AIMES Management Services Limited

Backup as a Service

AIMES BaaS utilises Veeam technologies and comes as an optional extra when procuring AIMES IaaS or bespoke cloud service. At a fundamental level, backups of Virtual Machines (VM) are taken and restored within the same data centre as standard, however offsite options are available upon request.

Features

• Managed VM Level Backups
• Recovery of entire VMs
• Recovery individual files and application items
• Enterprise class, secure, highly available, resilient and redundant infrastructure.
• Accredited to International standards including ISO 27001
• HSCN connected and NHS DSP Toolkit compliant
• Cyber Essentials Plus & ISO27001

Benefits

• Removal of traditional capital expenditure requirements for IT deployments.
• Easy in - Easy Out Terms and Conditions
• Standardisation of IT Infrastrucure
• Dedicated Account Managers
• Provides Reliability, Privacy and Governance
• High Availability
• Competitive Pricing

£0.11 to £0.25 a gigabyte a month

• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  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 john.loftus@aimes.net. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

590177760771314

Contact

John Loftus
+44 (0) 1519059728
john.loftus@aimes.net

Service scope

• Service constraints: Our platforms are based on Veeam technology, and so can only accommodate Veeam supported OS types.
• System requirements: Microsoft Licencing will be via AIMES SPLA

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: Priority 1 Issue — 1 elapsed hour; Priority 2 Issue — 2 elapsed hours; Priority 3 Issue — 8 elapsed hours; ; ; Outside Business hours: Priority 1 Issue — 2 elapsed hours; Priority 2 Issue — 4 elapsed hours; Priority 3 Issue — 12 elapsed hours
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 24 hours, 7 days a week
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Client Specific, AIMES offers a number of support packages based on client specific requirements. These range from our PAYG IT Support package up to our Platinum Support package. PAYG IT Support offers entry-level support with break / fix only on all named servers, or systems required that are outlined in the support contract. Our Platinum Support package offers fully managed service of the entire infrastructure stack. This includes management, administration and support of all hardware and systems tailored to include as many named servers, or systems required that are in the support contract.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: On-Boarding:; Migration of existing Infrastructure to the AIMES cloud environment can range from simple manual migration to a full assessment, plan and project implementation. Clients are able to sign up for an account and order a service through our online client portal. Once an account has been created, Virtual Servers can be provisioned and access granted to customers via a secure log in facility.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • ODF
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: AIMES cloud platform allows easy migration between environments and AIMES commits to providing the same level of support and management to assist the client in the off-boarding process at contract end.
• End-of-contract process: There is a decommissioning / migration charge, which is determined at contract start, depending on client requirements.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Using the web interface: Users must be pre-registered before they can access our 2FA protected web portal.; ; Users can restart and shutdown virtual servers.; Users can provision new services (subject to contract)
• Web interface accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
• Web interface accessibility testing: The web portal is developed by Microsoft, so has been tested by them.
• API: No
• Command line interface: No

Scaling

• Scaling available: Yes
• Scaling type: Manual
• Independence of resources: Capacity planning and monitoring; Significant headroom; Resources are not thin provisioned and are ringfenced
• Usage notifications: Yes
• Usage reporting:
  • Email
  • Other

Analytics

• Infrastructure or application metrics: Yes
• Metrics types:
  • CPU
  • Disk
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• 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
• User control over data storage and processing locations: Yes
• 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 SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Backup and recovery

• Backup and recovery: Yes
• What’s backed up:
  • Virtual machines
  • Databases
  • Individual Files/Directories
• Backup controls: Backup schedule can be tailored to clients specific requirments
• Datacentre setup:
  • Multiple datacentres
  • Single datacentre with multiple copies
  • Single datacentre
• Scheduling backups: Users schedule backups through a web interface
• Backup recovery:
  • Users can recover backups themselves, for example through a web interface
  • Users contact the support team

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Bonded fibre optic connections
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Guaranteed availability 99.96%
• Approach to resilience: Tier 3 equivalent Data Centre -Concurrently maintainable: 99.99 % Availability; ; • Enables planned activity without disrupting computer hardware operation. AIMES facilities are designed and specified to ensure that planned activity can be undertaken without any disruption to computer hardware. ; • Resilient power infrastructure. AIMES design specification for the DC facilities provides for 2N resiliency on the power infrastructure and N+1 on all other components and multiple Low Voltage path options with a dual A & B feeds which are available for all racks.; ; • We also have resilient internet connectivity, setup in an auto-failover configuration and involving diverse routes and providers:
• Outage reporting: Twitter,; Email Alerts

Identity and authentication

• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Limited access network (for example PSN)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Administrative and management networks are physically separate from other staff networks, within our secure NOC. Technical Staff access is strictly controlled as part of our ISO27001 audited ISMS.; ; Client management access is via 2FA client VPN.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Limited access network (for example PSN)
  • Dedicated link (for example VPN)
  • Username or password
• Devices users manage the service through:
  • Dedicated device on a segregated network (providers own provision)
  • Dedicated device on a government network (for example PSN)
  • Dedicated device over multiple services or networks
  • Any device but through a bastion host (a bastion host is a server that provides access to a private network from an external network such as the internet)

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: At least 12 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: DNV.GL
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 2017
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: AIMES ISO/IEC 27001 certification covers the provision of secure application hosting including hosting business applications, high performance Computer processing and Data Storage and Manipulation.
• 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 Essential Plus
  • NHS DSP Compliant

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: NHS DSP Toolkit Compliant; EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres; Commercial N3/HSCN Provider.; Cyber Essentials plus Compliant
• Information security policies and processes: Our Data Centre information security management system (ISMS) was audited by BUREAU VERITAS and granted ISO 27001 certification in December 2007 and has passed further annual audits each year between 2008 & 2019.; ; For us maintaining our ISO 27001 certification is just as much about running our data centre securely as it is about providing our clients with evidence of our compliance. ; ; The security regime and security standards that we adhere to can be summarised into four main headings:; • Information Security; • Data Centre Security; • Rack Security; • Staff Security; ; ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS); ; We have implemented and had audited 135 individual security controls at Our data centres to ensure security and to protect our client’s information assets. These controls are grouped under the following categories:; ; Security Policy: ; Organisation of Information Security ; Asset Management.; Human Resources Security.; Physical and environmental security.; Communications and operations management.; Access control.; Information systems acquisition, development and maintenance.; Information security incident management.; Business Continuity Management.; Compliance.

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 managed as part of our ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS). Our ISMS was audited by BUREAU VERITAS and granted ISO 27001 certification in December 2007 , and has passed further annual audits each year between 2008 & 2020. Specific details of AIMES change control process will be made available during the contract negotiation stage.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: Vulnerability Management approach managed as part of our ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS). Our ISMS was audited by BUREAU VERITAS and granted ISO 27001 certification in December 2007 , and has passed further annual audits each year between 2008 & 2020.; ; Specific details of AIMES Vulnerability Management approach will be made available during the contract negotiation stage.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Protective Monitoring processes managed as part of our ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS). Our ISMS was audited by BUREAU VERITAS and granted ISO 27001 certification in December 2007 , and has passed further annual audits each year between 2008 & 2020.; ; Specific details of AIMES Protective Monitoring process will be made available during the contract negotiation stage.
• 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: AIMES Incident Management processes are managed as part of our ISO 27001 Information Security Management System (ISMS). Our ISMS was audited by BUREAU VERITAS and granted ISO 27001 certification in December 2007 , and has passed further annual audits each year between 2008 & 2020.; ; Specific details of AIMES Incident Management processes will be made available during the contract negotiation stage.

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)

Separation between users

• Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart: Yes
• Who implements virtualisation: Supplier
• Virtualisation technologies used: VMware
• How shared infrastructure is kept separate: Customer private networks and support services access to be controlled with a separate EAL4 compliant firewall.; ; Webservers to be dual networked into dedicated Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), access to and from such VLANs is controlled by separate firewalls and access rules.; ; Back end services segregated by multiple VLANs, segregating servers into separate VLANS protected by firewall access control lists.; ; Data storage will be on a shared Storage Area Network (SAN) this SAN will have a dedicated area for the service, presented via the iSCSI protocol to the hypervisors. iSCSI CHAP security will be used to prevent unauthorised access to

Energy efficiency

• Energy-efficient datacentres: Yes
• Description of energy efficient datacentres: The European Code of Conduct has been created in response to increasing energy consumption in data centres and the need to reduce the related environmental, economic and energy supply security impacts. AIMES is an ethical and environmental conscious organisation that has adopted the best practices of the code and become an official participant. The EUCOC ensures that AIMES operational procedures regarding the management of a data centre are appropriate and the energy saving initiatives the company adopts meet the objectives of the European Union.

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  AIMES is committed to promoting sustainability. Concern for the environment and promoting a broader sustainability agenda are integral to AIMES professional activities and the management of the organisation. We aim to follow and to promote good sustainability practice, to reduce the environmental impacts of all our activities and to help our clients and partners to do the same. European Code of Conduct (EUCOC) AIMES is a participant in the European Code of Conduct for Data Centres (EUCoC) which aims to reduce energy consumption & carbon emissions in a cost-effective manner without hampering the mission critical function of systems or data centres. EUCoC has been created in response to increasing energy consumption in data centres and the need to reduce the related environmental, economic and energy supply security impacts. AIMES is an ethical and environmental conscious organisation that has adopted the best practices of the code and become an official participant. The EUCOC ensures that AIMES operational procedures regarding the management of a data centre are appropriate and the energy saving initiatives the company adopts meet the objectives of the European Union Energy Efficiency AIMES Data centre has been constructed to next generation energy efficiency standards with a Power Utilisation Efficiency (PUE) of less than
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  To help us drive wellbeing and engagement throughout AIMES, we have dedicated Wellness Champions at each of our key sites – these are voluntary roles and act as a central point of contact for advice and guidance around the mental health and wellbeing of our people. They also help to drive the promotion and organisation of various corporate social responsibility initiatives across AIMES further driving engagement. A dedicated Teams channel is used to communicate, share, and promote these activities. Each Champion has completed Mental Health First Aider training so that they are equipped with the necessary skills to fulfil this role. These courses run through MHFA England have also been attended by other members of the wider team. The engagement of our people is paramount at AIMES, and we track this closely, currently sitting at 89% this places us in the upper quartile of all benchmarked organisations. In addition to our 2 main annual surveys, we also track the wellbeing and resilience of our people as well as our eNPS score monthly to ensure we keep a close temperature check on how they are feeling. Our current eNPS score is 52% which places us in the top 25% of organisations in our industry

Pricing

• Price: £0.11 to £0.25 a gigabyte a month
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Trial periods can be arranged as part of PoC analysis. These periods are usually incorporated into a longer contract.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  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 john.loftus@aimes.net. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.