Flax & Teal Limited

Open Source Data Science, Cloud & Kubernetes Support

Flax & Teal enables open technology in the cloud. We support public sector and private sector clients across data reporting, sensitive data science, education, HR, open data, engineering and strategy. Our company tools are all fully open.

We have deployed Kubernetes solutions to MS Azure, AWS and GCP since 2017.

Features

• Experience supporting client-driven solutions in all sectors and scales
• Serves public sector with exclusively open source products
• Highly-experienced, Kubernetes-certified staff
• Kubernetes and data science trainers in-house (fully open materials)
• Support and adaption services for third-party open source

Benefits

• Understanding of public sector data processes
• Open, re-sharable to all solution components and tools
• In-depth, practical understanding of public sector data flows and challenges
• Established flows for handling your sensitive data and code
• Experience advising on data strategy for public sector bodies

£400 to £1,700 a unit

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 admin@flaxandteal.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

319419494180861

Contact

Phil Weir
+4475262214774
admin@flaxandteal.co.uk

Planning

• Planning service: Yes
• How the planning service works: For creating or redesiging solutions, our product and design team members, alongside our cloud implementation specialists, will hand-hold through scoping discovery/proof-of-concept, prototyping, initial and full implementation phases. We take an iterative creation approach, where interactive code, not solely reports or documents, form part of deliverables at every stage from discovery onwards. We implement an agile, scrum-based methodology, with specific adaptations for data science modelling flows where appropriate.
• Planning service works with specific services: No

Training

• Training service provided: Yes
• How the training service works: Within our company we have experienced trainers and ready-to-deliver courses in productionising code, data science and cloud architecture. We have upskilled staff with a range of experience levels in both private and public sector. For technical training, we have worked exercises around Kubernetes, Python and Rust, as well as other cloud and programming technologies, where required.
• Training is tied to specific services: No

Setup and migration

• Setup or migration service available: Yes
• How the setup or migration service works: We have significant experience moving tools between and onto cloud providers, both by adapting pre-existing solutions and in productionising prototype or new solutions. We have adapted a range of solutions for Kubernetes, in particular, and are up to speed on the evolving nature of Kubernetes, Azure, AWS and GCP.; ; Being more than supplier of work, as a skill provider, our team has trained trainers and openly-licensed materials for upskilling data teams on productionising data analysis and cloud solutions.
• Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services: No

Quality assurance and performance testing

• Quality assurance and performance testing service: Yes
• How the quality assurance and performance testing works: Our testers, experienced over a range of platforms and contexts, build a clear and comprehensive acceptance test list to support a cloud solution, in addition to the automated test-suite. This is kept live, with regression tests and functional tests being added responsively to need. Our DevOps flows ensure detailed QA sign-off before final promotion, and an environment is maintained permanent test-ready state. Automated performance testing is carried out where appropriate with resilience testing tools.; ; Our solution creation dovetails with our service-level agreements to help maintain quality of service and responsiveness to need from initial release onwards.

Security testing

• Security services: No

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 primarily provide help-desk or email based support, with 1-3 working-day turnarounds (depending on customer-set priority), although higher levels of support, including phone and tighter timelines may be available. During development periods, basic support is included as standard, otherwise as according to our service level agreement terms.

Service scope

• Service constraints: Support may be available on-site by arrangement at additional cost.; Support for your or third-party products may only be available after an initial development or discovery phase. Our ramp-up time for follow-up or repeat work is smallest when we are engaged, e.g. via our service levels, during the interim.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: 1-3 working days according to customer-set priority level (high priority may incur costs). Weekend or out-of-hours turnarounds available only by separate agreement.
• 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: Yes, at an extra cost
• 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: No current, in-house testing of the standard third-party system.
• Web chat accessibility testing: No current, in-house testing of the standard third-party system.
• Support levels: Foundation: low-volume email support; Core (£400/m): some included resolution time; Standard (£800/m): some videoconference and resolution time included; Full (£1700/m): 24h initial response window (see pricing sheet for full details)

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: No
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: No
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  Equal opportunity

  Equal opportunity

  A key principle of open source is universal access to the underlying technology of any product or service. This is not only important for transparency, but is a key enabler of entry into the industry - open source, being both free and widely relevant, allows underrepresented global communities access to the same software tools, languages and skill development that technology leaders have. By hiring for these skillsets, rather than degrees, skills or certifications in proprietary software that can be exploitatively expensive to obtain, companies using and producing open source create a fairer and more open industry, and by extension improve the inclusivity of the global economy. Open source forms the basis of many social inclusion initiatives, particularly in technology, teaching Python or Javascript (fundamental technologies in our work) to children from underprivileged backgrounds and UN Least Developed Countries. By embedding open source in the way we work, we help ensure there are always pathways into the international technology job market.

Pricing

• Price: £400 to £1,700 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: 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 admin@flaxandteal.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.