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PROJECT ARK LIMITED

Ark

Ark helps housing associations and property managers build better communities.

Ark provides a cloud-based landlord dashboard and corresponding resident app. Ark maximises internal efficiencies whilst creating a better resident experience than ever before via our resident hub. Ark works with any browser, and on both iOS and Android.

Features

  • Bespoke on app community-focused news feed
  • Secure in app instant messaging with residents
  • Reporting dashboard for property managers to track and measure performance
  • Aggregated Customer Engagement Score for property managers to measure engagement
  • Seamless integration with your preferred housing maintenance system and CRM.
  • Custom iOS and Android app for residents
  • Custom, targeted, short form surveys
  • Residents can make payments via the app
  • Book ammeneties and parcel managment functionality
  • Documents and FAQ area for manager sharing with residents

Benefits

  • Connect with Residents
  • Introduce residents to their neighbourhoods and communities
  • Make homes residets are proud to call home
  • Demonstrate community engagement
  • Keep your finger on the pulse
  • Increase efficiency and maximise productivity of your property managers
  • Seemlessly integrate your CRM and maintenance systems
  • Measure impact against the Sustinability Reporting Standard for Social Housing

Pricing

£10 a unit a year

  • Education pricing available

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 angus@projectark.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

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

Contact

PROJECT ARK LIMITED Angus Reid
Telephone: 07984729792
Email: angus@projectark.co.uk

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
No
Cloud deployment model
Public cloud
Service constraints
N/A
System requirements
Managers require internet access with a supported browser

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
We aim to respond as quickly as possible during normal working hours. There are emergency contact channels available outside of normal working hours and at weekends.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
No
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
Web chat
Web chat support availability
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support accessibility standard
None or don’t know
How the web chat support is accessible
Via our platform as we utilise Intercom web chat.
Web chat accessibility testing
N/A
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
We offer in-person, on-site training as part of our initial integration and set-up package. Each client has a dedicated Account Manager who will attend to all client queries. We also offer dedicated technical support for all of our clients which can be accessed via Web Chat, telephone and email.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Users will receive in-person onsite training. We also host regular training sessions via video calls for new joiners to the team or for those that require refreshers. Full user documentation and best practice guides are supplied to all clients to help them both learn how to use Ark, but also get the most out of it.

As each user will likely have bespoke integrations with Ark the first step would be a technical scoping call to determine the high-level tech stack used and to scope how integration would work.

Once the integration has been scoped, the integration work will be carried out and completed. At this point systems training will take place.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
User data extraction is subject to client contract but all data Data is protected using security features powered by Django including XSS, CSRF,
and SQL injection protection using HTTPS.

This application layer provides exclusive uploader access to our secure AWS S3 buckets, which are encrypted at rest. Ark is fully registered with the ICO and is an authorised data controller acting in accordance with The Data Protection Act 2018 meaning that any data extraction or deletion request will be dealt with in accordance with these regulations.

All personal data is supplied by the client via their own CRM meaning that CRM acts as the "source of truth", therefore, data extraction from Ark is made simpler due to this process.
End-of-contract process
At the end of the contract, all client data is scrubbed from our servers. Where data is required to continue running our services, the data is anonymised and personal data is completely removed from the system. This is provided as part of the total cost of the service.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
Application to install
No
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
There are only minor differences between the mobile service and desktop service.

For end-users (residents), there is only a mobile app delivery system, and has been designed to be optimised for a mobile phone.

For managers, the system is optimised for desktops, but has been designed in a responsive framework, so works as well on mobile as it does on desktop.
Service interface
No
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 A
API
No
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
Clients are able to select bespoke branding for the resident mobile app, choosing primary and secondary colour schemes and logo. Features are able to be toggled on and off for each client, or at the community level if appropriate.

Clients customise the app via consultation with the Ark technical and client support teams.

Scaling

Independence of resources
Our services are all managed using load balancing and auto-scaling infrastructure. We use CDNs to handle any asset caching.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Service metrics are served back to the client via a dashboard showing high level usage metrics such as: download rate, usage rate, satisfaction score, response time to customers.

Individual reports are also available on request.
Reporting types
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Reports on request

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

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
No
Datacentre security standards
Managed by a third party
Penetration testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Penetration testing approach
In-house
Protecting data at rest
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
Equipment disposal approach
A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Via a support request we can provide full or partial exports through CSV
Data export formats
CSV
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
Subject to contract, we offer a minimum of 99.5% guaranteed uptime, users are refunded on a pro-rata basis.
Approach to resilience
Available on request
Outage reporting
We directly communicate with affected users through email alerts

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Management interfaces and support channels are protected by individual usernames and passwords.
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
No
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
We have a number of security policies that employees and contractors sign up to. We carry out regular spot checks on employee machines to enforce standards.
Information security policies and processes
We have a number of security policies that employees and contractors sign up to. We carry out regular spot checks on employee machines to enforce standards.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
Platform code is version controlled GIT, allowing code changes to be tracked at line level. The application is split into separate staging and QA environments. Releases are deployed subject to stringent continuous integration testing, and assessed for security impact
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
We assess any potential threats to our service monthly. Any risks are then investigated by a senior development team. Issues to fix are prioritised and patches for priority fix issues are issued within a week sprint
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
We activity monitor the usage of our services to identify potential compromises. Incidents are assessed and escalated immediately.
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
We predefined processes for incident management, including a hotline email for immediate reaction. All reports are escalated to senior management and continuously reviewed

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Social Value

Fighting climate change

Fighting climate change

Ark helps property managers and residents to help make better decisions.

Via Ark's AI and ML engines, we are able to focus on not only fast response to maintenance requests made by residents but also preventative maintenance responses saving property owners time and money.

Also, as the industry strives for its Net Zero carbon aims, the implementation of our ML which can learn about recurrent issues and inform property owners in advance will help aid in this transition - especially as policy pushes the industry towards more sustainable options which our Ai can help recommend.
Covid-19 recovery

Covid-19 recovery

Ark can help support local communities to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 by providing a means for communities in social housing to connect with neighbours through a digital platform that helps reduce isolation in those still shielding.

Ark can also support businesses to deliver services to local communities through improvements to end-point service provision, including no-touch confirmation methods, app bookings etc, where previously no provision could be made for those services.
Tackling economic inequality

Tackling economic inequality

Ark increases supply chain resilience and capacity by providing innovative and disruptive technologies that can help to deliver lower cost alongside a much higher quality of overall service to the end customer. The Ark platform also modernises the delivery of housing maintenance services, increasing the productivity of building managers by removing unnecessary repetitive tasks.

Our community-based approach also creates opportunities for local small organisations to find local buyers who may be interested in their services and products.
Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Ark's community-based approach is designed to draw service-providers and service-users closer together to co-create a community together, rather than being imposed by a housing association or landlord. We believe that this is essential to support a community that can sustain itself over the long-term. This approach also puts emphasis on grounding the micro-community within the wider community, with the intent of building a deeper, more integrated community that provides a digitally-led sense of community spirit, ownership and belonging

Pricing

Price
£10 a unit a year
Discount for educational organisations
Yes
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 angus@projectark.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.