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CDW Limited

CDW Alation Cloud Service (ACS)

Alation’s enterprise data catalog dramatically improves the productivity of analysts, increases the accuracy of analytics, and drives confident data-driven decision making while empowering everyone in your organization to find, understand, and govern data.

Features

  • Automated data curation via behaivoral, linguistic and inferential intelligence
  • More than 80 native connectors to existing data sources
  • Automatic lineage creation from source to consumer
  • Intelligent SQL query tool
  • Propogation of deprecations, warnings, and endorsements
  • Automatic identification of top-users, experts, and data stewards

Benefits

  • Drive Productivity with Behavioral Intelligence
  • Spur Better Decision-Making Through Seamless Collaboration
  • Promote Confident Analytics with Guided Navigation
  • Govern Data with an Active, Business-Led Approach
  • Streamline Analytics with Broad, Deep Connectivity
  • Improve data comprehension
  • Minimise the risk of data misuse
  • Easily expose and interpret data policies

Pricing

£96,000 a unit a year

Service documents

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

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

3 4 2 7 6 8 6 1 6 4 4 0 6 9 6

Contact

CDW Limited Andy Wood
Telephone: 0161 837 7744
Email: tenders@uk.cdw.com

Service scope

Service constraints
ACS is currently only offered via AWS (other cloud vendors on 2022 roadmap)
System requirements
  • The ACS instance has access to data sources for cataloging
  • User's network access to AWS

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Support will be determined by priority as assigned by Alation based on these guidelines: https://www.alation.com/tscs/support/ which range from an initial response within 4 hours for 1 "priority 1" to 8 hours/next day for a "priority 4". Alation support is structured for 24/7 follow the sun model as detailed in the MASTER SOFTWARE LICENSE AND SERVICES AGREEMENT: https://www.alation.com/msa/
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
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
No
Support levels
"Support and maintenance are included in the base license fee for Alation at no additional charge, and there are no additional tiers available for selection or additional payment. A Customer Success Manager is available for customers. Following implementation, our customers can leverage their dedicated CSM (Customer Success Manager) or access other customers through our Alation community portal. The dedicated CSM will meet weekly ( or bi-weekly ) with the customer project team to review strategic and tactical goals to ensure customer is meeting go-live milestones and co-ordinating Alation resources (customer success engineering, professional services or support) to help with any blockers with go-live.

The dedicate CSM will also co-ordinate office-hours for the catalog end users, which can help end-users onboard and adopt the product. "
Support available to third parties
No

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Alation's "Right Start" programme helps an organisation start engaging users to help with the population and adoption of Alation. The "Home page" of the Alation Catalog can embed and link to external resources e.g. training documentation, videos etc
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
HTML
End-of-contract data extraction
There is functionality to export all metadata that has been read and stored into the Alation catalog. Additionally, Glossaries, the Lexicon and other aspects of the catalog can be exported from the GUI
End-of-contract process
Alation's software is licensed on an annual subscription basis, with incentives available for multi-year licensing. Within this license is included the operation of the software, maintenance, support, product training, and documentation. Product certification for users is an additional cost

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Using the web interface
Browser-based graphical user interface for all functionality, configuration and use, from a user and admin perspective. This interface can be customised e.g. colours, layout, content
Web interface accessibility standard
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Web interface accessibility testing
An "Alation Accessibility Conformance Report" is available
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
The Alation API is fully documented at https://developer.alation.com which details abilities, security, and controls
API automation tools
  • Ansible
  • Chef
  • OpenStack
  • SaltStack
  • Terraform
  • Puppet
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
HTML
Command line interface
Yes
Command line interface compatibility
Linux or Unix
Using the command line interface
The command line is used for system-level functions e.g. starting/stopping system services, debugging, status checking, and other functionality that is not available from the GUI. As a managed service, ACS does not require users to set up the service.

Scaling

Scaling available
No
Independence of resources
Limits and time-outs can be set for specific resource-hungry actions e.g. queries, number of rows returned, size of sample data, frequency of system jobs. A High-availability (HA) server may be set up to provide business continuity.
Usage notifications
Yes
Usage reporting
  • Email
  • Other

Analytics

Infrastructure or application metrics
Yes
Metrics types
  • CPU
  • Disk
  • HTTP request and response status
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
Reporting types
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

Supplier type
Reseller (no extras)
Organisation whose services are being resold
Alation

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
Government security clearance
Up to Security Clearance (SC)

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
Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
Penetration testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Penetration testing approach
Another external penetration testing organisation
Protecting data at rest
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
  • Other
Other data at rest protection approach
AES-256
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
Equipment disposal approach
A third-party destruction service

Backup and recovery

Backup and recovery
Yes
What’s backed up
  • The entire environment in one backup
  • User configuration
  • All ingested and created metadata
  • System configuration
  • Security configuration
Backup controls
Alation Cloud Service utilizes AWS S3 for backup storage. Backup is an automated nightly job to ensure there's a current snapshot of [Client Name]'s Alation instance. Each backup is a snapshot, which can also be used to restore Alation.
Datacentre setup
Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
Scheduling backups
Supplier controls the whole backup schedule
Backup recovery
Users contact the support team

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
TLS (version 1.2 or above)
Data protection within supplier network
TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
ACS has an SLA of 99.5%
Approach to resilience
In addition to the resilience that is provided by the cloud vendor, the customer can acquire an high-availability (HA) server; The intent of the HA server is to mirror the production environment in the event of failure/inaccesibility of the primary server.
Outage reporting
The cloud vendor provides a public dashboard to show general availability of the service. Alation proactively monitors your ACS instance and will use email/phone to contact the respective person if needed

Identity and authentication

User authentication
Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Alation software has 6 roles that restrict users to functionality and areas of the product, including the management and configuration of the product e.g. only "system admin" and "catalog admin" functions have access to the configuration pages. Support tickets can only be raised and responded to by the identified customer email.
Access restriction testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Management access authentication
Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
Devices users manage the service through
Directly from any device which may also be used for normal business (for example web browsing or viewing external email)

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users receive audit information on a regular basis
How long user audit data is stored for
At least 12 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users receive audit information on a regular basis
How long supplier audit data is stored for
User-defined
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
A-Lign, Tampa, Florida, USA
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
29/01/2020
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
N/A
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
No
Cyber essentials plus
No
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
ISO27001

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
Documents are available upon request to security@alation.com

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
Yes, Alation incorporates a formal process for merging all enhancements and changes into each release. Through our Change Management systems, we track/audit what changes are being requested and we leverage our Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC) to ensure our security checkpoints/"gates" are met. Alation has built-in security checkpoint/"gates" in our Design and code review prior to codebase merge. Our SSDLC has over 150 controls defined that generally map to ISO 27001 as well as other frameworks such as SOC2.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
Alation has integrated security in our Development Operations to scan for OWASP and NIST Known Vulnerabilities through Software Composition Analysis, perform Static Application Security Testing and Dynamic Application Security Testing with Penetration Testing.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
"Alation has integrated security in our Development Operations to scan for OWASP and NIST Known Vulnerabilities through Software Composition Analysis, perform Static Application Security Testing and Dynamic Application Security Testing with Penetration Testing. "
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
Alation uses a combination of automated tools (ie, networking monitoring tools, endpoint security devices and systems) to detect and log security events, as well as reporting by Alation employees and users when suspicious activities occur .

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
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
How shared infrastructure is kept separate
Each Alation site is logically separate from every other site. There is no access from one site to another, and none will be aware of any other. Other than the infrastructure provided by AWS, there are no shared resources between Alation sites.

Energy efficiency

Energy-efficient datacentres
Yes
Description of energy efficient datacentres
Not provided

Social Value

Fighting climate change

Fighting climate change

CDW is committed to fighting climate change and protecting the environment. CDW has made a commitment to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2040, 10 years earlier than mandated by the UK government. To achieve this, CDW has implemented (and continues to implement) initiatives to reduce our emissions and carbon footprint, all of which are underpinned by CDW’s ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System (EMS) and our beGreen program.

CDW’s distribution centre and our flagship offices hold ISO 14001 environmental management certifications, with our UK distribution centre also holding REGO energy certifications. In parallel with our EMS and beGreen program, CDW has invested in and implemented a range of initiatives to help tackle our contribution towards climate change across our operational activities. These initiatives include (but are not limited to):

-Solar panel usage. As a result, in 2021, we were able to achieve 100% renewable energy sourcing for CDW-owned buildings.
-Energy-efficient lighting solutions, including indoor and outdoor LED lighting.
-Motion sensor lighting and conveyor systems that turn off in response to inactivity.
-Water consumption solutions, including rainwater harvesting efforts.
-“Smart” HVAC systems that adjust according to business hours and seasonal temperatures.
-A ‘Pin to Print’ program enabling enhanced print queue management to reduce wasted print jobs
-A goal to achieve 100% renewable energy sourcing for electricity by 2027. In 2021, 98% of electricity consumed in the UK was from renewable sources.

Additionally, at our distribution centres, we have recycled:

-2,966 tons of packaging material
-9,794 tons of cardboard
-636 tons of paper
-Thousands of wood and plastic pallets

Furthermore, at a coworker level, CDW has established a ‘WE GET Our Environment’ Business Resource Group and an Environment Committee with the purpose of increasing awareness of the environmental and social strategy, and to empower coworkers to get involved in environmental initiatives.
Equal opportunity

Equal opportunity

CDW is committed to creating a working environment for coworkers dedicated to inclusion, diversity and equal opportunities, as detailed in our CDW Way Code, which teaches all CDW coworkers to:

-Always do their best to make everyone at CDW feel welcome
-Treat other coworkers with respect and dignity
-Maintain an inclusive workplace in which all coworkers can demonstrate their full potential
-Respect the unique attributes and perspectives of every coworker

CDW provides equal treatment and opportunity without regard to:

-Race
-Skin colour
-Religion
-National origin
-Gender
-Sexual orientation
-Gender identity
-Disability
-Age

Our commitment to equality is underpinned by six Business Resource Groups (BRGs). BRGs ensure all coworkers have a voice, build awareness, and provide support to similar groups in their communities. The BRGs include:

-Armed Forces Network
-Black Coworker Network
-Disability Support Network
-PRIDE+
-United Support Network
-Women’s International Network

CDW coworkers are empowered to reach their highest potential, and we are focused on providing them with a wide variety of tools and development opportunities to help them achieve their career aspirations at CDW, regardless of origin, background or situation. Within our learning culture, all coworkers are surrounded by comprehensive resources and support, ongoing education and skills training, and robust advancement opportunities. We offer a variety of programs to help current and future leaders build diverse teams and to help diverse coworkers develop their leadership skills so they can continue to advance in the organisation.

Our commitment to equal opportunities and diversity is demonstrable across our organisation. As an example, CDW’s CEO and President, Chris Leahy, is female and CDW’s Executive Committee consists of 50% female and 50% male coworkers, with 42% coming from multi ethnic backgrounds.

CDW is also committed to reducing the gender pay gap and produces an annual gender pay gap report - https://www.uk.cdw.com/site-tools/pay-gap-report/.
Wellbeing

Wellbeing

CDW is committed to providing coworkers and their families with the knowledge necessary to make the best health and wellness choices for themselves and their families.

Our approach to wellness is designed to help coworkers be safe, healthy and successful. We understand that managing work and personal life is a balancing act of shifting priorities and so we offer a variety of benefits that supports a coworker’s physical, financial, emotional and social
wellbeing, including access to telemedicine, a suite of family benefits and a variety of wellness incentives and programs.

CDW provides coworkers with an Employee Assistance Program, which offers confidential, individualised coaching to help coworkers achieve personal or professional goals. It also features enhancements for crisis care, 24/7 phone support and an emergency referral system.

Ongoing coworker engagement is fostered through regular communications events, including:

-Monthly wellness e-newsletters promoting benefits available to coworkers
-Workshops and activities focused on timely topics
-Various campaigns to raise awareness for meaningful topics throughout the year, including mental health, emotional wellbeing and heart-mind gratitude

As a further example of our commitment, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Coworker Services team implemented “coworker calls” - informal, but regular check-ins to ensure all coworkers are caring for their mental health and receiving the support they need.

CDW also established ‘The CDW Community’, an initiative set up to provide coworkers with activities that they could participate in to keep them physically and mentally active, and to give them a platform for social engagement with other coworkers during a time where many were feeling isolated.

Following its success during COVID, the CDW Community initiative has remained operational as we exit the pandemic, continuing to provide CDW coworkers with activities and resources centric to physical and mental wellbeing, as well as sessions to support a healthy family life.

Pricing

Price
£96,000 a unit a year
Discount for educational organisations
No
Free trial available
No

Service documents

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