Answer Digital Ltd

Cloud Enablement

Answer Digital’s Cloud Enablement service offers clients an end-to-end solution for migration to cloud, cloud hosting and cloud support from initial conception through to go-live and beyond. Cloud data management and metadata cataloguing services allow for fully supported management of clinical data in AWS, Azure and private cloud.

Features

• Answer Discovery Phase, to fully understand cloud requirements
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tooling for environment predictability & consistency
• Support during all phases, from discovery to implementation and BAU
• Understanding/Appreciation of hybrid - 100% cloud isn't always the answer
• Cloud infrastructure, DevOps processes & serverless development capability
• Migration including AWS, Azure and GCP
• Cloud software management, updates and support service
• Metadata catalogue hosting services and data governance
• Varying engagement opportunity, from 1-day sanity check to comprehensive delivery
• Methodologies include: Agile, DevSecOps, CI/CD, Rainbow-Team, Knowledge Transfer, Shift-Left

Benefits

• Minimise on-premise hardware & maintenance costs
• Knowledge-transfer of Cloud Enablement methodologies & skills to the client
• Sustainable Cloud Enablement transformation enabled through client self-sufficiency
• Consistent environments delivered on-demand with Infrastructure as Code
• Compliance with Government Cloud Strategy & Technology Code of Practice
• Continuous improvement of cloud-enabled strategy and ways of working
• Improved user adoption rates and service delivery
• Safer, more interactive legacy systems hosted on modern infrastructure
• Scale at ease, within an existing region or internationally
• Reduces risk and cost of cloud migrations

£350.00 to £1,250.00 a unit a day

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

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

586711427258795

Contact

Rebecca Forsyth
0113 201 0600
bids@answerdigital.com

Planning

• Planning service: Yes
• How the planning service works: As part of the initial planning process with the customer, Answer works closely with the customer’s Procurement and ICT teams to identify the optimal hosting environment that will be used for the application. This will include careful consideration of the type (Private, Public or hybrid Cloud), required security of the environment (Personal Data, Sensitive data, Government security markings), the network access required (SWAN, JANET, Internet), the DR/BC requirements, and any necessary compliance with standards (e.g., Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001).; ; In addition to the final target hosting environment (the production environment) which can be provided by Answer, by the Client or by another of the Client’s suppliers, the Development Hosting services also need to be specified.; ; Typically, Answer will provide the following environments to support the development and deployment of applications.; • Continuous Developer Build Environment; • Developer Testing Environment; • User Acceptance Environment; • Staging Environment; • Production environment hosting; ; Answer has well established cloud hosting agreements in place with established partners that enable secure private cloud hosting and support services for solutions we develop for our customers, including N3-accredited, NHS IG Toolkit compliant (Level 3), ISO 27001 Information Security Management System-accredited datacentres with 24/7 monitoring and back up facilities.
• Planning service works with specific services: No

Training

• Training service provided: Yes
• How the training service works: Knowledge Transfer is a key component in the majority of Answer’s Client Engagements. This can be delivered through one-to-one skills development or classroom-based training. In addition, Answer is able to offer its unique and award winning ‘MindSwap’ Programme. This is targeted at rapid re-skilling of technical teams or removing business risk due to dependencies upon key individuals. This programme has been used extensively by clients in both public and commercial sectors and is particularly beneficial where knowledge transfer is required to produce measurable and process driven outcomes.
• Training is tied to specific services: No

Setup and migration

• Setup or migration service available: Yes
• How the setup or migration service works: Answer are at the forefront of supporting large organisations plan implementation of cloud hosting or software services, including migrating mission-critical systems from legacy on-site physical infrastructure to cloud services. The process involves:; ; • Migration Planning; Understanding the legacy applications, access rights, changes required to DNS and Internet address registrations.; • Migration Design; Planning the number of rationalised servers required to replace the existing architecture.; • Trial Migration / Dry Runs; Taking a snapshot from the live system and publishing to the new environment.; • Validation / UAT; Involving parallel tests on a subset of migrated data that demonstrate source and target datasets have been successfully migrated.
• Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services: No

Quality assurance and performance testing

• Quality assurance and performance testing service: Yes
• How the quality assurance and performance testing works: Answer has the key principle of never compromising on quality. We achieve this by ensuring that testing is integrated and continuous and the team ensures that quality is considered at every stage of the product life cycle.; ; Testing is a fundamental part of Answer’s design and development process, through the creation of a Test Strategy for the project which aims to define:; ; • The types of testing that are required and its objectives i.e. how can we ensure that the system meeting the non-functional requirements e.g. performance and load.; • How and when testing will be planned, executed and by who?; • The test environments and testing tools that will be required?; ; Once agreed one of the fundamental principles is that quality should never be compromised and cannot be considered a project variable.; ; The Test Strategy will therefore differ from client to client but the standard Answer Test Strategy will comprise the following types of testing;; ; Developer Testing, Code Reviews and Static Code Analysis; Security Testing; System Testing; User Acceptance Testing; System Performance and Load Testing; User Experience Testing (UX); Beta Release processes; Continual assessment of user interactions and system performance

Security testing

• Security services: No

Ongoing support

• Ongoing support service: Yes
• Types of service supported: Hosting or software provided by your organisation
• How the support service works: Answer provides ongoing support and maintenance to its customers. To facilitate this process Answer ensures the following are in place, implemented by Answer ITIL accredited practitioners.; ; • A prioritised help desk process is in place which included defined 1st, 2nd and 3rd level support. Experienced Answer Delivery Managers manage and allow for support effort alongside the delivery sprints.; ; • Problem Management and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is undertaken for any critical issues to ensure that we understand why an issue has occurred and putting in place a plan to ensure it cannot happen again.; ; Support is available on the basis of core business hours coverage (8:30am to 5:30pm Mon-Fri, excluding weekends and public bank holidays). Out of hours support will be provided by prior arrangement only. Answer will respond in accordance with agreed SLAs, relative to incident classification.

Service scope

• Service constraints: The Answer Digital Helpdesk is available between 08:30 and 17:30 Monday to Friday, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays and only available remotely.

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: A prioritised help desk process is in place which includes defined 1st, 2nd and 3rd level support. Experienced Answer Technical Account Managers manage/allow for support effort. ; ; Critical: 1 hour - Acknowledgement; 8 hours - Response ; Major: 4 hours - Acknowledgement; 24 hours - Response ; Minor: 12 hours - Acknowledgement; 48 hours - Response Enquiry/Query: 48 hours - Acknowledgement; 1 week - Response. ; ; Responses are only provided during the working week.
• 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
• Support levels: A prioritised help desk process is in place which includes defined 1st, 2nd and 3rd level support. Experienced Answer Technical Account Managers manage and allow for support effort.; ; Critical; 1 hour - Acknowledgement; 8 hours - Response; ; Major; 4 hour - Acknowledgement; 24 hours - Response; ; Minor; 12 hours - Acknowledgement; 48 hours - Response; ; Enquiry/Query; 48 hours - Acknowledgement; 1 week - Response

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: Alcumus ISOQAR
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 8/11/2021
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Elements of the service provision that require conformance with the client's ISO 27001 Information Security Management System.
• 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: NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit: Standards Exceeded

Social Value

• Social Value:

  Social Value

  Fighting climate change

  Fighting climate change

  Answer Digital is environmentally-conscious; protecting the environment is everyone’s responsibility. We have robust policies and a publicly available Carbon Reduction Plan, regularly implementing initiatives such as seeking to reduce energy waste, e.g., using energy efficient equipment and a ‘turn off when not in use’ policy. In 2021, for example, Answer replaced all internal lighting with low-energy LED lights.; ; As part of delivering Cloud Enablement services, we will promote effective Stewardships of the Environment through engagement at all levels throughout any contract:; ; Staff; - All staff are invited to quarterly social value workshops to define and deliver our shared mission.; - Cycle to work scheme and electric car scheme both available and encouraged, reducing environmental impact of staff travel.; - Ring-fenced time for staff on the contract to spend on social value initiatives.; ; Suppliers & Customers; - Offer to assess environmental impact in connection with the contract with our expert partner Carbon Neutral Britain.; - All activities under the contract including any travel will be fully carbon offset using UN certified carbon credits - contracts will be 100% carbon neutral.; ; Community; - Champion local volunteering initiatives: along with our clients under previous contracts, we worked with the National Trust on Saddleworth Moor to plant moss and drive carbon capture.; - Encourage community uptake in our 2024 tree planting carbon reduction initiative with quantified carbon capture data provided to evidence environmental impact.; - Delivering local Lunch and Learn sessions, advocating for change.; ; We hold ourselves accountable, providing transparent reporting based on agreed datasets to evidence both our commitment and progress and tracking progress through our monthly Social Value Steering Group, overseen at Board level.

Pricing

• Price: £350.00 to £1,250.00 a unit a day
• Discount for educational organisations: 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 bids@answerdigital.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.