Charterhouse Voice & Data

Fusion - Horizon Hosted UCaaS Service

Charterhouse's Fusion Horizon is a hosted UCaaS Platform providing features such as; voice/video conferencing, IM, presence, desktop and file sharing, integration with CRMs and IP telephony (VoIP). Operated through handsets, mobile or desktop apps. Web/App interfaces allow realtime access and changes to the many features available on a user basis.

Features

• Audio/Video Conferencing Adhoc from any device (optional)
• One number follows you everywhere on any device
• Works on any device; desktop, mobile or handset
• Call recording - all calls or on demand, stored online
• Call Centre Module - increased functionality for supervisor/agents
• Integrated presence and chat (optional
• Hot Desk - use any horizon handset as your extension
• Desktop/File sharing capability (optional)
• Scheduling - Automatically route calls dependant on time of day
• Hunt Groups - distribute calls simultaneously, weighted, as a ring

Benefits

• Promotes Public Sector "Cloud First" strategy
• More accessible with one number ringing devices simultaneously
• IM - online chat prompts a quicker response than email
• Record important call information and improve training
• More professional approach to high volume customer call centres
• Provide a stronger collaborative experience for remotely-based employees
• Promote flexible working, seamlessly move between sites
• Provide Local or National presence regardless of locations
• Better serve your citizens through your busy periods
• Increase productivity as hunt groups find available agents quickly

£5.00 to £10.00 a user a month

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

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

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

452981687824945

Contact

Liz Holmes
02076137441
publicsector@cvdgroup.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: As a VoIP service, calls to 999 may not be possible, during a service outage where the customer loses total connectivity for example, owing to a power outage or the failure of all data access. Horizon does not support the following: Analogue phones and devices, although we do supply ATAs, ISDN data calls, Door Entry Options, Presentations of multiple CLIs per site or per-user; IP Handsets that have not been supplied by us; The call recording service on Horizon is not currently PCI or FCA compliant; We do not support some fax and franking machines used with an ATA
• System requirements:
  • A Horizon-compatible Data Network
  • Appropriately sized data access

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Our UK-based Technical Support team has a target time for initial response of 30 minutes, for Critical and High priority issues; and one hour, for Medium and Low priority issues. Core business hours for the Customer and Technical Support teams are Monday-Friday, 08:00-18:30, to respond to emails and phone calls. Customers that are on the 24x7x365-day customer list will receive support outside of core business hours which may include support from our global support centres outside of the UK in order to maintain this service level.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Charterhouse provides one level of support to all Horizon customers 24x7x365 - included free of charge as part of the service charge. The following service levels apply with target resolution times: Critical Fault - Loss of service. Multiple services affected - 4 Clock Hours; High - Loss of service - single service - 8 Clock Hours; Medium - Disrupted Service - 3 working days; Low - Single Number Destinations or Quality of Service - 7 working days. Service availability for Horizon is: Horizon Graphical User Interface (GUI) is 99.9%; Horizon User Subscriptions is 99.5%; Horizon Auto-Attendant, Call Recording and Unified Messaging Subscriptions - 99%; Mean Average PESQ Score Target of 4.1 for G711 and 3.7 for G729 We provide service desk and account management teams. Support Engineers answer the phonesin the Charterhouse Service Desk and perform first stage fault analysis. If they are unable to resolve the incident will be escalated to Tier 2 and Tier 3 Engineers.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: We offer extensive and tailored user training for Horizon and provide comprehensive user acceptance and handover documentation. We also supply a customer support manual for all contact points and escalations. We provide comprehensive administrator and user training for the Horizon product set. This is offered via our tutorial videos, onsite training (additional cost), webinar online training, user documentation and a full help section on the web portal. We also provide online and webinar training for our web-based billing and reporting tool. A named Major Account Manager and Customer Development Manager will also be assigned to your account to support you. The on site training is usually provided by the installers of the system.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats:
  • .mpg
  • .doc
• End-of-contract data extraction: Our Customer Portal is a secure online space giving customers complete visibility of the assets that we manage for them. We offer a complete view of their estate, including telephone numbers (CLIs), the product related to that number and its geographical location. All invoices are in one place and kept for 12 months for historical billing information on the services you have taken.; This information can be easily downloaded for extraction into excel.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the contract the customer moves onto a rolling 90 day contract on our standard rates. Through our online billing and reporting portal, customer can get their asset list, including numbers that can be ported away and details of the services they currently take with us. This will be provided at no additional cost. It is up to the new provider to port the numbers away.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: No
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
  • MacOS
  • Windows
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: We have a bolt on App (see pricing sheet) that can be added as an option to Horizon. Upon successful download from the relevant app store onto the desktop, the user is able to log in to access a subset of Horizon functionality. The mobile soft client app allows a user to make and receive calls on a mobile device, as well as accessing key settings for their service. It provides all the same functionality as the desktop soft client, with the exception of Click to Call.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Horizon provides a secure web portal - a simple, easy to use management system that allows the following tasks to be undertaken: • Site Management–control site numbers & Schedules, Music on Hold, & Call Barring • User Management–create/edit users & assign devices, telephone numbers, set call barring & optional services• Group Management–manage IVR, ACDs & Hunt Groups• Call Recording Management–call recording & manage storage• Security–manage username & passwords including softclients. Statistical information across the estate for inbound & outbound calls can also be accessed. Individual users also have access to a portal to manage their settings.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Standard web-browser/app access with standard accessibility options associated with those web-browsers/apps.
• Accessibility testing: None
• API: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: There is an extensive list of customisable features and functions on Horizon (available on request). The service offers a range of clever features and an emphasis on control and administration through the web. For administrators, you can quickly configure the system according to your organisation’s changing requirements, whilst individual users can manage their calls easily and effectively. Users can implement a wide range of features via the web portal, either at a company, site, or User level giving full and easy control of an entire telephony environment, even over multiple sites.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: We undertake a monthly Capacity Planning Forum whereby the utilisation of every network component is reviewed against planning rules and sales forecast to ensure that we have sufficient capacity and overhead to manage our customer's requirements. Additionally there is weekly planning review on capacity management adjustments.; Each Horizon customer's resource requirements are taken into account and sufficient network is allocated to them. We also manage our network to spread traffic during very busy periods.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: The Horizon service provides a range of on line call reporting on a per number basis. Full summary reports are provided; how many calls are getting through, where are my customers located, what are my call trends, when are my busy times. Detailed call analysis is available via the advanced statistics package.
• 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: Gamma, MS Teams, PXC, Redbox, Ribbon, Audiocodes, Zoom

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• 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
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• 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 CHECK service provider
• 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: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Our Web Portal allows users access to their associated number ranges. Typically users will extract their applicable data in Excel or CVS format.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • Pdf
  • Excel
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats: Excel

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: Horizon service availability is calculated as:; Total number of minutes in the measurement period – Unplanned Downtime x 100 / Total number of minutes in the measurement period; Note: If a Service is partially available then the Unplanned Downtime shall be calculated in equal proportion i.e. if a service is 50% available then the unplanned downtime will be calculated as 50% x elapsed period of the incident.; Availability Measurement Period: 1 Calendar month; Target Service availability for Horizon is:; Horizon Graphical User Interface (GUI) is 99.9%; Horizon user subscriptions is 99.5%; Horizon Auto Attendant, Call Recording, and Unified Messaging subscriptions - 99%; Mean Average PESQ Score target of 4.1 for G711 and 3.7 for G729.; Not included:; - Outages which are deemed by us to be the result of matters outside of direct control; - Planned or emergency maintenance; - User error; Notes:Core functions are Gamma Switching infrastructure, transmission equipment and; core network, the service that supports call routing and termination.; Non-Core functions include Gamma Support Systems, access to any relevant portals and feature based services such as Call Plans, Call diverts, Auto Attendant, Call Recording, and Unified Messaging; PESQ score target for G711 is 4.1 and G729 is 3.7
• Approach to resilience: We hold ISO 22301:2012 Business Continuity Management accreditation. As this information is sensitive, further specific information is available on request.
• Outage reporting: A public network status dashboard; Email alerts; Portal alerts; Text messages to opted in mobile numbers; Service desk verbal communication

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Relevant only to SIP Trunk call manager services. Customer administrators can set permissions for other users to give them access to certain areas of the portal. They are able to restrict access to certain areas of the management and support interfaces.
• 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: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: British Assessment Bureau
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 15/09/2021
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: N/A
• 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:
  • NICC ND 1643
  • Cyber essentials

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards:
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
• Other security governance standards: Cyber Essentials
• Information security policies and processes: Charterhouse have achieved the cyber essentials security accreditation.; Cyber Essentials Certification requires that you configure and use a firewall to protect all your devices, particularly those that connect to public or other untrusted Wi-Fi networks.; Cyber Essentials requires that only necessary software, accounts and apps are used.; Cyber Essentials requires that you control access to your data through user accounts, that administration privileges are only given to those that need them, and that what an administrator can do with those accounts is controlled.; Cyber Essentials requires that you implement at least one of the following approaches to defend against malware;; - Anti-malware measures; - Whitelisting; - Sandboxing; - Cyber Essentials Certification requires that you keep your devices, software and apps up to date.; IT manager, IT Administrators, Engineering and operations report directly into the Group IT Director - Alex Derbyshire.; To retain Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation an annual on site audit including network penetration testing is carried out.

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: Change Control Process covers changes made to operational systems, to mitigate the risks and impacts that any change has and ensures good communication at all stages.; Change Management ensures changes to core infrastructure and services are performed and implemented correctly.; Best practice guidance, aligned to ITIL (OGC), recommends that the starting point for any change should be a review of generic questions or the ‘seven Rs’.; A risk and impact assessment is carried out for each change this involves detailing the assets under change.; The Change Advisory Board (CAB) has a representative from each impacted business area.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: We use failure mode effects analysis process, conducting regular, systematic assessments of vulnerabilities to determine the necessity of safeguards, countermeasures and controls, monitoring for changes to maintain an acceptable level of risk. Includes identifying key information assets and subjecting them to specific risk assessments, assessing exposure to a list of common threats and vulnerabilities, maintaining risk registers, implementing technical, policy, business continuity and management initiatives;; Each patch is assessed and deployed accordingly:; High - Urgently.; Medium - ASAP.; Low - as time permits.; Charterhouse utilise many Vendor sources and industry RSS feeds, CERT, Ubuntu and Debian. Member of CiSP.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Charterhouse utilise GPG 13 guidance. Charterhouse have built a Security Information & Event Management Solution (SIEM) to identify potential compromises. If a compromise is found it is investigated. A Security Incident is raised to track the investigation, root cause and solutions if required to rectify or improve the situation. We respond to incidents as close to real time as practicable.
• 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: Charterhouse have an Incident Management process which has numerous pre-defined sub groups of staff designated for particular products or scenarios. It can be initiated by any member of staff and is managed by the 24/7 Network Operations Centre (NOC). Any incident is reported by the customer to the Service Desk, it is recorded in a customer relationship management tool (CRM) and an Incident report is produced after root cause analysis has taken place. Any Incident reports are made available to end users via pdf.

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)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: Yes
• Connected networks:
  • Joint Academic Network (JANET)
  • Health and Social Care Network (HSCN)

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

  Fighting climate change

  At Charterhouse group are working hard to fight climate change, from Zero or offset carbon suppliers, to making sure we can use the circular economy and deploy tools and services that are carbon or energy reducing compared to the current platforms and services. Some examples are SIP from a carbon neutral company, to recycling old handsets and PBX equipment, and looking to displace handsets for power savings by using softphones on laptops and PC's that are already consuming power over physical handsets that draw power in addition to devices already being powered. ; We are empowering the business to look at this area closely and develop new policies and objectives as part of the business planning cycles. The Environment Policy of The Company is to ensure so far as it is reasonably practicable that its operations will be carried out with a commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment. As an office we know that we generate wastepaper products. However, as we strive for excellence in every aspect of our business, we are committed to minimising the environmental impacts of the business operation.; Our stated aims are to:; • Aim to continuously improve our environmental performance particularly with regards to our recycling and re-use of paper.; • Where possible we will use recycled or ecologically friendly paper.; • We will use 'waste' paper for notepads unless confidentiality may be compromised.; • Reduce our consumption of resources and improve the efficiency of those resources by printing double sided where practicable.; • Manage waste generated from my business operations according to the principles of reduction, re-use and recycling.; • Recycle all paper products, ink or toner cartridges.; • Comply as a minimum with all relevant environmental legislation as well as other environmental requirements.

  Covid-19 recovery

  Charterhouse is a growing group of companies, made up of several organisations from across the UK, we are continuing to employ staff from various backgrounds. ; We have created new employment opportunities, will re-train staff that find themselves in a position that their role is no longer available and support employment of those who left employment by COVID-19. Locally sourced staff is no longer the norm, we are embracing the work from anywhere culture, our staff current and new will have the option to work from home or an office and no longer need to be employed from the local area however, where new staff would like to work from a local office, they will be given that opportunity. ; Charterhouse will look to support businesses in the recovery from Covid by supporting them in new ways of working by implementing new technologies that support the new ways of working that decrees the need for travel and reduce the chance of infection rates. These new technologies and ways of working will support the recovery of our NHS and other organisations to levels pre-Covid. Our ability to bring together many technology stacks allows business to employ the right people as Charterhouse does and drive success through innovative ways of working. ; Implementing new health initiatives within Charterhouse will support mental and physical health for staff, maintaining the hybrid working environment will stop the spread of the COVID 19 within our workforce allowing economic growth.; At Charterhouse, we feel strongly about being able to give back to our community. Each year we nominate an organisation doing great work with those in need and support them – both financially through our regular fundraising, and practically with our business technology expertise where they need help and support.

  Tackling economic inequality

  Charterhouse is growing, in the last 3 years we have purchased existing business to ensure group growth, these companies have brought growth to both their business and ours. These businesses are hiring within the group to ensure that we can continue organic growth to secure the future of staff and the wider group. Our ability to support SME’s is backed by our experience as an SME and one of a family run business. ; Growth for our group comes from within and externally where your ability and attitude is more important than diversity or background. Employing the best person is key to growth, but more importantly equality. Our HR team look at the person and ability to carry out a role rather than disability or background. ; Our goal is to continue growth from organic, ethical and people centric sales. We allow people to be themselves, to thrive, to learn and grow in their role or for future roles. Our staff where needed will be accredited via vendors and suppliers as well as industry standard qualifications needed, backed by time and support from Charterhouse to achieve these skills and accreditations. ; Charterhouse are introducing more robust policies to promote a supply chain that is more sustainable and based on value than size. Smaller distributers and suppliers can deliver more value to the group, we can support smaller business by offering more opportunities to work with us and on behalf of our customers where we need 3rd party support or distribution. ; We work closely with suppliers to ensure that we can deliver on contracts sustainable, ethically and securely, working to many ISO standards though to Cyber essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, our accreditations provide a framework for growth, improvement and security.

  Equal opportunity

  We have a robust recruitment policy that drives equality from the top down. ; Assessment criteria; Our aim at Charterhouse Group, will be to always recruit the person who is most suited to each role, whether the candidate is internal or external. We recruit solely on the basis of the candidate’s skills, capabilities and individual merit as measured against the criteria for the role. Qualifications, experience, and skills may also be assessed at the level that is relevant to the job.; Job descriptions and employee specifications; Before initiating the recruitment process, the responsible Hiring Manager must ensure that there is an up-to-date job description for the role with clear employee specification.; Advertisement of vacancies; It is our policy that all vacancies be advertised on the company intranet. ; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; We are committed to applying our equality, diversity and inclusion policy at all stages of the recruitment and selection process. We always carry out shortlisting, interviewing and selection without regard to an applicant's sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status, skin colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, age, pregnancy or maternity leave.; We will never exclude any candidate with a disability unless it is clear that the candidate is unable to perform a duty that is intrinsic to the role, having taken into account reasonable adjustments. ; To prevent any candidate from being disadvantaged because of a disability, the individual responsible for communicating with applicants should ask each candidate whether or not they require reasonable adjustments to be made. ; Interviews; Hiring Managers conducting recruitment interviews will ensure that any questions asked during the interview is not in any way discriminatory or unnecessarily intrusive. The interview will focus on the role and the skills needed to perform it effectively.

  Wellbeing

  Charterhouse take wellbeing seriously, not only do we ensure staff can work to a health work/life balance, but also can work from home when needed.; The further deployment of Yu Life gives staff a set of tools and challenges to maintain both body and mental health. Teams, individuals and friends all compete in daily and weekly challenges to keep body fit, and allows for mental hearth checks and challenges. ; Annual company meetings and mental health first aiders all encourage staff to maintain mental health, but in a time of need they know they have help available. ; In addition to the above, Charterhouse offer all staff added benefits, for example Private Health care, free flu jabs and eye tests, a day off on your birthday each year, all to help boost mind and body health.

Pricing

• Price: £5.00 to £10.00 a user a month
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: We can provide free Horizon rental for a maximum period of 3 months. Customer pays for any calls they make. The trial service must be self-installed.
• Link to free trial: NA

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

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