Akara Robotics

Akara Cloud

Akara Cloud is a room management and analytics platform. It provides a web-based dashboard where hospital administrators and other key management stakeholders can access data and actionable insights on a range of key operational metrics, such as room turnaround, to help them to improve operational efficiency, clinical workflow and quality.

Features

• Real-time reporting and data visualisation
• Automated real-time notifications
• Fully anonymised data collection
• IoT sensing
• AI at the Edge

Benefits

• Improved patient flow (less room/bed downtime)
• Fewer delays caused by late staff/patient arrivals
• Shorter room turnaround times
• Free up front-line staff from administrative tasks
• Potential for fall prevention

£730 a unit 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 eamonn.bourke@akara.ai. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

360374091308734

Contact

Eamonn Bourke
0879165075
eamonn.bourke@akara.ai

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: We aim to support most popular browsers, multiple versions behind.; ; Each room generally requires installation of a wall-mounted sensor device and access to mains power or a dedicated power outlet.; ; If mobile app use is required, we support iOS and Android, multiple versions behind.; ; Mobile apps require Internet access to log in and upload data.
• System requirements:
  • Each room supported by Akara Cloud requires WiFi access
  • Accessing Akara Cloud requires a supported web browser

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our response times are typically within 12 to 24 hours. Longer response times (up to 48 hours) may be experienced on weekends or public holidays.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: No
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Onsite support
• Support levels: Support for all infrastructure will be provided at the same level. We aim to respond to support tickets within 24 hours (weekdays) and 48 hours (weekends). Unscheduled interruption to service will not be in excess of 12 hours.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Onsite installation and training is initially provided by Akara staff.; Additionally, user documentation and online training will be provided for on-going retraining.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats: Latest documentation is published on-line
• End-of-contract data extraction: Users will submit a formal data request by email to their assigned Akara contact point. ; In response, Akara will share a secure link to download this data.
• End-of-contract process: The contract includes installation, training, access to security updates, and access to Akara devices (including IoT sensors and other hardware components) necessary to fulfil the contract. ; ; Additional costs may be incurred if Akara hardware devices are lost or damaged through negligence or factors outside of normal wear and tear. Additional costs may also be optionally incurred if new features are introduced, and the user decides to upgrade their service package. ; ; At the end of the contract, Akara retains the right to recover hardware components used to fulfill the contract.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Mobile and desktop users have different access levels and functionality available to them. ; Mobile app use is optional and only utilised for some parts of the service. ; Desktop users are administrators or management staff who can access reports and carry out management tasks (manage rooms, users, tasks etc). ; Mobile users are typically frontline staff with sufficient access to carry out functions related to their daily duties (complete task, update workflow etc).
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: The Akara Cloud dashboard is accessible via a secure web interface. Through this dashboard, users can access data and insights on room usage, occupancy, and a range of environmental parameters.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Through the web dashboard, users have access to data visualisation tools, including graphs and charts, that provide insights on how rooms are being utilised by staff and patients. This data is organised in tabular format that can be dynamically searched and configured to provide improved user experience. ; Administrators of Akara Cloud can also configure room checklists and event-based notifications via the web dashboard.
• Accessibility testing: The interface has been designed with close feedback from hospital end-users in the UK, Ireland and Estonia. The interface has been adapted to address the needs of a range of usability requirements, including colour blindness.
• API: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Akara Cloud is a data platform that helps hospitals gain insights into room utilisation, and can be customised to report and provide data for a range of parameters. These include, but are not limited to, bed occupancy, room turnaround times, environmental conditions including air quality, and staff activities such as the completion of cleaning checklists. Rooms are initially configured by Akara during setup, and can be updated locally by hospital administrators.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: We use managed IT infrastructure that is scalable to guarantee a minimum quality of service.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Service metrics we provide are customised for each room. They may include, but are not limited to: report and provide data for a range of parameters. These include, but are not limited to, bed occupancy, room turnaround times, environmental conditions including air quality, and staff activities such as the completion of cleaning checklists.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: None

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: Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Users can export data (in csv) format via the Akara Cloud dashboard.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • JSON
  • PDF
• Data import formats: CSV

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: We guarantee 99% SLA uptime, assured by our cloud service provider AWS. Our system operates in a highly reliable and scalable environment where replacement instances can be rapidly and predictably provisioned. The service runs within AWS’s proven network infrastructure and data centers.; ; In the unlikely event we do not meet guaranteed levels of availability, users will be eligible for a service credit for the pro rated cost of the affected service for any unscheduled downtime. ; ; AWS SLA information available here: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/sla/historical/
• Approach to resilience: Service databases are encrypted and automatically backed up daily. Databases and associated microservice APIs can be quickly restored and recovered in the event of failure. Our cloud hosting provider guarantees 99% service uptime.
• Outage reporting: In the unlikely event of an unplanned outage, we will report this to the client via email alert. ; ; Users will be notified of planned outages, including scheduled maintenance via email alerts and notification in the Akara Cloud dashboard.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Admin and standard users are separated into different user pools which they authenticate against. Each user pool grants users the required access only
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication: Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get 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: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: No
• 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: No
• Security governance approach: Currently our internal IT Security team handle our IT security and governance. We are working towards implementing the ISO27001 standard and expect to have achieved this standard within the next 6-12 months. It is noted that Akara Cloud does not process patient or protected health information (PHI)
• Information security policies and processes: IT security policies, processes and incidents are managed by our internal IT Security team who report directly to the C-suite, including CEO. Policies are reviewed and internal audits carried out regularly to ensure compliance.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: The cloud components of our services are monitored by our cloud provider for recommended updates, end of life/out of date components and security vulnerabilities. Where possible, updates are applied automatically if no breaking changes will be introduced, e.g minor version. Otherwise we're alerted about available/recommended updates and evaluate them in our development environment before pushing them to production. Any code or configuration changes are committed to our version control system for thorough code review, testing and approval before being merged, released and deployed.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: Potential threats to the cloud components of our services are monitored by our cloud provider. Where possible, updates are applied automatically if no breaking changes will be introduced, e.g minor version. Otherwise we're alerted about available security patches and evaluate them in our development environment before deploying them to production. For critical or high severity security patches we aim to deploy them within 48 hours. We also conduct regular reviews of any software libraries our services use for vulnerabilities and available updates.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: We maintain system logs for all our API endpoints. These can be used to investigate any error/warning logs for suspicious activity. We can also run automated monitoring to try and identify suspicious log patterns. Any suspicious activity is investigated by our development team for any potential compromises and required updates. We aim to respond to any critical or high security compromises that are identified within 48 hours.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Users report incidents to us by email. Incident reports that detail the incident, any compromised systems or data, the suspected cause and any recommended remediation steps are produced by our internal IT Security team and provided by email. The IT Security team maintain a log of all IT security incidents and notify any potentially impacted customers by email.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery

  Fighting climate change

  Akara Cloud allows for completion of electronic documentation, including checklists, reducing use and dependence of paper documents. This leads to reduced waste and carbon savings (paper production accounts for 1-2% of global greenhouse emissions according to International Energy Agency). ; ; Akara smart devices installed as part of the service provide in-room IT infrastructure for controlling 'smart' building utilities including lighting, ventilation, and heating. This has the potential to help the NHS reduce energy usage by automatically switching to low-power controls when rooms are not occupied, etc.

  Covid-19 recovery

  Cleaning is a critical task to prevent transmission of infectious disease in a hospital. Akara Cloud enables electronic completion of cleaning checklists, giving the hospital real-time data on what cleaning has been completed (previous system was dependent on paper checklists) and improved quality (submission of form is timestamped and has features that reduce likelihood of errors in completing form). ; ; Akara Cloud has been designed in close consultation with Infection Prevention specialists and can configured to provide services that inform infection prevention and control efforts including: notifying cleaning teams when a room needs to be cleaned, identifying which rooms have the highest/lowest occupancy levels, providing data on air quality and other environmental conditions, and the potential to connect with smart air purifiers and cleaning/disinfection robots.

Pricing

• Price: £730 a unit a year
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: A trial of the technology may be arranged. The duration and what's included in the trial can be evaluated on a case by case basis.

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 eamonn.bourke@akara.ai. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.