances, Social, Physical, Emotional and purpose. Assistance from Health Assured is available for all staff and there are training resources for “working in the new normal” and “Mental health and wellbeing” . Access also has “well-being” champions throughout the organisation. This is supported by monthly employee “check in” surveys and offers of flexible working for staff to meet caring commitments.

Pricing

• Price: £50 a virtual machine a month
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: We offer a trial environment which offers the following resources on our shared vCloud Director platform; ; 10 vCPU; 20GB RAM; 400GB Storage; ; Trial is limited to 7 days but can be extended on request

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