Avolution (UK) Ltd

ABACUS - Enterprise Architecture

A leading tool for modeling and roadmapping, ABACUS supports collaborative enterprise architecture and connects your IT and business strategy. Cloud-based data and dashboards streamline global collaboration and remote working.

Features

• Powerful and collaborative Enterprise Architecture modelling and visualisation
• Enterprise Portfolio Management and Business Process Modelling / Management
• Supports all leading industry notations, metamodels, incl TOGAF, ArchiMate, BPMN
• Unites disparate domains into an integrated, single point of truth
• Enables analysis of complex enterprises across people, processes and technology
• Open, configurable, importing from Excel, SharePoint, Visio & 3rd-party apps
• Presents repository information tailored to different stakeholder needs
• Creates enterprise roadmaps, for predicting outcomes of planned strategies
• Builds foundation for business transformation with accurate, real-time IT landscape
• Positioned as a ‘Leader’ by analysts Gartner and Forrester

Benefits

• Provide transparency of your process, information and technology landscape
• Gain shared, collaborative understanding of enterprise IT and business operations
• Align IT and business transformation to organization objectives
• Understand cost, availability, complexity, compliance of IT and business processes
• Translate business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change
• Increase strategic collaboration across different stakeholders and departments
• Clearly articulate the organizational impacts of planned change
• Predict the benefits, costs and trade-offs of alternative strategies
• Accelerate time-to-value with preconfigured solutions and proven best-practice
• Agile repository keeps pace with changing landscape and evolving requirements

£265 to £1,320 a user a year

• Education pricing available
• Free trial 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 peter.d.collins@avolutionsoftware.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

641204079928437

Contact

Peter Collins
020 3176 0000
peter.d.collins@avolutionsoftware.com

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: No
• Cloud deployment model:
  • Public cloud
  • Hybrid cloud
• Service constraints: ABACUS Cloud application hosting is undertaken at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data-center. ABACUS Cloud repository hosting will be undertaken at an AWS data-center or at the customer's on-premise data-center.
• System requirements:
  • Browser compatible - any modern browser
  • ABACUS Cloud log-in credentials

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: The response time goal for Avolution's Helpdesk during working hours (Mon-Fri 09.00 - 17.30) is 2 hours.; ; Support & Maintenance is included in ABACUS Cloud pricing and provides:; - Unlimited (minor/dot-point i.e. 6.1, 6.x etc. plus major/full-point i.e. 7.x etc 8.x etc) upgrades of ABACUS; - 24 hours per day by 7 days per week (i.e. 24/7) email support; - Access to the ABACUS portal / knowledge base. Avolution takes full advantage of its geographically separated structure with Helpdesks in Australia, North America and the United Kingdom to successfully realize a 24x7 / follow-the-sun support strategy.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), 7 days a week
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Technical Support is provided within the Cloud subscription fee. ; ; The ABACUS Start Bundle is supplied with a 20 hour Starter Training Program.; ; The ABACUS Cloud Essentials bundle is supplied with a 40 hour Rapid Start Program.; ; ABACUS Cloud Premium with a 120 hour Customer Success Program.; ; Additional on-site consulting services are available, as packages of days (5; 10; 25 days), from £850/day.; ; Consulting and Professional Services personnel are allocated to specific client accounts.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: Avolution offers three onboarding programs to suit the differing business goals and requirements of our customers: the Starter Training Program, the Rapid Start Program, and the Customer Success Program. ; ; All onboarding programs follow the same high-level approach, and are designed to be:; - Flexible in their delivery style; - Tailored to the needs of the client; - Value-driven in terms of the output produced; ; ABACUS is supported by an online support and help portal, which comprises the following key areas: ; ; Solution - Knowledge base; comprising how-to articles, self-guided tours, tutorials, and supporting collateral and templates. Articles are a combination of text-based instructions and gif-based demonstrations, and accessed via an easy to navigate menu, or keywords and phrase searching. ; ; Forums – which is the Avolution online community which comprises Customer and Avolution suggestions, Guides, Tips&Tricks from the Avolution team, Product updates and frequently asked questions. The forum allows customers to start new or contribute to existing topics. ; ; In addition to the above, the following self-study and training materials are available: ; ; In-app Help and PDF Guides. ABACUS has context-sensitive help, detailing all aspects of the application, accompanied by PDF product and reference guides. ; ; Training is supported by slideware, videos, LMS, and handouts.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: ABACUS Cloud has an established handover process in which customers can export, at any time, their entire repository in XLS / XML format upon termination of the service.
• End-of-contract process: Avolution will provide customers with their entire repository in XLS or XML format on request and without charge on termination of the service for a period of 30 days.

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: While not specifically designed for mobile devices, ABACUS Cloud and Enterprise can be accessed through any smart device with a compatible browser.
• Service interface: No
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: ABACUS Cloud has an optional Read / Write REST API, for which full documentation is provided.; ; The ABACUS REST API can be exposed through an ABACUS Enterprise instance, allowing data from ABACUS to be exposed as a web service.; ; REST APIs conform to the REST (Representational State Transfer) architectural style which runs over HTTP/S. REST is stateless, therefore no states or sessions are maintained on the web server; instead all the information necessary to understand requests must be provided in the request from the client.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: ABACUS has been cited by industry analysts Gartner and Forrester as being much more flexible than other EA tools, and is underpinned by the ability to create and model any type of entity, in a true ontological sense. ; ; This means there are no limitations to the customisation of notations and meta-models, so any component and connection type (object) can be defined, to which any attributes can be associated, and any view templates or diagram styles can be constructed with these elements.; ; All of which can be undertaken by users (with the appropriate access rights) themselves. ABACUS also provides .Net and REST API's for integrating with external systems, and utilizes a powerful scripting environment to facilitate extensive customization options.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Customers have the option for ABACUS Cloud servers (Application and Repository) to be hosted via their own instance in a dedicated hosting environment, thereby ensuring the highest levels of performance are guaranteed.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Comprehensive metrics in relation to server availability and performance are available as standard upon request.
• Reporting types: 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)
  • Other locations
• 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: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
• Protecting data at rest: Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
• Equipment disposal approach: In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Data can easily be exported from ABACUS either manually or automatically.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • XLS
  • XML
  • SQL
  • ArchiMate
  • Google Sheets
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • XLS
  • XML
  • Visio
  • ArchiMate
  • Google Sheets

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: Avolution will use commercially reasonable efforts to make the Cloud Services available with a Quarterly Uptime Percentage of at least ninety-nine-point five percent (99.5%) (“Service Commitment”). In the event the Cloud Services do not meet the Service Commitment, Customers may be eligible to receive a Service Credit as described below.; ; This SLA applies to the Cloud Services purchased by Customer in a particular Order, and does not apply to any other Avolution Products and Services.; ; Service Credits will be calculated as a pro-rata percentage of the total Fees paid by Customer for the Cloud Services Term for the billing cycle in which the Unavailability occurred, in accordance with the schedule below. For purposes of this SLA, total Fees paid by Customer shall mean only the annual Cloud Services Subscription Fees and will not include any Pass-Through Expenses, other special one-time payments, Taxes or any Professional Services fees paid; and Service Credits will be a percentage of one-fourth of the applicable Customer annual Fees paid.; ; Quarterly Uptime Percentage Cloud Services Credit Percentage; ; Less than 99.5% but equal to or greater than 99.0%. Penalty = 1.5% of one-fourth of annual Fees.; ; Less than 99.0%. Penalty = 5.0% of one-fourth of annual Fees
• Approach to resilience: The Avolution Business Continuity plan details the process that Avolution follows in the case of an outage, from detection to deactivation. The ABACUS Cloud solution maintains a ubiquitous security control environment across all regions. Each data centre is built to physical, environmental, and security standards in an active-active configuration, employing an n+1 redundancy model, ensuring system availability in the event of component failure. Components (N) have at least one independent backup component. All data centres are online and serving traffic. In case of failure, there is sufficient capacity to enable traffic to be load-balanced to the remaining sites. Avolution also maintains a robust contingency plan to ensure the solution adheres to our customers high standards. Furthermore the ABACUS Cloud solution is fully tested by our third party penetration test provider.
• Outage reporting: Avolution continuously monitors its AWS infrastructure and is alerted to anomalous behaviour. If the anomalous behaviour affects customer's services, CSMs will reach out to customers with further instruction.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Management interfaces are supported through the use of an Administrator license which has a separate set of credentials. Granular permissions can be set within the tool to manage access privileges in order to restrict access for specific users and roles.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password

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: SGS
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 01 December 2023
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Data on customer owned or managed equipment
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: No
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: Yes
• Any other security certifications:
  • AWS datacentres certified in ISO27001 and CSTAR
  • AWS datacentres certified in ISO9001, ISO27017, ISO27018
  • AWS certified in DoD SRG, FedRAMP, FIPS, IRAP, MLPS, MTCS
  • AWS certified in MTCS, PCI DSS, SEC Rule 17a4f
  • AWS datacentres certified in SOC1, SOC2 and SOC3

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: Yes
• Security governance standards: ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Avolution is ISO 27001 certified.; ; Avolution has a top-down and bottom-up approach to information security. We believe security is everybody's responsibility and we routinely train and test our staff on security issues across the organisation.; This includes LMS training, security drills and more.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Changes to ABACUS services and features follow intensive testing; both internally and externally with members of our Beta program. Additionally, regular updates, performance monitoring, vulnerabilities and recovery procedures are periodically reviewed. Production environment changes are reviewed, tested and approved through multiple stages in line with industry best practice to ensure each release adheres to our standards.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: CHECK and CREST certified 3rd party vendors conduct external assessments (BSI). Identified vulnerabilities are monitored, evaluated and then mitigated through regular patch updates during maintenance windows. All recommendations are fed directly into our development team to ensure the overall solution adheres to the latest industry standards for security. Patches are released on a rolling basis in line with industry best practices, and are applied to the ABACUS Cloud solution outside of office hours to reduce the impact of planned maintenance on ABACUS Cloud users.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Protective monitoring is deployed by monitoring the service with regards to intrusions, unauthorized connection attempts, CPU usage, network reliability and application activities. Relevant user logs are used to identify any security alerts and for user defined management reports. Incidents are rated against an established prioritization matrix which determines the required Response & Resolution timeline.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: ABACUS Cloud is covered by Avolution's Standard Support Agreement. Incidents can be raised to the Global Support Team and are managed from start to finish by the Ticket Owner and/or Account Manager . Each support issue is handled accordingly depending on the priority/criticality of the issue - an escalation process is also applied for issues that may require 2nd line or 3rd line support. Customers are routinely updated in line with our response matrix regarding resolution timelines.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Conforms to a recognised standard, but self-assessed

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

  Avolution is dedicated to combating climate change and have made changes to our ways of working in order to do our part. We have become a paperless organization over the last few years, and have also moved to a fully-remote delivery model to reduce overseas travel. We also offer our staff remote working options globally to reduce the impact on the environment when commuting to work.

  Covid-19 recovery

  In order to aid with Covid-19 recovery, Avolution offered extended payment windows to our clients and enabled them to be more flexible at a time where the world was struggling. Moving forwards, we have moved to more remote working to ensure staff from across the country have access to employment, as well as enabling us to be more flexible and responsive to clients in the event of any further changes in the situation.

  Tackling economic inequality

  Avolution actively supports tackling economic inequality. We do this through a few methods: We ensure that staff salaries globally are purely merit-based and not based upon any point of difference, for example, age, race, gender etc. We also work as a business to lower the barrier to entry for organizations in industries and countries with less economic buying power through internal initiatives. For example, we offer reduced rates for those in the education sector.

  Equal opportunity

  Avolution is committed to a supportive work environment, where Employees have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. Avolution Employees are expected to do their utmost to create a workplace culture that is free of harassment, intimidation, bias and unlawful discrimination.; We work better together because of our differences, not despite them. We are dedicated to providing an inclusive work environment that promotes diversity and fosters respect for all of our colleagues and Customers. This covers all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination and access to benefits and training.; Employment here is based solely upon individual merit and qualifications directly related to professional competence. We strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, ancestry, race, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations, and ordinances.; The recruiting privacy policy mentions briefly equal opportunities, highlighted below https://www.avolutionsoftware.com/recruiting-privacy-policy/; Avolution does not request or require sensitive Personal Data concerning religion, health, sexual orientation, or political affiliation in connection with recruiting. If you have a disability and would like Avolution to consider any accommodation, you may provide that information during the recruiting process. As well, in some countries we ask for information such as race or ethnicity for the purpose of monitoring equal opportunity; however, we do not require applicants to provide race or ethnicity information, and if you provide this information it will not be viewable in the hiring or selection process.

  Wellbeing

  Employee wellbeing is at the heart of all we do. Avolution have weekly breakout sessions where staff are able to sit, chat, have a coffee and chat about the week as it happened. This occurs at the end of each week and is used as a weekly wind-down activity. At this time, work talk is vetoed and is designed to emphasize the relationships aspect of our organization to increase employee happiness and wellbeing. We also have monthly activities which all staff are encouraged to join to further increase wellbeing. We have a contract in place with Vitality Health which enables us to offer support to employees who may need it. This includes both mental and physical wellbeing tips and support. This is available to all Avolution staff and is designed to support the team on a more personal level in the instances Avolution cannot. This has led to our team taking on health challenges and taking "meditation moments", designed to improve their wellbeing.

Pricing

• Price: £265 to £1,320 a user a year
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Avolution offer a free trial environment where you can enjoy the full functionality of ABACUS, with its fully integrated data-driven modeling and roadmapping, for a minimum of 30 days.
• Link to free trial: https://www.avolutionsoftware.com/try-abacus/

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 peter.d.collins@avolutionsoftware.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.