Astun Technology Ltd

Astun Clarity for Metadata Management and Data Discoverability

Astun Clarity is a cloud based metadata service that provides both internal metadata maintenance and discovery services with a workflow for quality approval and subsequent publication of a subset of records to data.gov.uk or another standards compliant portal.

Features

• Gemini 2.3 and INSPIRE compliant service
• Automatic validation of metadata against schema
• Support for custom schemas
• QA and Approval for Publication workflows
• Serve metadata via an OGC CSW to the data.gov.uk portal
• Organisational and departmental hierarchy
• Separate internal and public metadata
• Internal and Public discovery services
• No need to implement any additional technology locally
• Enterprise Grade Support

Benefits

• Custom cloud based metadata service
• Uses GeoNetwork like most of the world's spatial data infrastructures
• Full support for UK GEMINI metadata standards
• Metadata Publishing provides full UK Location Programme compatibility
• Ensures that data is managed and discoverable across your organisation
• Provides real business value and business efficiency
• Multiple catalogs for both internal-facing and external-facing metadata
• Serve metadata to data.gov.uk and other standards compliant portals
• Automated Metadata Creation and Update, saving time and resources

£27,850 to £55,700 a unit a year

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

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

583846223200732

Contact

Astun Technology Sales Team
01372 744009
sales@astuntechnology.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model: Community cloud
• Service constraints: Most planned maintenance will be undertaken without interrupting service availability however in the event that this is not possible downtime will be scheduled and agreed with the customer in advance.
• System requirements:
  • Internet access
  • Connectivity via VPN or IP Restriction for secure internal users
  • Appropriate sub-domain and site certificates

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Astun provide the support service during normal working hours, which are between 0900 and 1700 GMT, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.; ; The response times for calls logged by the customer are set out in the accompanying Astun Platform Terms & Conditions document.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: None or don’t know
• 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: Astun provide the following Astun Clarity support as standard:; 1. Advice on maintaining Astun Clarity.; 2. Advice on the implementation of the Gemini 2 metadata schema.; 3. Instructions on how to remedy common faults.; 5. Resolution of issues related directly to a serious flaw in Astun Clarity; 6. The Customer may obtain Astun Clarity support by logging a request on Astun’s Support Portal.; ; First line support is provided via a permanently staffed Service Desk with second and third line support by consultancy and development teams for fault diagnosis and resolution. Customer access to web based Service Desk provides real time ticket management and correspondence on all customer tickets.; ; The support conditions, support processes, the service level agreement and escalation procedures are detailed in the accompanying document - Astun Platform Terms and Conditions.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: On receipt of a purchase order Astun Technology will provide access to a customer specific Astun Clarity hosted environment.; ; Astun provide onsite training for administrators and user documentation.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: In the event that the customer terminates the service they can download their metadata records from Astun Clarity in a standard XML file format.
• End-of-contract process: On receipt of a written request to terminate the Astun Clarity service and subject to there being no unpaid charges outstanding, Astun will delete the hosted environment including all servers, datasets, user details and customer specific configuration ; ; Any further "Off-boarding" assistance is chargeable in accordance with Astun's SFIA rate card.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: All public facing elements of the service have been implemented using responsive design to optimise the user experience on mobile devices.
• Service interface: No
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: Astun Clarity is based on GeoNetwork which provides a full API to interact with; ; Catalog Service for the Web (CSW); OpenSearch; Open Archive Initiative (OAI); Z39-50; RDF DCAT end point
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• API sandbox or test environment: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: The interface can be customised to incorporate customer graphics/logos

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Customers have their own dedicated virtual private cloud.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Astun Clarity includes reporting functionality on content and search statistics. This includes the ability to filter records on a number of different parameters such as ownership, INSPIRE theme or status.; ; A range of statistics on searches carried out using the Astun Clarity User Interface are available. These include searches by:; User Access; Record ownership; Metadata Updates; Metadata File Uploads; The reports can be filtered by time period and can be viewed online or provided in csv format.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Conforms to BS7858:2019
• Government security clearance: Up to Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• 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: Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Metadata can be exported as MEF (Metadata Exchange Format) Version 2.0 or CSV
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • MEF (Metadata Exchange Format) Version 2.0
  • CSV
• Data import formats: Other
• Other data import formats: MEF (Metadata Exchange Format) Version 2.0

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: Astun Clarity is hosted on a high availability cloud infrastructure with a failover backup to at least three independent data centres for maximum resilience. Internal availability testing indicates availability in excess of 99.6% Response times for map rendering are typically less than 1 second at the server. The services are continually monitored with automated messages sent to several staff in the event of a deterioration or failure.
• Approach to resilience: Astun Clarity is hosted within the Amazon Web Services environment (AWS). The entire cloud environment is backed up to at least three independent data centres to provide additional resilience in the unlikely event that the primary availability zone becomes unavailable.
• Outage reporting: Astun set up a series of alarms to monitor the customer's cloud service. These alarms are triggered if any pre-set limits to system resources are reached (e.g. disk space). This enables Astun to address the majority of issues before any potential outage.; ; We also use our GeoHealth check system to monitor servers and ensure they are up and working.; ; The customer is informed of any potential problems by email or phone.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Access to management interfaces are restricted to login from an IP restricted network or over a dedicated VPN between customer network estate and the virtual private cloud environment dedicated to the customer. Access by Astun is also over VPN.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication: Dedicated link (for example VPN)

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: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users contact the support team to get audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: User-defined

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: No
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: No
• Security governance approach: Astun has a formal Information Security Policy that provides a framework for the management of information security within our business processes.
• Information security policies and processes: In addition to our Information Security Policy (see above) we are also Cyber Essentials Plus accredited. Astun Clarity is hosted on Amazon Web Services (which is ISO 27001 accredited). Operational customer data is stored or processed within MEF (Metadata Exchange Format) Version 2.0.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Changes to all Astun components are managed and tracked through their lifetime via a centralised bug-tracking, issue-tracking and project-management software application (JIRA) and associated private code repository (BitBucket) managed under source control. The software is built through a repeatable build process and after passing formally defined test cases is tagged to a specific version number at the point of release. Only released software is deployed to the customer virtual private cloud environments. Potential security impacts are assessed via a process of peer review.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: Information on potential threats is continuously assessed through review of key online resources (release notes, security articles etc) for all third party components (operating systems, databases, frameworks etc). Penetration testing of the full system (including Astun components) is undertaken by independent third parties on all significant software releases. Whilst patch releases are routinely issued on a monthly basis, key security vulnerabilities are patched and released as soon as Astun become aware of them, irrespective of the stage in the release cycle.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: All cloud servers are set up with alarms that monitor key system resources on the server itself allowing the detection of compromises such as denial of service attacks. In addition external monitoring services are set up to make routine periodic requests to the servers (typically every 15 mins), to check that they remain responsive, and send out alerts if any servers are unavailable. Incidents are responded to as soon as we become aware of them. Logging is enabled on the servers to provide an audit trail of potential compromises for subsequent investigation.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Security related incidents are categorised as a Priority 1 within our Service Desk system, and allocated to third line support personnel (developer) for immediate investigation and resolution. Users are able to report such incidents via the Service Desk (phone, email and web form), which is routinely monitored throughout the working day by first line support staff. Contemporaneous notes are taken during the incident and recorded against the service desk ticket, which provides a detailed report of the incident itself. Key performance indicators are also published from the Service Desk System and routinely reviewed by management on a weekly basis.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

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

  Fighting climate change

  To address climate change challenges, and meet their Net Zero commitments, senior managers need up-to-date information to support their decision making. Their support staff need to collect, analyse, and visualise spatial data in order to provide this to them. Using our solutions, organisations can undertake the required climate change research, planning, and management at all levels. Organizations can harness the power of location intelligence, by including this data within GIS maps, helping them to identify vulnerable areas susceptible to climate change impacts, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, or heatwaves. Targeted strategies can then be developed to mitigate risks, adapt infrastructure, and protect communities. A typical example being flood relief schemes. We would be happy to discuss how we address social value within our own organisation using EcoVardis and how we might address this specifically for your project.

  Covid-19 recovery

  To effectively plan recovery from Covid-19, senior managers need up-to-date information about their communities. The impact of COVID-19 varies greatly by location, so our solutions can help organisations to harness the power of location intelligence to monitor future outbreaks and plan recovery at all levels, from national to local neighbourhoods. By including demographic data and health service facility locations, within GIS maps, organisations can see how these impact the response to the virus within local communities. This data is critical to stabilise services and inform recovery plans. Our syndicated data services include access to NHS Choices data providing much of the key data required as standard. A typical example is Walsall Council, who provided relevant information to their customers during the pandemic using our solutions. We would be happy to discuss how we address social value within our own organisation using EcoVardis and how we might address this specifically for your project.

  Tackling economic inequality

  To effectively tackle economic inequality, senior managers need to understand the spatial patterns and trends of various indicators of inequality, such as income, education, health, crime, and environmental quality. Economic inequality varies greatly by location, so our solution can help organisations to harness the power of location intelligence to tackle economic inequality, at all levels, from national to local neighbourhoods. By combining household income survey data with demographic data within GIS maps, organisations can identify the areas and populations that are most vulnerable, marginalized, or disadvantaged, and inform the allocation of resources and interventions accordingly. We would be happy to discuss how we address social value within our own organisation using EcoVardis and how we might address this specifically for your project.

  Equal opportunity

  To address Equal Opportunity, senior managers need to understand the spatial patterns and trends of various indicators of inequality, such as income, education, health, crime, and environmental quality. Economic inequality varies greatly by location, so our solutions can help organisations to harness the power of location intelligence to tackle economic inequality, at all levels, from national to local neighbourhoods. Organizations can harness the power of location intelligence to understand racial equity in communities and make more equitable decisions. At all levels, from national to local neighbourhoods, organisations can use our solutions to better engage communities and understand the impact of historic and present-day decisions and policies on those communities. Our solutions can provide insight into patterns of inequality, to clearly identify issues of racial equity and social justice, and can provide a common understanding across communities to affect positive change in support of equitable communities. We would be happy to discuss how we address social value within our own organisation using EcoVardis and how we might address this specifically for your project.

  Wellbeing

  To address wellbeing, senior managers need to access appropriate information to support their decision making. Their support staff need to collect, analyse, and visualise spatial data in order to provide this to them. Using our solutions, organisations can address all issues of health equity, including those related to mental health service provision. Organizations can harness the power of location intelligence to visualise social factors, within GIS maps, such as poverty and education levels, which are integral in understanding health disparities and allows them to identify patterns, gaps in provision and develop potential solutions and make informed commissioning decisions at all levels, from national to local neighbourhoods. We would be happy to discuss how we address social value within our own organisation using EcoVardis and how we might address this specifically for your project.

Pricing

• Price: £27,850 to £55,700 a unit a year
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: No

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