Advanced Business Solutions

Advanced Cloud Attendance

Advanced Cloud Attendance provides actionable insight on attendance and room utilisation to Education and Local Government. Student Services, Timetabling and Estates teams can analyse student/staff engagement, while high-level overviews enable SLT members to drive down costs and improve student/staff satisfaction.

Features

• Attendance tracking
• Notifications and triggers
• Room/Resource Booking
• Reporting
• API

Benefits

• Available anywhere; via laptop, smartphone, tablet
• Information where it's needed for quick, quality decision making
• Attendance tracking functionality you would expect
• Access to students and attendance information to feed
• Timetabling integration
• Attendance capture agnostic

£5,478 an instance a month

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

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

276003175228217

Contact

Bid Support
0330 343 8000
bidmanagementteam@oneadvanced.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: No
• System requirements:
  • Browser
  • Internet connection

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Cases will be assigned a Priority and responded to within the following timescales. ; ; Priority Business Impact Target (1st ) Response; 1. All or critical functionality unavailable, causing significant operational impact or system unusable - 1 hour; 2. Critical functionality unavailable, but interim workaround is available and accepted by Customer based on reasonable business criteria - 4 Hours; 3. A problem not preventing operations but with the potential to do so if unresolved - 8 Hours; 4. A minor problem either cosmetic or otherwise, and not preventing the operation of the system. Low impact/cosmetic - 24 Hours
• 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: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support accessibility standard: None or don’t know
• How the web chat support is accessible: Through the support portal – http://customers.oneadvanced.com
• Web chat accessibility testing: None
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: 1st Line is the *initial support level. This level should gather as much information as possible from the end User. Support specialists in this group typically handle straightforward and simple problems. Personnel at this level have a basic to general understanding of the product or service and may not always contain the competency required for solving complex issues. ; ; 2nd line support is a more in-depth support level than 1st Line. The personnel are more experienced and knowledgeable on a particular product or service. Support specialists in this realm of knowledge are responsible for assisting Tier I personnel in solving basic technical problems and for investigating elevated issues by confirming the validity of the problem and seeking for known solutions related to these more complex issues. If personnel from this group cannot determine a solution, they are responsible for raising this issue to the ; ; 3rd Line Support. This is the highest level of support responsible for handling the most difficult or advanced problems.; ; Variations in Advanced ; Within Advanced some support centres merge 1st and 2nd line teams or 2nd and 3rd line teams, but the principles of three tier support are unanimously adopted.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: A project management team and implementation service is available to guide customers through onboarding, this is backed up with training and documentation
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: Data can be extracted by users via our API. Alternatively Advanced's professional services team can help by extracting data.
• End-of-contract process: If the contract expires or is terminated for any reason, we will make the Customer Data available to you in standard readable and secure encrypted form via email, CD-ROM, DVD, USB memory stick, USB hard (any applicable hardware for these purposes are to be supplied by you). We reserve the right to make a charge for such service (at our then current rates).

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: The service is accessed through a browser. There is an optional app available for students offering tailored functionality.
• Service interface: No
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: APIs can be used to manage data imports and exports
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: No

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Advanced uses multiple techniques to achieve this, leveraging the services available to us in AWS alongside application specific approaches. For most services we use auto-scaling based on load and throughput to scale the service in line with the load on the system. From a database perspective we use a mix of scaling services and individual database instances to minimize the risk of a single customer impacting other customer. Advanced also regularly reviews performance issues that may be raised from the application performance monitoring and will implement application changes/optimizations to remove such bottlenecks in the application.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Advanced can provide, on request, metrics relating to application performance and availability tracked over time, and customer specific. If required metrics on support cases (time to fix, backlog, etc.)
• Reporting types: Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

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: European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• 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
  • Other
• Other data at rest protection approach: Besides data and drive encryption, Advanced enforce a strict access management policy to block direct access to the data, this is all done via bastion servers which have all mechanisms for data ingress and egress blocked. There is also a strict auditing policy to ensure that we have a clear record of who accessed the data, when and for what purpose.
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: 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: Product reporting suite
• 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)
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: All data through the application is delivered over a secure connection (as a web site - password protected, API through token authentication - OAUTH2). No data stores are publicly accessable and are protected by multiple security layers.
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: No data is moved into the corporate network and only resides in the private cloud. All access to the cloud environment is restricted to security checked personal. Multi factor authentication is used to secure access. Access to the cloud servers is only via the corporate network. If not directly on the corporate network an IPSEC MFA connection is required to the corporate network to gain access.

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Minimum 99.5% (Based on Monday to Friday - 8 - 6 pm, excluding public holidays)
• Approach to resilience: Advanced uses a mixture of Active-Active and Active-Passive configurations, spread across multiple data centres to ensure high availability of the services it provides. All services have automated fail over processes to ensure minimal to zero downtime in the event of any failure. This is tested regularly using both system testing and chaos testing (see https://principlesofchaos.org/ for more information on chaos testing)
• Outage reporting: The Advanced Managed Hosting service will proactively monitor the environment and provides Advanced with timely warnings of issues arising to allow pro-active intervention. Monitoring is focused on the health of the services and security.; The solution also captures capacity information over a period of time to allow for effective management.; ; Advanced will:-; ; 1. configure and maintain a Monitoring Service to monitor and alert against detection thresholds;; 2. resolve failures and errors in the Monitoring Service in accordance with the Incident Management Service Levels; 3. ensure that critical and major monitoring alerts are reviewed and, where appropriate, an Incident logged by the Service Desk; 4. assign Incidents arising from monitoring to Advanced Service Desk for diagnosis and resolution; 5. capture server and network infrastructure data to enable the provision of capacity trend analysis; ; Alerts will be remediated within contracted Service Levels and customers notified through standard channels

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Other user authentication: Users are authenticated via a federated identity service (for SSO) ; Password strength and complexity rules are enforced (for User Name and Password)
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: This is limited set of security checked users. Authentication is over secure network connection. Management consoles use Multi Factor Authentication.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Description of management access authentication: Permission management and addition service access controls

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: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users have access to real-time 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: BSI
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 30/06/2021
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: None
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications: See https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/

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: ISO-9001
• Information security policies and processes: Advanced Information information and security policies align to ISO 27001:2013.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: We follow a multi-approval change process. All changes are proposed, reviewed, tested and then finally approved for delivery. The stage gates ensure quality is maintained and risks are either removed or mitigated.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: From an environment perspective we leverage AWS service such as a Web Application Firewall which includes rules for OWASP top 10, Amazon Sentry and Guard Duty - these services pro-actively monitor the traffic and look for vulnerabilities taking direct blocking action and alerting as is appropriate. We also commission penetration and vulnerability testing from an independent 3rd party
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Advanced use multiple monitoring channels to get a full picture of the environment application, these include but are not limited to AWS CloudWatch for log management and metrics gathering, ElasticSearch with Kibana for Log and Metric Aggregation and AppDynamics for Application Performance Monitoring. All of these have alerting when key metrics are broken or availability may be impacted.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Incidents are categorized on an escalating scale of severity from maintenance/planned outages > performance impairment > P1 issues > unplanned outages. With a combination of automated monitoring, thresholds/ alerts and manual monitoring our web operations team assesses and triages performance. This includes mitigating environment scaling. In each category there are appropriate criteria for triggering communications with customers. Where resolution isn't immediate or within planned timings there is also regular update notification until the issue is closed.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  We are committed to building a better tomorrow for our staff, customers and wider community through outstanding environmental sustainability performance. Our vision is underpinned by five core principles: ; ; 1. To protect the environment by reducing our carbon footprint. ; 2. To reduce the environmental impact of our operational activities through effective management of our estate. ; 3. To create and maintain a positive environmental sustainability culture. ; 4. To maximise the positive impact of our sustainability actions through effective communication, collaboration and partnership. ; 5. To fulfil all environmental compliance obligations and seek to exceed regulatory requirements. ; ; To achieve this vision, we have a multi-step sustainability strategy, containing details of the overarching objectives, performance targets, key performance indicators and implementation mechanisms. It is continuously reviewed to ensure it is as strong as it can be. Our success also relies on effective engagement with staff, utilising and developing their skills, knowledge and understanding. ; ; We are proactive in the property management of our offices, maintaining pressure on landlords and staff to ensure energy efficiency. Home working is facilitated and encouraged, and unnecessary travel is minimised by the delivery of consultancy, training and implementation services remotely, where appropriate. Reducing the amount of paper we generate is a key focus, and we use recycled paper - which we then recycle ourselves. We have also taken steps to recycle other materials such as plastics and cardboard. We comply with WEEE regulations and recycle our electrical items. ; ; We are focused on our transition to a Cloud service company ensuring our customers have solutions which are future proofed and don’t require costly or energy inefficient hardware.
• Covid-19 recovery:

  Covid-19 recovery

  Advanced has a documented Health and Safety policy regarding Covid-19 Arrangements, which focuses on handwashing, hygiene, self-isolation and social distancing. ; ; We encouraged working from home, opening our offices only when government guidance was updated and promptly carried out a Covid-19 risk assessment. Our HR system was updated for employees to confirm their vulnerability status, allowing us to tailor support. ; ; Social distancing measures were introduced in our offices, e.g., staggered arrival and departure times, a one-way walking route around the office and workstations at a 2-metre distance. We continue to operate a desk booking policy to ensure an audit trail and line manager clearance. ; ; Working from home is undoubtedly challenging and may have a negative impact on the wellbeing of our employees. We hosted a wide range of virtual communal events throughout, to allow our staff to stay connected to each other e.g., quizzes, coffee mornings and time allocated for informal catch ups. ; ; We have also made changes to our approach to visiting customers on-site. Where appropriate, training and consultancy can be provided virtually.
• Tackling economic inequality:

  Tackling economic inequality

  Advanced is committed to tackling economic inequality. We are renowned for our recruitment processes which seek to eradicate biases that can perpetuate economic inequality. We hire for potential rather than based on experience. ; ; Our commitment to tackling economic inequality is also exemplified in our pay reporting transparency. In addition to the legal requirements to produce a Gender Pay Gap Report, we have also released our Diversity Pay Gap Report to ensure accountability and so that we can take steps to address economic inequality.
• Equal opportunity:

  Equal opportunity

  Cultivating a diverse workforce and inclusive culture is a priority for Advanced. Diversity of experience, age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender and sexual orientation provides a wide range of talent from entry level through to our leadership teams creating richer perspectives and a powerful frame of reference. ; ; Not only is it right to recognise and celebrate differences, and ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive, but creating a culture that is genuinely committed to a meritocratic workplace is important to our success. Ensuring all our employees understand and engage with our values, and have the opportunity to realise their full potential, is fundamental to our business. ; ; Last year, we released our first Diversity Pay Gap that extends beyond the legal requirement for gender to ethnicity, sexuality, education, disability and socio-economic status. This data provides transparency and will aid us significantly on our journey to creating a fair and equitable workplace for all. ; ; Advanced is delighted to have been announced as one of the top 100 Diversity Leaders of 2020 across UK businesses following an independent survey carried out on behalf of the Financial Times. The award assesses diversity across gender, age, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, and ranks organisations in Europe on the extent to which they offer diverse and inclusive workplaces. The survey focused on two broad areas, looking at the scale in which employers promoted diversity within the workforce, and identifying companies that stood out when it came to encouraging diversity and equal opportunities. ; ; Advanced is renowned for its innovative recruitment process, which seeks to eradicate bias – unconscious or otherwise – when hiring. In our recruitment, we use tools that give us additional insight into intellect and attitude, and remove CVs from the interview process, so managers go in without preconceptions.
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  We take wellbeing very seriously at Advanced, all employees have access to the following initiatives to promote wellbeing: ; ; Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a 24/7 phone line where our employees can speak to a trained professional regarding any matters. Whether that is related to their current workload, or whether it is related to their finances for example. This service is 100% confidential. ; ; Advanced continually run mental health webinars/sessions to show our employees what stress looks like and how to manage it, and we have recently announced the Friendly Faces scheme which is a network of colleagues who are open to listening and signposting. We will be running training for employees who wish to take part and make space for wellbeing conversations. ; ; The Wellbeing hub on our internal website is central point for resources, such as the Thrive app to which our employees have an access code. In addition, the Hub is a link to our partnership with Perks at Work who offer discounts and classes for wellbeing, fitness, and meditation. ; ; Our offices have been made more friendly and accessible than ever before as part of our office changes brought on by the new, flexible ways of working. All our offices now contain a ‘wellbeing room’, sharp boxes for needles and free sanitary products in all bathrooms (available to guests as well as our staff). ; ; We understand that working from home and being separated from one another is undoubtedly challenging and in some cases may have a negative impact on the wellbeing of our employees. ; Throughout the pandemic, we hosted a wide range of communal events virtually, to allow our stuff to stay connected to each other, even though they weren’t in the office together. Some of the events were quizzes, coffee mornings and time allocated for informal catch ups.

Pricing

• Price: £5,478 an instance a month
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: No

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