Avco Systems Ltd

AnyComms Plus Cloud

A secure web based file exchange facility, used by schools and local authorities across the UK. Designed with the user in mind the software is simple and straightforward to use. No plug-ins or extra installations required, eliminating the need for any technical intervention for installation and maintenance.

Features

• Secure file distribution using AES 256 bit encryption over TLS
• File encryption at rest
• Customisable file retention period
• File type blacklisting
• Customisable user authentication levels and password usage limits
• Comprehensive questionnaire system
• Online form manipulation
• Granular permissions system
• User and file audit history
• Extensive site usage reporting suite

Benefits

• Securely transfer data across organisations and teams
• Set a minimum standard for user authentication that suits you
• Enforce your file retention policy throughout the site
• Revoke files individually or in bulk at any point
• Easily view file transfer and user access records
• Manage partner organisations and their users
• Create custom reports on site usage for individual organisations
• Set custom permissions to enforce principle of least privilege
• Create detailed questionnaires and access feedback from organisations easily
• Edit and approve forms directly from the site

£70 to £120 a licence a year

• 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 gcloud@avcosystems.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

264495376577683

Contact

Peter Lambert
01753 213 700
gcloud@avcosystems.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: The service is subject to maintenance periods, notified in advance.
• System requirements: A supported web browser

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Support staff aim to respond to enquiries within an hour of receipt Monday to Friday 08:30 –18:00 (excluding public and bank holidays).
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: There is a single support level that is provided directly to the buyer.; This support provided is included in the price.; Direct support to the buyers customers (end users) is not available.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: We can provide an online walkthrough or you can use the provided service documentation to get started. Our friendly support staff can assist in customising your service if required and can coordinate any required data imports. Onsite training is available on request at an additional cost.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: When the agreement comes to an end we can provide the customer with an extract of their data from the system database, in the formats described below.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the agreement, the buyer’s service is decommissioned. Any data requested by the buyer is extracted from the database and sent using a secure method of transfer. Once the transfer process is complete, we will securely delete all data relating to the buyer. This is all included in the price of the agreement.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: No
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Easy to use forms with clear menu navigation.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Accessibility testing: Research only
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Uploading and download of data.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Administrative users can customise the following features through the maintenance tab on the site: Password security level, Password reuse and renewal policy, Website logo and colour scheme, Maintenance messages, Site footer message, Notification email logo, Header and footer text.; ; As well as this, there is a vast amount of customisation available to the way the site works and handles events which can be requested during the onboarding process.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: QOS and resource limitations ensure that demands of other users do not cause a negative impact on others.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Audit information, usage and metrics are available through the administration dashboard.; Further, customisable reports are available on request.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • 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
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Supplier-defined controls
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: The user can request their data by raising a ticket with our support team who will handle the extraction and supply of the data.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • XML
  • JSON
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • XML
  • JSON

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: Other methods of protection such as Private Networks (including PSN), VPN, Fibre connection etc are considered and priced on an individual basis.
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: The service has an Availability Target of 99.9% annually.; This excludes scheduled maintenance activities, notified in advance.
• Approach to resilience: The service is designed to use a number of modern techniques to maintain service availability.; Further details can be provided on request.
• Outage reporting: Email alerts are available.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• 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: Access methods such as dedicated link are subject to individual assessment and additional cost on a case by case basis.
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access restrictions are enforced by physical, procedural and technical constraints that are all audited as part of our ISO 27001 certification.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • 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: User-defined

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: The SOCOTEC Group
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 13/01/2014
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: All services are covered by our ISO 27001 certification.
• 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: Avco Systems are ISO27001:2013 and ISO9001:2015 certified. Critical to the quality of the company’s services is information security. The company is dedicated to safeguarding its information and that of its interested parties, to fulfil both its contractual obligations and the requirements of ISO 27001:2013.; Quality is central to Avco’s philosophy and permeates all areas of the company’s business, including its internal and external aspects and its dealings with interested parties. The company endeavours to satisfy or exceed expectations and is committed to a policy of continual improvement of its systems and working practices. It aims to ensure that service quality satisfies the specific contractual obligations of its customers, together with the standards of quality in ISO 9001:2015, including the adherence to statutory and regulatory requirements.; The company has combined its quality and information security management systems in an Integrated Management System (IMS), which is subject to internal and external audits. The framework for setting objectives and establishing an overall sense of direction and principles of action regarding the IMS is provided by Management Review meetings at planned intervals. In addition, there is an ISMS Forum, which meets to initiate and co-ordinate the implementation of information security within the organisation.

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 changes are conducted in accordance to our ISO27001:2013 Change Management policy which describes the process for raising, prioritising, planning and actioning change for both software change requests as well as infrastructure configuration and maintenance. Requests for software changes are tracked through to resolution using our issue management system. All code is developed using secure coding techniques and tested against common security vulnerabilities based on OWASP guidelines. To maintain high quality code, all software modifications must successfully pass peer review and employ a high degree of unit and integration tests.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Avco Systems subscribes to server, network, operating system, application and antivirus vendor alerts to ensure notification of the latest vulnerabilities as soon as they are made public. All servers, network components, operating systems and applications are continuously monitored to ensure the latest security and vulnerability patches are applied within 30 days of release from a vendor. All security patches of ‘Critical’ importance are evaluated and deployed as a matter of urgency. All servers are scanned monthly to ensure they are running the latest antivirus engines and pattern files.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Avco Systems delivers services using fully certified and secure ISO27001:2013 accredited data centres. The company has combined its quality and information security management systems in an Integrated Management System, which is subject to internal and external audits. Information Security Management System Forums are held bimonthly to review a variety of information security concerns including identification and prevention of risks and threats, physical and logical access rights, security training and awareness. Our Information Security Incident Management policy sets out formal reporting and escalation procedures to ensure a quick, effective and orderly response in the unlikely event of an information security incident.
• Incident management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Incident management approach: Avco Systems ISO27001:2013 certified Information Security Incident Management policy and Incident Response Plan defines responsibilities and procedures for discovery, escalation, investigation, notification and documentation of incidents. Users can report incidents to the dedicated support staff. Avco will work with the customer to ensure that: Vulnerabilities leading to the incident have been identified as far as possible and any agreed countermeasures are in place; Confirm that issues have been addressed and all customer services are restored; Hold an Incident Review meeting to assess the effectiveness of people, processes and tools during the incident; Provide findings on the Information Security Event/Weakness Report.

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)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  AnyComms Plus allows organisations to send digital documents removing the dependence on paper.

Pricing

• Price: £70 to £120 a licence a year
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: A free trial of the service is available on request.
• Link to free trial: https://www.avcosystems.com/a/products/anycomms-plus#free-trial

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