Skip to main content

Help us improve the Digital Marketplace - send your feedback

Aurion Learning

ByteKast

Mobile first eLearning platform and app, with built in authoring tool. ByteKast delivers personalised, engaging learning pathways that are easy to create, quick to deploy, and designed to scale learning for any internal or external audience.

Features

  • Branded native iOS and Android app, plus desktop version.
  • Curation of content from internal and external sources.
  • Built-in authoring tool.
  • Device agnostic.
  • Detailed analytics and real-time reporting on learner activity.
  • Creates learning pathways.
  • Integrates web activity, pdfs, video, podcasts into pathways.
  • Holds a library of stories, videos and streams.
  • Rewards, completion certificates, quizzes and surveys.
  • SCORM and Tin Can (xAPI) compatible.

Benefits

  • Delivers learning directly into the hands of learners.
  • Publishes instantly for immediate results and agility.
  • Integrates learning resources for variety of learning and engagement.
  • Delivers an engaging user interface for ease of learning.
  • Integrates Teams/Zoom and physical classrooms for blended learning.
  • Picks up on learner progress from mobile or desktop.
  • Delivers exceptional learning experience compared to traditional learning management systems.
  • Saves time, effort and cost of building traditional learning modules.
  • Provides the scaffolding for using your own curated resources.
  • Offers additional self-instructed learning with a library of resources.

Pricing

£11,200 a licence a year

  • Free trial available

Service documents

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 rebecca.mcclarty@aurionlearning.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

6 3 8 6 4 0 8 6 9 7 0 5 7 3 3

Contact

Aurion Learning Rebecca McClarty
Telephone: 028 9064 3211
Email: rebecca.mcclarty@aurionlearning.com

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
No
Cloud deployment model
Public cloud
Service constraints
None, with the exception of service requirements below.
System requirements
  • Operating Systems (Mobile & Tablet): Apple and Android
  • Evergreen browsers
  • Minimum Device OS: Android Nougat 7.0+, Apple iOS 11
  • Minimum Device Memory: 512MB Ram Minimum Device Storage
  • 200MB Access to Connection
  • Device(s) must connect to download stories and sync data/results.
  • Browser Requirement (for Desktop/Web)

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Yes, at extra cost
Support response times
Response tracking using the online Aurion Support tool, where clients can raise and track tickets. All bugs fixed free of charge. Change controls prepared for any work over 0.5 day in duration. We offer email and telephone support (9:30am – 5pm, Monday to Friday). Response times depend on the assigned severity level and will be agreed and documented in a signed Service Level Agreement. Typical response time is 1-4 working days. depending on priority of the request.
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
No
Support levels
Aurion enters into a tailored Service Level Agreement (SLA) for every LMS/LXP deployment. The SLA will be agreed, documented and signed off by the client team. The SLA documents the scope of the support services to be provided, severity levels and associated response times, along with any exclusions and our exit management plan. We offer three tiers of support package:
Standard: Up to 25 hours’ support per annum.
Enhanced: Up to 50 hours’ support per annum. Up to 10 hours of unused support can be carried into the next year if an additional year of support is purchased.
Custom: Number of hours agreed with client. Up to 20% of unused support can be carried into the next year if an additional year of support is purchased.
The scope of our support service covers reactive front-line support for key client personnel and end users (end user support included in custom tier only), account management (including regular review meetings - included in enhanced and custom tiers) and system maintenance.
Associated costs are included in our pricing document.
Support available to third parties
No

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Aurion follows a defined process for ByteKast implementations. We begin with a kick-off meeting to introduce project teams, agree roles and responsibilities and agree project scope, deliverables and timeline. We then move swiftly to requirements gathering and specification, where we capture and document the client team's requirements for their ByteKast configuration and pathway setup (Curate and Create tiers), and support clients through the app store setup and submission process. As standard, we deliver two days' administrator training (Quick Start Orientation and Administration Fundamentals), with supplementary training available at an extra cost. Aurion also provides clients with onboarding materials including an online tour and videos, plus user documentation.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
Data can be exported from the system in CSV format. Individual users can request their own data.
End-of-contract process
Hibernation (at a fee).
Deletion of entire data, pathways and app.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
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
None
Service interface
Yes
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 A
Description of service interface
ByteKast offers an innovative intuitive interface that is accessible via Apple or Android app, browsers or Progressive web app. Learners will access content via an Apple-style dashboard that directs learners to pathways, stories, awards, analytics and more. The interface is branded and themed in line with the client's brand guidelines.
Accessibility standards
WCAG 2.1 A
Accessibility testing
ByteKast offers a Dark mode service which aids colour viewing.
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
This is an administration API for managing learner groups and learner enrolment on pathways.
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
HTML
API sandbox or test environment
Yes
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
Buyers can be fully in control of the colours, logo and themes.
Buyers will be trained if required, to produce their own pathways, stories and streams.
Anyone with admin rights as indicated by the buyer will have autonomy to customise .

Scaling

Independence of resources
Hosting for ByteKast is provided on secure cloud servers provided by Ionos, an ISO27001 compliant hosting provider based in Gloucester UK and operating London Based data centres.
Hosting services include both a local backup of databases and files, and an off-site backup with Microsoft Azure. Backups are transmitted to Microsoft Azure using AES256 encryption.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Aurion provides service metrics in the form of reports as part of our Enhanced and Custom support packages. Enhanced Support: • One six-month online support review call between the Aurion Client Account Manager and client representatives to review and feedback on the overall management of the project. • Quarterly progress report / support ticket report to highlight trends and identify opportunities for improvement or new features. Custom Support: • As above plus one Steering Group meeting between the Aurion Client Account Manager and client representatives to review and feedback on service provision and the overall management of the project.
Reporting types
Regular reports

Resellers

Supplier type
Reseller providing extra support
Organisation whose services are being resold
ByteKast Pty Ltd

Staff security

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

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
Managed by a third party
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
In-house
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
In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Users can export their data via CSV file.
Data export formats
CSV
Data import formats
CSV

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
TLS (version 1.2 or above)
Data protection within supplier network
Other
Other protection within supplier network
Web Application Firewall, Content Security Policies

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
The servers are hosted at IONOS UK and Web Apps with Google Firebase. The platform inherits this availability when it relates to network and latency.
With platform specific operations
Approach to resilience
Ability to rollback versions, Rollout process includes QA Testing locally and staging environments.
Outage reporting
ByteKast's global connection status is available via the ByteKast website. In the unlikely event they should occur, blackouts are communicated via email. The schedule of planned maintenance of the System shall be published on the Aurion Learning password protected Project Management website, Basecamp.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Admin users require 2FA to be enabled, Engineers are IP whitelisted for server access.
Access restriction testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Management access authentication
Other
Description of management access authentication
IP Address, TFA, Roles, Groups

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
Between 1 month and 6 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users contact the support team to get audit information
How long supplier audit data is stored for
Between 1 month and 6 months
How long system logs are stored for
Between 6 months and 12 months

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
Yes
Any other security certifications
OWASP

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
No
Security governance approach
ByteKast follows ISPM 27001 but is not certified. In addition, Aurion holds a Cyber Essentials certificate and is working towards ISO27001 accreditation. Aurion maintains a Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan. These plans are reviewed annually and itemised on the agenda of the Annual Quality Management Review Meeting. Additional interim reviews are undertaken at Monthly Management meetings, which follow on from External ISO Quality audits at 9 months and a twice-yearly internal ISO Quality Audit. All updates and improvements to these plans must be approved by the Aurion Board of Directors prior to adaption and implementation.
Information security policies and processes
ByteKast follows ISPM 27001. In addition, Aurion implements an Information Security Policy (available on request), which aims to protect the company’s information assets from all threats, whether internal or external, deliberate or accidental, to ensure business continuity, and to minimise business damage. Policy helps us to: • Reduce the risk of IT related problems • Plan for problems and deal with them as they arise • Provide continuity of work if a problem occurs • Keep safe valuable company information • Fulfil professional obligations to clients • Comply with legal statutory requirements of GDPR and other legislative requirements. Policy outlines the responsibilities of our Data Compliance Manager, IT Manager and wider Aurion team in relation to information security, including measures relating to hardware and software security, data transfer, email, remote working, etc. New starts are required to read and accept the Information Security Policy, with regular refresher training provided to staff.

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Supplier-defined controls
Configuration and change management approach
The platform consist of several major components: App, Middleware, API, Backend.
Each component goes through a process staging release and testing before production when new features are developed. If changes are security related grey-boxing attacks are carried out. Additionally security controls standards are applied where applicable.
All release are version controlled with rollback capability.
Vulnerability management type
Supplier-defined controls
Vulnerability management approach
We identify threats by using several standards and resources. Where new reported threats are applicable we run manual penetration testing to test that the platform has appropriate controls.
New threats are patched urgent based timeframes specified in our Patch Management Policy.
Our resources to new threats: OWASP, ISO 27001, SANS @risk, NVD (National Vulnerability Database) & HackerOne.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
We have monitoring controls in place (WAF, Error Logs, Server Logs) which is reviewed periodically along with known threats reported.
When a potential threat is identified it is assigned a Risk Level (Low - Urgent). Based on severity patches are applied based timeframes specified in our Patch Management Policy.
Incidents are responded to same day if urgent or 1 - 2 days.
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
When incidents are reported, the report is filed on ByteKast's private GitHub repository. The report is initially reviewed same day to confirm the incident. If applicable, forensic process is started where logs are correlated to trace to the route to the incident.
App users and customers report incidents through support channels. Reports are provided to reporters if the impact is isolated. For platform-wide impact all customers are provided a report via comms. Aurion maintains our own incident management procedures (available on request). Clients can report incidents by telephone/email or using the Aurion Support tool.

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

Fighting climate change

Aurion is committed to implementing strategies that promote protection of the environment, avoid waste and support sustainable business activities. Our commitment to the local community and environment has been recognised through awards including a commendation from Business in the Community Northern Ireland for Most Responsible Small Business.
Aurion maintains an Environmental Policy, which is reviewed and updated annually by our Board. The policy is aligned with our Business Plan, which focuses on 5 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including Infrastructure and Climate Action. Our annual Action Plan documents and tracks progress against each of the 5 Goals per annum. All new staff are required to review our Environmental Policy in their induction, and annual carbon literacy and environmental awareness refresher training is provided to all staff.
Aurion has signed up to the Climate Action Pledge in association with Business in the Community Northern Ireland. This helps us to benchmark our sustainability initiatives and provides verifiable measures for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, resource consumption and waste.
We have a number of internal initiatives in the area of sustainability that are incorporated into our business policies as part of our ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. These include a cycle to work scheme for all staff with tax incentives, and regular CSR activities targeted at supporting the local environment and community, including volunteering with local charity, Storehouse Belfast.
Additional initiatives to improve the sustainability of our business include turning off lights/equipment when not in use, installing smart monitoring in our heating system, using energy-efficient hardware, etc. We design our solutions to minimise excess data usage/storage, thereby reducing energy consumption, e.g. compression of images/video, commissioning hosting plans that scale up/down to minimise over-capacity, etc. We reduce paper usage by adopting digital tools/documents as standard. We recycle obsolete hardware/furniture with local charities.

Pricing

Price
£11,200 a licence a year
Discount for educational organisations
No
Free trial available
Yes
Description of free trial
A full working demo of a pathway of learning tailored to organisations resources. Time period one month.

Service documents

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 rebecca.mcclarty@aurionlearning.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.