NEC SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS UK LIMITED

Beta Service

Our private and public beta service employs user centred design to build on existing alpha phases. We focus on inclusion and accessibility, following government design principles and standards. To ensure products and services work well for users, we test and iterate them, and prepare organisations for scaling up to live.

Features

• Scoping and road mapping, prioritise outcomes within timeframes and budgets
• Service design informed approach ensures fit with organisational contexts
• Blueprinting and iteration of a secure architecture
• Design for wider journeys across channels, including assisted digital
• Multidisciplinary, Agile process of design, prototyping and development
• Delivered to GDS and NHS standards using government design principles
• Rapid, iterative design refinement informed by usabilty testing
• Open, collaborative approach with stakeholders for alignment and decision-making
• Evaluation of performance through private and public beta
• Preparation for service assessments and transition to live service

Benefits

• Effective services that meet user needs and deliver business outcomes
• Accessible and inclusive services designed for everyone
• Aligned with wider and non-digital journeys, and organisational processes
• Reducing risk and cost through evidence-led decisions and prioritisation
• Building client capability for working with UCD and Agile
• Integrated teams working as one with staff and suppliers
• Access to multi-disciplinary professional experts in government capability frameworks
• User–generated evidence for live, ensuring informed outputs
• Product or service is ready to scale up to live
• Validate technical assumptions, integration robustness and scalability of architecture

£600 a unit

• Education pricing 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 frameworks@necsws.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

510160176409587

Contact

NEC Frameworks Team
07852 936231
frameworks@necsws.com

Planning

• Planning service: Yes
• How the planning service works: Implementing new software services or transitioning to cloud hosting not only demands state-of-the-art technology but also requires a strategic approach, tailored to user needs, and business objectives. ; ; NEC adopt an agile user-centred approach to planning and building seamless, inclusive, accessible journeys. We design and conduct all phases, from discovery and alpha through to retirement. ; ; Our team studies user and organisational contexts, processes, challenges and goals. This understanding supports policy development, informs strategic vision and creates target outcomes aligned to user and organisational needs. We assess feasibility and define roadmaps. ; ; On digital projects, we craft an architecture to suit business scale, complexity, and plans. This can include selecting a cloud hosting platform or software services. The result prioritises flexibility, scalability and cost-effectiveness. We design robust, adaptable and secure solutions. ; ; Our consultants integrate best practice and tested security measures. Adhering to NCSC recommendations, we assure cloud hosting and software services are not just efficient, but also secure against evolving cyber threats. ; This design and planning process guarantees the transition to the cloud or new software service is a strategic enhancement that supports ongoing effectiveness, efficiency, and security. With NEC’s expert guidance, organisations are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of digital transformation.
• Planning service works with specific services: No

Training

• Training service provided: Yes
• How the training service works: We are proud of the expertise that our teams bring to our work, and we are equally passionate about using our knowledge to upskill and build capability within other organisations. We do this via training, mentoring, workshops and other interactive methods, in addition to knowledge sharing and skills transfer throughout a project. ; ; Our experts train in topics across UCD, all with a ‘learning by doing’ approach. We can train teams in a wide range of skills including (but not limited to) journey maps and Service Blueprints, user research interviews; analysing qualitative data, participatory research, accessibility testing, usability testing. Please see NEC Digital’s digital marketplace entry entitled ‘UCD Training’ for information on our extensive UCD training offer. ; ; For cloud-based services, it is central to our approach to ensure customers are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of the cloud. We transfer and embed knowledge of technology and innovation. Empowering customers is vital to support good decision-making. Our team improve customer competencies and build long-term, sustainable capability for migration to modern cloud-based products and services. We tailor practice to address specific organisational constraints, recognising local and sometimes subtle differences. ; ; We also have in-house product training expertise who deliver training on our software.
• Training is tied to specific services: Yes
• Services the training service works with:
  • Azure
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Google Cloud
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
  • DevOps

Setup and migration

• Setup or migration service available: Yes
• How the setup or migration service works: We leverage an extensive portfolio of services to guide customers through the often-complex journey of cloud migration. ; ; At the heart of our approach is a commitment to Agile methodologies, ensuring that every project is delivered with speed, efficiency, and adaptability. We focus on elements of greatest value. Our user-centred design team collaborates closely with clients to understand their unique needs and tailor cloud solutions that enhance usability and satisfaction. ; ; Our experienced DevOps practice plays an important role in streamlining processes, promoting a culture of continuous integration and deployment that aligns with the dynamic nature of cloud environments. This approach both accelerates the migration process and enhances the reliability and scalability of the cloud services provided. ; ; Our technical and solution architects devise robust, scalable, and secure cloud architectures, drawing upon extensive knowledge of Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud platforms. We create custom solutions to derive maximum benefit from them. Our multi-skilled data and development team ensure seamless application and data migration, minimising downtime and preserving integrity. ; ; We follow the recommendations of the NCSC and prioritise security and compliance throughout the migration process. Our assurance practice oversees every aspect of migration ensuring that best practice and our own standards are consistently applied.
• Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services: Yes
• List of supported services:
  • Azure
  • Amazon Web Services
  • Google Cloud
  • Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

Quality assurance and performance testing

• Quality assurance and performance testing service: Yes
• How the quality assurance and performance testing works: We are committed to helping customers achieve the highest quality in their software design and development initiatives, supported by robust performance testing methodologies. Our team are experienced in providing QAT skills and apply these rigorously to validating approaches and standards. This permits us to oversee comprehensive quality assurance (QA) and performance testing strategies for our clients. ; ; Our technical approach to QA involves both automated and manual testing methods. This ensures applications are not only functional but secure, accessible, and fully compliant with appropriate standards. We use tools like SonarQube and Lint for maintaining code quality and identifying issues as well as more human methods such as peer review and pair programming. ; ; For pre-production performance testing, we utilise industry-leading software such as LoadRunner, facilitating the creation of precise, scalable, and realistic testing environments. This allows us to measure, validate, and improve application performance under various conditions to ensure conformance with KPIs. Production performance can be monitored in real time by tools like Datadog and Splunk allowing infrastructure to be adjusted to ensure optimal performance. ; ; Our assurance practices cover every phase of the project lifecycle, from planning to final deployment, to ensure each stage meets the highest quality standards.

Security testing

• Security services: Yes
• Security services type:
  • Security strategy
  • Security risk management
  • Security design
  • Cyber security consultancy
  • Security testing
  • Security incident management
  • Security audit services
  • Other
• Other security services:
  • Continuous security pipeline assessments
  • Automated security testing
  • DevSecOps
  • Security training
• Certified security testers: Yes
• Security testing certifications: CHECK

Ongoing support

• Ongoing support service: Yes
• Types of service supported:
  • Buyer hosting or software
  • Hosting or software provided by your organisation
  • Hosting or software provided by a third-party organisation
• How the support service works: Providing support for cloud hosting and software services is integral to our business. ; We offer a 24/7 UK based helpdesk and online portal for customer contact. Our infrastructure and software service support teams are available to agreed service levels, which vary from weekdays only to 365 days a year. ; ; Our support teams cover all service aspects from routine maintenance to emergency troubleshooting. This includes change management, major incident management, release management as well as performance optimization, security updates, and compliance checks. ; ; Depending on the support required, we can offer both onshore and offshore teams to suit, all with the requisite skills and experience. ; ; We offer technical support for all elements of a cloud service from environment to application, either as a sole provider, or working with third parties as part of a hybrid team. Some of the services we currently support – EKS, Kubernetes, Terraform, CloudFormation, AWS DevOps, S3, PostgreSQL and Dataverse.; ; We are also able to provide cloud services to the highest levels of security and do so for UK Police. All staff requiring access to these systems are suitably vetted.

Service scope

• Service constraints: We do not foresee any constraints. We tailor each service to our client's requirements.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Support levels to be agreed at the project outset. Typically, we respond to client queries on either the same or next working day.; For cloud services, where ticketing is required, then all logged incidents or service requests are acknowledged immediately via NEC’s ITSM Support Portal. Timescales will vary in accordance with the priority of the logged ticket, and our targeted response times during contracted support hours are as follows: Priority 1 (Critical) - 15 working minutes, Priority 2 (Medium) - 30 working minutes, Priority 3 (Low) - 60 working minutes, Priority 4 (Minor/ guidance and advice) – 1 working day.
• 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
• Support levels: At NEC, all support is included in the price quoted, with support response available from 09:00 – 17:30 each business day. We provide support in person or remotely via telephone, email, and Microsoft Teams and a dedicated manager is assigned to each project.; ; For cloud services, where ticketing is required, NEC provides a single level support service, included in the standard charge for the solution. ; ; The details of the support services are: ; ; Available 24x7 excluding planned/emergency maintenance. ; The solution achieves a minimum of 99.5% availability. ; End-users can log tickets online 24x7. ; The end-user has the option to assign the priority when logging the ticket, with four priority options: Priority 1 being critical, whilst Priority 4 is minor and for guidance and advice. ; NEC uses reasonable commercial endeavours to provide identification and resolution, obviation and/or mitigation of operational bugs/errors reported by the customer in the solution in accordance with these timescales: ; Priority 1: 4 working hours. ; Priority 2: 8 working hours. ; Priority 3: 36 working hours. ; Priority 4: 72 working hours. ; A Client Services Manager manages the ongoing relationship. Cloud/support engineers are allocated as appropriate to resolve any technical issues.

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Security Clearance (SC)

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: N/A, our ISO 27001 certification covers all our office locations.
• 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

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

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

  Fighting climate change

  NEC is committed to being Net Zero by 2030.; To support this objective, we targeted a 50% reduction in our 2020 baseline emissions by 2026. We are ahead of target, having already achieved an independently audited reduction of 64% in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent(tC02e). ; We have implemented a multitude of initiatives to support this, including:; -Appointing an Environmental Manager and Environmental Champions to promote our objectives. ; -Successfully obtaining certification for and implementing ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management System(EMS). ; -Developing a Carbon Reduction Plan, which is published on our website.; -Maintaining an Environmental Aspect and Impact Register (down to site level) through which to capture the elements of our operating practices that could negatively impact the environment.; -Working with government accredited consultants to understand our environmental impact.; -Collaborative activities to influence customers, supply chain partners and employees.; Specific initiatives applicable to our contract delivery approach include:; -Ensuring directly sourced energy is from renewable sources.; Reducing business travel where possible through utilisation of controls and technology such as:; -Video conferencing.; -Electronic sharing of documents.; -Conference call facilities.; -Working from home/flexible working arrangements.; -Approval controls for commercial flights.; -Use of environmentally friendly data centres.; Additionally, our Environmental Policy objectives 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 are aware of our environmental policy and our commitment to ensuring its effective implementation.; Increasing environmental awareness and commitment amongst employees through training and briefings.; We’ll continue to identify opportunities to improve our environmental performance through clear objectives, plans and targets.

  Covid-19 recovery

  During the COVID-19 global health crisis, NEC supported its workforce, customers and the local communities they serve, to adapt to the challenges the pandemic posed. As a provider of software and services to the public sector, this included the rapid development and deployment of software solutions to enable the efficient and effective delivery of new government schemes and changes in legislation introduced as a direct response to the pandemic. Examples include provision of software to assist with Test and Trace Support Payments and new hospitality sector licensing requirements. ; Initiatives we implemented that 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.; • 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

  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 collaborating with third-party suppliers including large enterprises, sub-contractors, SMEs, VCSEs, mutuals and social enterprise organisations. ; Additionally, we are committed to nurturing talent and creating a sustainable learning and development culture that equips our workforce with the appropriate skills, knowledge and processes so that 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. We recruited 18 apprentices in 2023.; • 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

  We want to be an employer of choice for people of all backgrounds and we are committed to ensuring workers either directly employed or employed within our supply chains are treated fairly, humanely, and equitably. We will not discriminate on grounds of gender, marital status, race, ethnic origin, colour, nationality, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or any other characteristic. ; To encourage a diverse and varied workforce our approach to equal opportunity includes:; -Inclusive and accessible recruitment practices, including supporting candidates and employees 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.; -Ensuring job adverts reach a diverse audience, including utilising job sites which encourage interest from disadvantaged and Minority Ethnic groups.; -Having diverse interview panels and anonymising applications.; -Using gender-neutral role definitions.; -Ensuring policies and employee communications promote respect and equality for all.; Other activities to support equal opportunity within the workforce include:; -Tackling the gender pay gap, through annual audits. Women now comprise 50% of our leadership team, including our Chief Executive. ; -Compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the nine core principles of the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.; -Ensuring effective supply chain controls are in place to mitigate and manage the risks of exploitation.; -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 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 to support and promote equal opportunity.

  Wellbeing

  Our approach to supporting good health and wellbeing includes providing our workforce with:; • Access to helpful health and wellbeing resources through our dedicated intranet Wellness Hub. ; • A LinkedIn Learning Platform that includes a section dedicated to health and wellbeing, including advice for managers on opening up dialogue about mental health and emotional safety. ; • Free and confidential access to specialist resources 24x7, including counselling and mental health services through our Employee Assistance Programme. ; • Private healthcare cover including a Doctor at Hand service for fast and convenient access to advice, assistance and medical treatment, anytime and anywhere.; • Maintaining compliance with the six standards of the Mental Health at Work commitment.; • 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 at over 3,300 participating gyms through our employee GymFlex scheme.; • Access to a cycle to work scheme through salary sacrifice.; Employee Communications; We incorporate national health and wellbeing campaigns within our yearly communications calendar to raise employee awareness and signpost to useful support pathways. Our 2024 calendar will include the following nationally recognised campaigns:; • Mental Health Awareness week.; • World Menopause Day.; • National Eye Health week.; • World Diabetes Day.; • Stress Awareness Month.; • Suicide Prevention Day.; • Men's Health week.; We have Mental Health First Aiders who are trained to spot the signs of mental ill health and can provide early support for colleagues who may be developing a mental health issue. ; Policies; Support for employee health and wellbeing is underpinned by a policy framework including:; • Health and Safety Policy; • Alcohol, Drugs & Solvent Abuse Policy; • Menopause Policy; • Absence Policy ; • Flexible Working Policy; • Gender Reassignment Policy.

Pricing

• Price: £600 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes

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