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Method4 Limited

Cloud hosted web applications

Method4 provides specialised cloud hosting services for web applications. Using Agile methodologies we provide hosting, discovery, analysis, design, development, support and maintenance of cloud and web based solutions. Microsoft Gold partner: Microsoft .NET Core (MVC, C#), web services, XML, XSLT, HTML5, React, Angular, JavaScript, JQuery, AJAX, SQL, SharePoint, Umbraco, Azure.

Features

  • Secure cloud web application hosting, development, support and maintenance
  • Cloud database configuration, development and integration (SQL Cloud)
  • ISO 27001, ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials accredited. Microsoft Gold partner.
  • Multilingual applications, bilingual Welsh experience. Responsive user experience (UX) design
  • Business intelligence, flexible reporting solutions, including Power BI, Power Apps
  • Automated data validation and secure data exchange
  • Mobile Web, Apps and social media integration (Facebook, Twitter)
  • Azure App Service, Azure Functions, Azure Search, Azure Cognitive services
  • Azure Cloud App Service and API (REST, SOAP, OAuth authorisation)
  • Geographical and mapping solutions (Leaflet, ESRI, Google, Bing)

Benefits

  • Government Digital Service Standard. GOV.UK Open Standards principles
  • Adherence to WCAG 2.1 and W3C web and accessibility standards
  • Systems integration, CRM, MS Dynamics, Office, SharePoint, Umbraco, Azure AD
  • Hosting on Microsoft Azure, Office365, Rackspace Cloud, Amazon Web Services
  • Lightweight, reusable open source components ensures cost effective rapid delivery
  • Certified Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider based in Cardiff, Wales
  • Utilise methodologies such as Agile Scrum and PRINCE2
  • Collaborative approach to design, delivery and implementation using Azure DevOps
  • Expertise in education, data capture, validation, reporting, search, inspection systems
  • Web applications developed and configured to the recommendations of OWASP

Pricing

£550 to £995 a unit a day

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 gcloud@method4.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

3 6 6 4 1 5 5 7 8 3 8 9 1 4 9

Contact

Method4 Limited Christian Coates
Telephone: 02920 665947
Email: gcloud@method4.co.uk

Service scope

Service constraints
No
System requirements
No specific system requirements

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Normal business hours support 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 24/7 support is also available outside normal business hours.

Standard response within 1 hour.
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
Onsite support
Support levels
We provide a comprehensive helpdesk facility to clients. This includes an out of hours service and flexible service where support cover can be enhanced for short periods of time for specific events. Our support systems are standalone but are also integrated with customer and 3rd party support groups to provide a uniform service to users. Typically requests are received to the helpdesk via email or telephone and logged immediately in the support log. The support log is accessible 24/7 to clients, allowing them to see the issues that have been raised and update existing issues or alternatively raise new issues. The SLA offered would depend on the type of support being provided and would be tailored to fit our customer’s needs.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Both formal and informal tailored training and mentoring can be provided maximising the benefits of training time. We are able to provide online training as well as training facilities at our offices in central Cardiff.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
Extracts are made as per customer requirements
End-of-contract process
Termination terms will vary depending on the service offered, and will be agreed at the time of service commencement.

Using the service

Web browser interface
No
API
No
Command line interface
No

Scaling

Scaling available
Yes
Scaling type
  • Automatic
  • Manual
Independence of resources
Logical isolation is used to segregate each customer’s data from
that of others. This provides the scale and economic benefits of multitenant services while rigorously preventing customers from accessing one another’s data.
Usage notifications
Yes
Usage reporting
Email

Analytics

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

Resellers

Supplier type
Reseller providing extra features and support
Organisation whose services are being resold
Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Rackspace

Staff security

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

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
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 once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
Protecting data at rest
Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
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

Backup and recovery

Backup and recovery
Yes
What’s backed up
  • Databases
  • Virtual Machines
  • Web Applications
  • Files
  • Unstructured data
Backup controls
A backup schedule is agreed at the start of the hosting period which defines what gets backed up and frequency of backups. This can be changed at any time by requesting changes through our standard change control procedures.
Datacentre setup
Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
Scheduling backups
Users schedule backups through a web interface
Backup recovery
  • Users can recover backups themselves, for example through a web interface
  • Users contact the support team

Data-in-transit protection

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

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
Typical service availability is 99.95%

The SLA offered would depend on the type of service being provided and would be agreed at the start of the contract.
Approach to resilience
Available on request
Outage reporting
Outages are reported on a service dashboard or via email alerts

Identity and authentication

User authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
VPN access. 2-factor authentication. Username and Password
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
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 have access to real-time audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
User-defined
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
User-defined

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
URS
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
March 2017
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
Full coverage
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
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
ISO 27001 Information Security Management System with named Information Security Manager. All security policies, processes and controls comply with ISO 27001 and ISO 27002.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
Our hosting services typically comply with CSA CCM v3.0 standards, supplemented by Method4 change management processes.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
Our hosting services typically comply with CSA CCM v3.0 standards, supplemented by Method4 vulnerability management processes.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
Our hosting services typically comply with CSA CCM v3.0 standards, supplemented by Method4 protective monitoring processes.
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
Our hosting services typically comply with CSA CCM v3.0 standards, supplemented by Method4 incident management processes.

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
Microsoft Azure, AWS
How shared infrastructure is kept separate
Microsoft Azure or AWS specific controls

Energy efficiency

Energy-efficient datacentres
Yes
Description of energy efficient datacentres
Microsoft’s Azure cloud has been carbon-neutral since 2012. Half of the energy it uses already comes from 1.2 gigawatts of wind, solar, and hydro-electric sources, which the company expects to make 60 percent by 2020.

Renewable energy is only part of what makes Azure a more sustainable way to run workloads. The other part is energy efficiency, some of it coming from the efficiency of its custom Azure hardware, and the bulk of it from operational efficiency and the efficiency of its data center infrastructure.

Social Value

Fighting climate change

Fighting climate change

At Method4 we’re committed to reducing our environmental impact on our planet. We try our very best to reduce the amount of waste we produce by re-using products and recycling where possible; use energy and water in an efficient way; reduce vehicle emissions by encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transport and discouraging meetings that require transport unless there is an overriding benefit; provide advice and update our team on issues that encourage good environmental practice; make sure we fully comply with environmental legislation.

Everyone at Method4 is asked to only print when essential, use print preview and double-sided printing as much as possible to minimise paper use; recycle empty cans, bottles, glass and card in the recycle bins provided throughout the offices; put food waste in the caddies provided in the kitchens; purchase recycled paper products where possible; purchase environmentally friendly hygiene products where possible;

When practical, use public transport, walking, cycling or car shares to travel to and from meetings. Wherever possible video conferencing should be used to eliminate the need to travel at all.

Use energy (water, lighting and heat) efficiently. Make sure that electrical appliances that are not being used, air conditioning and lights are switched off or left in power save mode if needed, when we leave the building; control heating sensibly: open windows before resorting to air con and close them before using heating; report any water leaks or dripping taps you see immediately.
Covid-19 recovery

Covid-19 recovery

Method4 is committed to creating employment and re-training opportunities, therefore we continued with our scheduled graduate recruitment in 2020, with the employment of 7 graduates and year-in-industry placements between May and October. Rather than withdraw contracts when fee earning work was unavailable due to the pandemic, we instead focused on a period of training and development for these graduates.

We are also due to pick up our work partnering with Cardiff University, to deliver the Umbraco Education Project, a recognised certification scheme that will upskill their upcoming graduates who have been hard-hit by COVID-19. This scheme is delivered by us at no cost to the university or the students, something we are able to deliver due to our Umbraco Gold Partner status.

Method4 closed our offices in favour of remote working in mid-March prior to government lockdowns and furloughed no staff members. Remote or hybrid working remains for all employees. We reopened our offices when restrictions permitted, to provide a safe environment for staff members who are unable or struggle to work remotely due to physical or psychological wellbeing reasons. The offices have been rigorously risk assessed to allow this.

Our cycle to work scheme is also available to provide an alternative for those who would otherwise use public transport. As a result we have seen a positive impact on the community around our offices, in particular we have three independent businesses on the street who have received increased business thanks to the presence of our employees. We have also increased our cleaning contract as part of our COVID-19 management program, which has provided local workers with more hours, as a real living wage accredited employer we ensure that they are paid fairly for their work.
Tackling economic inequality

Tackling economic inequality

Method4 has achieved significant growth over the last 15 years by placing great importance on recruitment from the surrounding areas, many of which are classed as areas of deprivation by the Welsh Government.

We are active in our commitment to improving social mobility within our community and took part in the employee panel to develop the framework for the BSc (Hons) Software Engineering degree level apprenticeship in Wales, which aims to deliver degrees through employment to those who may not have been able to follow a traditional route into higher education. We are proud to have been the first employer in Wales to sign up with the Open University to deliver the scheme, having chosen them for our apprentices as they offer remote tutoring, removing another barrier to those who would struggle to balance employment and attending lectures at a traditional institution.

Method4 has provided work experience placements for GO Wales since 2016, this scheme aims to improve the employability of students who face barriers to employment such as work limiting health condition, disability, coming from a black and/or ethnic minority background, childcare or care responsibilities, family estrangement or coming from a low HE participation neighbourhood.
Equal opportunity

Equal opportunity

We are actively engaged in the efforts to reduce the gender gap in the tech industry and have taken part in a number of initiatives to address this, including working with Technology Connected to provide role models for their campaign to encourage girls to study technology and Chwarae Teg on their Agile Nation 2 scheme to promote women in leadership roles. We also have our own internal scheme, Women of Method4, that encourages a network of support for women in our organisation and we are proud to have a higher than industry average percentage of women within our technical roles.

Method4 produces an annual diversity report, which addresses issues in 6 main areas: age; disability; race; religion; Women in Tech; LGBT, which are often characteristics associated with lower levels of employment and progression within employment. The diversity panel meets to discuss our demographic and the extent to which we have met our recommended actions and to set new recommendations for the following year from areas we have identified for improvement.

We have also added diversity and wellbeing questions to our annual anonymous employee engagement survey, the results of these surveys are monitored and measured annually.
Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Our HR practices are designed to support employees and protect those who may have care responsibilities or health issues that may leave them vulnerable to unemployment. We have flexible start and finishing hours, part-time working for the vast majority of roles, wheelchair access throughout our offices, work station assessments and remote working opportunities available prior to and post the pandemic. We also have absence processes that flag staff members who may need additional help and encourage our team to speak openly about mental health issues, to allow us to provide support, which we hope will reduce the risk of escalating mental health concerns.

Pricing

Price
£550 to £995 a unit a day
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 gcloud@method4.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.