NEC SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED

NEC Housing

NEC Housing is a comprehensive, flexible Housing Management platform, providing a 360° view of customers and assets. It drives automation across housing management, repairs and asset management, supporting safe communities and ensuring compliance.

NEC Housing can be delivered via the cloud or on-premise and can be accessed on any device.

Features

  • Can be used on any device.
  • Intuitive interface offers a fresh and contemporary look and feel.
  • Comprehensive and flexible housing management solution, including rents and repairs.
  • Enhanced customer engagement with integrated CRM and online self-service.
  • Social media integration to manage customer interactions.
  • Powerful data warehouse with dashboards and analytics capability.
  • Open integration to third party systems.
  • Scalable solution suitable for small to very large housing providers.
  • Segment customers, issue and track personalised communications, surveys and campaigns.
  • Integrated asset, contractor, repairs management, planned and cyclical maintenance.

Benefits

  • Access information wherever you are, on any device.
  • Deliver faster, consistent services, resolved at first point of contact.
  • Deliver excellent customer services through multiple channels.
  • Powerful data insight: understand customers and properties, make informed decisions.
  • Integrated online services, providing customer access to information 24/7.
  • Open integration enables low cost, easy access to data.
  • Optimise income with effective rent and arrears management.
  • Improve operational efficiency through effective repairs and maintenance management.
  • Reduce application management overheads.
  • Reduced downtime all maintenance scheduled out of hours.

Pricing

£0.66 a unit a month

Service documents

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Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

4 3 6 5 7 9 0 5 7 9 1 4 5 8 7

Contact

NEC SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED NEC Frameworks Team
Telephone: 07852 936231
Email: frameworks@necsws.com

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
No
Cloud deployment model
Private cloud
Service constraints
Our service does not have any specific constraints buyers should be aware of.
System requirements
  • Internet access is via https over a Virtual Private Network.
  • NEC will provide a URL link to NEC Housing SaaS.
  • Access is through a supported browser, defined below.

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
Upon receiving a Support Request, the Service Desk will respond to the call in accordance with the Service Levels process set out in the Supplier Terms document.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 A
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
Service available 24x7, except for planned and emergency maintenance. Support response available 08:00 - 18:00 each Business Day. NEC Housing SaaS typically achieves 99.5% availability. Cloud support engineers allocated as appropriate to resolve technical issues. NEC Housing SaaS Administrator can log calls 24x7 online. Upon receiving a Support Request during Normal Business Hours, the call will be progressed in line with call priority: -
P1 (Critical) - service unavailable to Authorised Users.
P2 (Medium) - important business function unavailable for Authorised Users.
P3 (Low) - important business function affecting proportion of Authorised Users - P4 – advice, or problems affecting 1 or 2 Authorised Users, the Service Desk will contact NEC Housing Administrator to try and resolve issues. Where not possible, the issue will be escalated to a technical team. NEC will use reasonable commercial endeavours to provide identification and resolution, obviation and/or mitigation of issues reported by the client in NEC Housing in accordance with estimated target timescales:
P1 - 4 working hours.
P2 - 8 working hours.
P3 - 36 working hours.
P4 - as agreed

For application support, the target resolution timescales are:
P1– 8 working hours
P2– 5 working days
P3– Future Release
P4– Future Release
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Onboarding activities will vary from client to client, according to requirements. The onboarding process differs for clients who already run NEC Housing compared to those clients migrating from other applications. Activities may include, as required: • Provision of access to an appropriate environment. • Provision of disaster recovery services. • Provision of a URL to log onto the solution. • System Administrator log on credentials supplied. • Configuration services. • Integration with third party systems. • Data services including data migration. NEC will manage the onboarding process, including migration activities, using its ASSIST methodology, based on PRINCE2. All onboarding activities will be agreed with clients and charged in accordance with the NEC SFIA rate card.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
All data relating to the organisation, as well as any NEC Housing SaaS data, will (unless agreed otherwise with you) be permanently deleted from the live NEC Housing SaaS no less than ten working days from termination or expiry and in accordance with the legal requirement for data destruction. Throughout the duration of the contract you can extract a variety of business data by use of the standard reporting suite within NEC Housing SaaS. However, if you would like to extract your data in a different manner outside of the standard reporting suite, then you must give us at least two months written notice prior to termination or expiry. We will then carry out a one day scoping study to agree the scope of the data to be extracted, together with the format. Following the one day scoping study we will provide a fixed price for the extraction of the data based on the SFIA rate card.
End-of-contract process
All data relating to the organisation, as well as any NEC Housing SaaS data, will (unless agreed otherwise with you) be permanently deleted from the live NEC Housing SaaS no less than ten working days from termination or expiry and in accordance with the legal requirement for data destruction. Throughout the duration of the contract you can extract a variety of business data by use of the standard reporting suite within NEC Housing SaaS. However, if you would like to extract your data in a different manner outside of the standard reporting suite, then you must give us at least two months written notice prior to termination or expiry. We will then carry out a one day scoping study to agree the scope of the data to be extracted, together with the format. Following the one day scoping study we will provide a fixed price for the extraction of the data based on the SFIA rate card.

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
NEC Housing has been designed to be used on any device, enabling access to information wherever you are, at any time. Screens resize and content layout adapts to the size and type of device in use, ensuring that the display is optimised. Please contact NEC to discuss offline mobile working requirements.
Service interface
No
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 A
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
NEC provides a set of REST APIs for performing various actions on NEC Housing. The transactions replicate existing business functionality currently performed within NEC Housing, such as being able to query records, update, change and create new records as a front end user of the application would. These REST APIs are delivered using Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) deployed on Apache Tomcat. All APIs utilise efficient filtering, search and pagination capabilities to ensure a REST consumer application can optimise the delivery of the information they need. Information returned by the API also adheres to NEC Housing Job Role and Navigation security restrictions. The same level of validation will be performed when the transaction is submitted as would occur if the user were actually using the NEC Housing platform to process the business transaction. Security is also paramount in the design, utilising the built-in ORDS configuration and whitelisting capabilities to prevent unauthorised access. Authentication is mandatory for all REST APIs utilising HTTP Basic Authentication validated against NEC Housing users. In addition, the REST APIs can be configured to use OAUTH2 Client Credentials flow if required.
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
  • Open API (also known as Swagger)
  • Other
API sandbox or test environment
Yes
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
NEC Housing is a flexible solution designed to suit the needs of housing providers of all types and sizes. The application can be customised through system parameters, customisation of fields and field labels and customisation of system messages and notifications. Configuration of this nature can be undertaken by systems administrators, or with the help and support of NEC consultants.

Scaling

Independence of resources
The number of users is proportional to the number of properties managed. Each client instance is allocated its own computer resources (processing power, memory and storage) in accordance with the size of the organisation / number of properties. This is sized to enable users to undertake normal operational activities without affecting other users.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Monthly service reports are provided and show metrics, such as service availability, number of calls raised, closed and outstanding, and time to resolution.
Reporting types
Regular reports

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Conforms to BS7858:2019
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
Supplier-defined controls
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
Protecting data at rest
Physical access control, complying with another standard
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
Equipment disposal approach
Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Clients can quickly and easily extract data with the intuitive reporting suite within NEC Housing.
Data export formats
  • CSV
  • Other
Other data export formats
PDF
Data import formats
CSV

Data-in-transit protection

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

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
The service is available 24/7, except for planned and emergency maintenance, with support response available between 09:00 and 17:30 each Business Day. NEC Housing SaaS is typically provided at 99.5% availability.
Approach to resilience
NEC has dual data centres in two separate geographical locations, so if one data centre is affected we can failover to our secondary data centre. More information is available on request.
Outage reporting
Outages will be treated as a Major Incident and managed by the ISO20000: 2018 certified process. A named user will receive an email and SMS message notifying them of the status of the MI until resolution. The incident will also be logged on the Service Desk system where the status is also visible to the user.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • Limited access network (for example PSN)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Separate networks are used for users, and for support and management purposes. These are logically separated using vlans and firewalls. All management and support staff have access via the management network and end users are excluded.
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password

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
At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
BSI
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
07/06/2021; valid until June 2024. Certificate IS 598449.
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
The NEC Information Security Management System (ISMS) is registered to ISO 27001:2013 and therefore audited by BSI at least annually. All NEC staff are required to comply with the ISMS.
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
No
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
  • Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus
  • Business Continuity Management ISO22301:2019
  • Environmental Management ISO14001:2015
  • Information Security Management ISO27001:2013
  • Service Management ISO20000:2018
  • Quality Management ISO9001:2015

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
The NEC Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) operates at board level and has overall responsibility and accountability for all aspect of security governance. The SIRO is supported by an Information Security Steering Group (ISSG) which is headed by the Security Director and has representatives from all areas within the organisation. The ISSG is responsible for agreeing policies with the SIRO and ensuring they are implemented across the business. An operational Security Working Group (SWG) is responsible for managing any incidents that may occur and in an advisory capacity to provide advice and guidance to the organisation.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Configuration and change management approach
NEC is certified for ISO20000:2018 for Service Management, which covers both our Configuration Management and Change Management processes. This is audited both internally by our Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Head of the Compliance, Risk and Audit team, and externally by the UKAS accredited audit body British Standards Institute, (BSI). NEC follows an ITIL-based approach, and the NEC service desk personnel have undergone the relevant ITIL qualifications for their roles.
Our CMDB is updated accordingly throughout the lifetime of the asset, up to and including decommissioning and disposal.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
NEC has entered into security knowledge sharing partnerships to react to new and increasing threat levels. NEC are members of the NCSC Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP) for early identification and advice on security threats, incidents and solutions. The NEC InfoSec team subscribes to a number of key suppliers and cyber security websites, which send daily alerts on the latest vulnerabilities. NEC are members of the Cyber Network Reporting Service (CNR) that helps the NCSC to rapidly notify organisations that might be affected by malicious software.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
NEC implements a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system which provides alerts and reports that enable log sources to be processed in accordance with GPG13. Custom rules can be defined to detect and alert on suspicious behaviour. The InfoSec team reviews the SIEM alerts and reports on a daily basis to check for any anomalous behaviour. The NEC security monitoring policies and practices are aligned with incident management policies and practices. Any significant security issues identified will result in the NEC InfoSec team raising a security incident in the NEC service management system to initiate the detailed analysis process.
Incident management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example, CSA CCM v3.0 or ISO/IEC 27035:2011 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Incident management approach
Incident Management is part of our ISO27001:2013 certified Information Security Management system (ISMS). All incidents are handled within the same process. Users report incidents through the Service Desk, and a Security Incident is then raised on the ISMS. This is reviewed by the Security Team and is managed in accordance with the Security Incident Management Process. The security incident is kept updated, and once the Security Incident is closed a full report is produced which is used to identify any lessons learnt.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
Yes
Connected networks
Public Services Network (PSN)

Social Value

Fighting climate change

Fighting climate change

NEC has committed to being Net Zero by 2030. We project our carbon emissions will reduce by 50% from our baseline by 2026.
We have implemented a multitude of initiatives to support this:
• Appointing an Environmental Manager and Environmental Champions.
• Successfully obtaining certification for and implementing ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management System (EMS).
• Developing a Carbon Reduction Plan, which is published on our website and an Environmental Strategy.
• Maintaining an Environmental Aspect and Impact Register (down to site level) through which to capture elements of our operating practices which could negatively impact the environment.
• Working with government accredited consultants to understand environmental impact and using outputs to inform future improvement activities.
• Collaborative activities to influence customers, supply chain partners and employees.
Specific initiatives applicable to our contract delivery approach include:
• Energy used on the contract will be from green energy sources.
Business travel will reduce where possible through utilisation of technology such as:
• Video conferencing.
• Sharing documents.
• Conference call facilities.
• Working from home/flexible working arrangements.
• Approval controls in place for commercial flights.
• Use of environmentally friendly data centres.
Our Environmental Policy objectives, relevant to the contract include:
• Meeting all relevant legal requirements and monitoring our compliance.
• Minimising our environmental impacts for the life cycle (including disposal) of work equipment and other physical assets under our control.
• Demonstrating efficient use of energy, water, and other natural resources.
• Maximising opportunities to minimise our waste by reusing or recycling waste, where practical.
• Ensuring our supply chain is aware of our environmental policy and our commitment to ensuring its effective implementation.
• Increasing environmental awareness and commitment amongst colleagues through training and briefings.
Continuing to identify opportunities to improve our environmental performance through clear objectives, plans and targets.
Covid-19 recovery

Covid-19 recovery

Since the emergence of Covid-19 as a global health crisis, we have supported our customers and the local communities they serve to adapt to the challenges posed by the pandemic. As a supplier of software and services to the public sector, this has included rapid development and deployment of software solutions to enable the efficient and effective delivery of new government schemes and changes in legislation, such as provision of Test and Trace Support Payments and new hospitality sector licensing requirements.
Initiatives we have implemented to support the policy outcomes include:
• Increasing our pre-pandemic workforce numbers through recruitment of an additional 250 UK based roles, many of whom were unemployed following redundancy from other sectors such as hospitality.
• Re-training and redeploying temporarily displaced colleagues rather than imposing redundancies or taking advantage of the furlough scheme.
• Commitment to investing over £400,000 in training and apprenticeships.
• Working collaboratively with customers to introduce new ways of working.
• Delivering community based social value through donations in kind to voluntary sector organisations impacted by the pandemic.
As part of our response to the pandemic we invested in and introduced several initiatives and workplace adaptations to protect employee health and safety, including:
• Introducing wider use of remote and flexible working, including making additional allowances for those caring for young children.
• Enhancing office safety, including installing sanitising stations, hygiene screens and digital thermometers.
• Increasing the frequency of colleague communications, with a focus on provision of mental health support and reducing the risks of isolation/loneliness.
• Providing all employees with free access to additional specialist resources, including 24x7 counselling and mental health services.
Tackling economic inequality

Tackling economic inequality

We recognise the expertise, innovation and value that can be gained from having a diverse supply chain and providing all suppliers with a fair and equal opportunity to become suppliers to us and our customers. We operate openly and transparently to enable this collaboration with third-party suppliers including large enterprises, sub-contractors, SMEs, VCSEs, mutuals and social enterprise organisations.
Additionally, we are committed to nurturing new and existing talent and creating a sustainable learning and development culture, equipping our staff with the appropriate skills, knowledge and processes so the company continues to deliver innovative, industry leading solutions.
Processes and practices we have adopted to tackle economic inequality include:
• Using outcome-based specifications and co-design methods to encourage suppliers, communities, users and third sector organisations to collaborate and propose solutions based upon end user requirements, rather than being prescriptive.
• Advertising supply chain opportunities openly and always operating transparently.
• Including modules covering anti-bribery and corruption, whistleblowing, equality and diversity in our all-colleague compulsory Annual Compliance Training.
• Having policies and operating practices that support effective supply chain relationships through fair selection and responsible management. For example, only flowing down appropriate contract terms.
• Paying at least 95% of all invoices within agreed terms and agreeing to reduced payment terms for SMEs and subcontractors.
• Never deducting sums from payments as a charge for remaining on our supplier list.
• Investing in new jobs and training opportunities through an active Apprenticeship scheme.
• Creating opportunities for career progression and investing in reward and recognition initiatives that support employee retention.
• Following the foundational principles of the Good Work Plan in respect of employee satisfaction, fair pay, well-being and safety, career progression, voice, and autonomy.
• Having appropriate controls in place to mitigate cyber security risks.
Equal opportunity

Equal opportunity

We want to be an employer of choice for people of all backgrounds, regardless of sexuality, disability, nationality, race, gender or religion. We are committed to ensuring workers either directly employed or employed within our supply chains are treated fairly, humanely, and equitably.
To encourage a diverse and varied workforce our approach to equal opportunity includes:
• Ensuring job adverts reach a diverse audience, including utilising job sites which encourage interest from disadvantaged and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups.
• Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, supporting candidates with disabilities through provision of supportive technology and/or changes to working practices.
• Collecting, analysing and senior reporting of equality and diversity data obtained during recruitment activities.
• Making appointments on the grounds of selecting the most suitable candidate for the post.
• Gender-neutral role definitions.
• Ensuring policies and employee communications promote respect and equality for all.
Other activities supporting equal opportunity within the workforce include:
• Tackling gender pay gap, through annual audits. Women now comprise over a third of our leadership team, including our Chief Executive.
• Compliance with Modern Slavery Act 2015 and 9 core principles of Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.
• Ensuring effective controls are in place to mitigate and manage risks of exploitation within the supply chain, including supplier questionnaires and evidence requirements.
• Provision of appropriate channels for colleagues to have an effective voice, such as our Employee Steering Group.
• Investment in workforce development and training, including an active Apprenticeship and Graduate Recruitment programme.
• No use of zero hours contracts or fire and rehire practices.
• Being a Real Living Wage Employer.
• Flexible working practices.
• Transparent and structured promotion, pay and reward processes.
• Senior level sponsorship at board level supporting and promoting equal opportunity beyond basic statutory requirements.
Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Physical Fitness and Mental Stability is one of our sustainable development goals.
Our approach to supporting good health and wellbeing which will be applicable to the contract workforce includes:
• Providing employees with free and confidential access to specialist resources 24x7, including counselling and mental health services through our Employee Assistance Programme.
• Providing private healthcare cover for employees. Cover includes Doctor at Hand service to provide employees with fast and convenient access to advice, assistance and medical treatment, GP appointments anytime and anywhere.
• Maintaining compliance with the six standards of the Mental Health at Work commitment and a dedicated module to promote health and wellbeing as part of our all-colleague compulsory compliance training.
• Accommodating workplace adjustments, such as supportive technology for those with a disability or health condition.
• Encouraging good physical health by providing discounted corporate gym membership over 3,300 participating gyms through our employee GymFlex scheme.
We incorporate national health and wellbeing campaigns within our communications calendar, raising employee awareness and signpost to useful support pathways. Our 2022/23 calendar include raising awareness of the following nationally recognised campaigns:
• Stress Awareness Day.
• Mental Health Awareness week.
• World Menopause Day.
• National Eye Health week.
• World Diabetes Day.
• Stress Awareness Month.
• Suicide Prevention Day.
• Men's Health week.
Within one of our acquired businesses, we have Mental Health First Aiders who have trained to spot signs of mental ill health and provide early support for colleagues who may be developing a mental health issue.
Supporting employee health and wellbeing is underpinned by clear action plans for improvement and several Human Resources policies, such as our:
• Health and Safety Policy
• Alcohol, Drugs & Solvent Abuse Policy
• Menopause Policy
• Absence Policy
• Flexible Working Policy
• Gender Reassignment Policy.

Pricing

Price
£0.66 a unit a month
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 frameworks@necsws.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.