ABACO SpA

ABACO GeoPhoto (Geotagging)

Mobile application providing one of the most advanced certified geotagged photo systems, tracking and supporting multiple types of checks and requests to collect and manage certified images, evidencing activity, capturing objects in the field. Highly configurable, localised “look and feel”, business process integration, comprehensive back-office management of communications and tasks.

Features

• Integrated to Agriculture, Administration, Grant Management and Monitoring System
• APIs and Web Services for Open Standard interoperability
• Easy ‘point-and-click’ solution for inspectors, surveyors, farmers,
• Working on and off-line, highly configurable on iOS and Android;
• Guiding user to shoot right picture, right angle and position.
• Suitable for any process needing to collect tamper-proofed photographic evidence
• Back-office task manager, sends notifications and alerts
• Visualize land data in Augmented Reality with your device’s camera
• Measure heights, lengths, areas in 3D, Display/Query attributes of features
• Chat with users involved in specific survey processes

Benefits

• Reduce physical checks needed to support GIS monitoring
• Ground based location-specific monitoring of natural resources over time
• Cost-effective method to collect data supporting asset management, land evaluations
• Reduces Field Inspection activity - save on ex-post inspections
• Collect evidence of agricultural activities to support rapid payments
• Immediate evidence and support for emergency response and emergency report
• Reduces cost of surveys, land owner/Tennent submitted verifiable evidence
• Simplifies communication with users about data to be collected
• Increases quality of checks, cost-effective to increase frequency of checks
• Report quickly on maintenance work issues

£14 a user a month

• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODT

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  ODT

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

• Modern Slavery statement

  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 bid@abacogroup.eu. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

658636279249466

Contact

Jane Dalton
00390376222181
bid@abacogroup.eu

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
• What software services is the service an extension to: ABACO Farmer, ABACO Agri , can be integrated to non-ABACO software/services through open APIs.
• Cloud deployment model:
  • Public cloud
  • Private cloud
  • Community cloud
  • Hybrid cloud
• Service constraints: Containerised so infrastructure independent. Constrained in regards to retired operational systems. Works with IOS and Android.
• System requirements:
  • Optional Back Office system used through any major web browser
  • IOS or Android

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: From Monday to Friday, 8.30 to 5.30 (UK time): 4 hours. Outside working hours (including weekends): 4 hours (additional cost).
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: Yes
• Online ticketing support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• 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: ABACO provide technical support & maintenance through a dedicated Help Desk. The Help Desk is coordinated by a technical account manager and staffed with experience personnel, including a team of cloud support engineers who ensure that diagnosis, resolution of configuration and database issues is performed in accordance with a standard Service Level Agreement. Customer’s priorities are divided in 4 categories (critical, high, medium, low). ABACO will log all incidents within 4 hours and diagnose issues according to agreed priority levels (critical: < 4 working hours; high: 4-8 working hours; medium: < 24 working hours; low: < 20 working days). These support levels are described in the Terms and Conditions document. The standard S&M service cost is already included in the SaaS fee. The standard Service Level Agreement (SLA) can also be adjusted, based on customer’s specific requirements. For critical and high priority incidents ABACO log them within 1 hour and resolve them within 3 working days (8 hours per tier level) For Medium ABACO log within 4 hours and resolve within 9 working days (24 hours per tier level) For Low priority ABACO log them within 4 hours and resolve them within 60 working days (20 days per tier level)
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: On-Boarding for the Mobile app is a simple process defining any specific design customisation and configuration through ‘managers’ interfaces for system configuration. The customer is normally responsible for project management, defining configuration and customisation of mobile screens and verification, but ABACO can undertake these activities on-demand. ABACO also assist and guide the customer through the On-Boarding process. The Standard On-Boarding process includes preparation and system settings. At the end of the Standard On-Boarding process, the customer will be able to use the system. Additional On-boarding services are also available on demand. These include discovery workshop, feasibility studies, training, and system customisations. ABACO has a dedicated training center called ‘ABACO Academy’ which offers a pre-packaged series of training on our products. These courses are designed for different categories of attendees: Business Analysts, System Configurators, End Users and IT Technicians. We can also plan for instructor-led remote training or, finally, by blending the above techniques. ABACO has a web portal dedicated to manuals and documentation. It is possible to download didactic units, self-assessment tests, manuals and other useful material. On-boarding activities are described in greater detail in the Service Definition document.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • ODF
  • PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: ABACO provide full download of database & data as required, making the data available to the customer using industry standard formats (e.g. .CSV, .XLS, .SHP) subject to an agreed statement of work which payable fee will depend on the volume, complexity and format of data. After termination of the service, Abaco will anyway keep data available for additional 30 days after which consumer data will be destroyed as per security accredited level. Interim data extraction services, or other data formats, are available subject to an agreed statement of work which payable fee will depend on the volume, complexity and format of data. The system provides tools for user-friendly data extraction.
• End-of-contract process: Off-boarding starts at contract end or when termination has been communicated by the customer. Off-Boarding activities are described in section 4 of Service Definition document. Any customer off-boarding responsibilities are normally agreed upfront, e.g. during the on-boarding phase. After project termination, Abaco will make data available to the customer using industry standard formats (e.g. .CSV, .XLS, .SHP) subject to an agreed statement of work, which payable fee may depend on the volume, complexity, and format of data. Data will be anyway accessible in the database at any time at no cost (database dump). After termination ABACO will keep data available for an agreed amount of days. On demand, ABACO will also draft a transition plan and support the client in any synchronisation activity to make sure that data is passed to other client’s systems. Finally, ABACO will use all reasonable endeavor to destroy data when the system is decommissioned. General exit provisions are described in our T&C in sections 15.3 and 15.4.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
  • Linux or Unix
  • MacOS
  • Windows
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: GeoPhoto is a mobile application not a desk-top service, however the back office platform can be accessed through typical browsers. Mobile is for executing the photos, receiving instruction and returning communication, working on & off line
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• Description of service interface: For the optional Back office the customer accesses the service through a Graphical User Interface (GUI). An RBAC permission model ensure that the only users with the assigned role can access parts of the functionalities. Elements of the GUI include windows, pull-down menus, buttons, scroll bars and icons designed to create an optimised user experience in the performance of each service operation task.
• Accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• Accessibility testing: Systematic process for review testing: Documentation available on request
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: ABACO Geo-photo and optional back office system supports communication through: Http and Https, Web services (RESTful or SOAP), APIs provided as an SDK (Software Development Kit), that must be explicitly requested, but as part of the service. The software provides web services interfaces to support interoperability within a SOA (Service Oriented Architecture). It offers APIs for developers of custom applications. GIS data can be served through standard OGC® services (WMS, WFS). These APIs mirrors all the functionalities provided by the software and allows the complete management of all the data used by the system. Full Catalogue and documentation of all the functionalities and capabilities available will be provided.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • Other
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: GeoPhoto can be White labelled throughout such that the entire user interface can be customised. Customisation and Configuration is defined by the customer and Abaco carry out this service. We fully support the customisation and configurations.support; Clients system administrator can customise what screens users see, defining user rights.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Our Performance QA team covers critical performance testing types including ‘load testing’ to model system usage levels, which are exceeding expected thresholds. This is done by simulating multiple users accessing the service concurrently. Infrastructure provisioning is optimised against utilisation, thus reducing performance risks and scalability issues, but improving cost-effectiveness at the same time. ABACO work with top-level hosting services provides and can cater for a scalable approach depending on specific project needs. We are able to provide dedicated resources and virtual application servers where required.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Several service usage metrics can be provided, e.g. 'active users'. Specific service usage metrics from optional Back Office can be provided through database queries. Abaco integrate analytics to detect user activity within GDPR guidelines.
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • 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: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Penetration testing approach: ‘IT Health Check’ performed by a CHECK service provider
• Protecting data at rest: Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type:
  • Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
  • 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: Abaco systems allows data export in the following formats: CSV, XLS or SHP (for spatial data). User can set export criteria, obtaining the corresponding file.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • ODF
  • Other
• Other data export formats:
  • API
  • SQL
• Data import formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data import formats:
  • API
  • SQL

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
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
  • Other
• Other protection between networks: Data is protected by antivirus, antimalware, firewall and proxy
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
  • Other
• Other protection within supplier network: Data is protected by antivirus, antimalware, firewall and proxy

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: ABACO warrants at least ninety-nine percent (99%) System Availability over any calendar month. Should ABACO fail to achieve ninety-nine percent (99%) System Availability over a calendar month, Customer shall have the right to receive a credit equal to two percent (10%) of its subscription fees for the Service for that month, for each one percent (5%) (or portion thereof) by which ABACO fails to achieve such level, up to one hundred percent (100%) of the fees for such month. This is Customer’s sole and exclusive remedy for any breach of this service level warranty; provided however, that should ABACO fail to achieve ninety-nine percent (99%) System Availability in each of two (2) consecutive calendar months, Customer shall have the right to terminate the Order Form for cause, in which case ABACO will refund to Customer any prepaid fees for the remainder of its subscription term after the date of termination. Claims under this service level warranty must be made in good faith and by submitting a support case within ten (10) business days after the end of the relevant period.
• Approach to resilience: Details available on request
• Outage reporting: Outages can be divided in three main categories: scheduled, planned, unplanned. ABACO will report outages through email alerts, which cadence depends from the outage category they belong to. Scheduled outages (routine interruptions which can be planned), e.g. routine maintenance or inspection of equipment are notified 1 month in advance. Planned outages (interruptions prearranged on relatively short notice) are notified 24 hours before the event. Unplanned outages are automatically notified as soon as an interruption occurs.

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: System access is controlled through formal procedures. Abaco employees and contractors can only access systems if an authorisation is granted. Each application access must be approved by an authorised manager. The IT Service Department is then responsible for creating new user accounts following formal authorisation. Restrictions are agreed between the IT Service Department and the authorised manager. Accounts and access privileges can be amended or removed at the request of an authorised manager, e.g. when an individual changes position or leaves. Administrator accesses are known only by authorised personnel with the Abaco management mandate.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access 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

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 6 months and 12 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 6 months and 12 months
• How long system logs are stored for: Between 1 month and 6 months

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: RINA Services Spa
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 20/06/2016
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Our IT infrastructure is fully covered by the certification without exclusions
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: Yes
• CSA STAR accreditation date: 20/02/2020
• CSA STAR certification level: Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
• What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover: Our IT infrastructure is fully covered by the certification without exclusions
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: No

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: Abaco follow international information security best practices and is certified ISO27001. The certification was achieved in 2016 after successful completion of a formal compliance audit performed by an independent and accredited certification body. ; ISO27001 provides a model for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and improving an information security management system (ISMS).; ABACO have implemented all ISO27001 controls and the system is traced and reported with procedure, instructions, risk analysis, incident reports, backup and recovery system… etc. aligned with the standard. ; Abaco endorses the principles of the Code of Practice and have dedicated personnel to make sure ISO27001 policies are enforced. ; We see the Information Security Policy a significant component to achieve full 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 logs are provided for each software update. All changes are traced and their history is maintained, thus ensuring full traceability. Development and Testing teams work on dedicated environments. Data is backed up in a designated STORAGE area (SAN repository), in a specific confidential location, protected by an authorisation mechanism based on username and password. The storage area is equipped with multiple levels of security/data redundancy and is replicated, through a software synchronisation mechanism, on two different physical servers (primary and secondary storage area). Each storage area is secured by a hardware synchronisation and equipped with a snapshot mechanism.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: The Head of IT Service Department ensure that access rights and traffic control are correctly maintained on all Abaco networks. Access rights to networked applications must be controlled by project and service managers. Access to the systems is controlled on two levels: - Through firewall and proxy rules that constantly advise the IT department about potential threats. - Through domain groups and policies in Active Directory. Network traffic is monitored and logged for audit and control purposes on all servers. Status reports are produced monthly. Information security patches are guaranteed within 4 hours.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Incidents related to information security concerning corporate IT systems are protected by a firewall that emails reports directly to the Head of IT Service Department. The Head of IT Service Department takes responsibility for severity assessment, incidents response and reporting. The security is restored in the 24 hours after the incident is reported.
• 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: ABACO have a pre-defined process for managing incidents related to information security. Corporate IT systems are protected by a firewall that emails reports directly to the Head of IT Service Department. Incidents affecting employees PCs are reported directly by the staff to the Head of IT Service Department. The Head of IT Service Department takes responsibility for severity assessment, incidents response and reporting by analysing the causes of the incident, adopting a suitable treatment in respect of the occurrence detected, recording the occurrence in the specific form The Head of IT Service Department updates constantly the incident report.

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)

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: Yes
• Connected networks: Other
• Other public sector networks: Digital ID certificate for authentication

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  Abaco’s platform supports smart and precision farming and Land Management technology, helping clients and partners to understand and positively control the environmental impact of production at source, for example on native vegetation (deforestation/desertification). Our Environmental Management and Sustainability policy complies with ISO 1400, operating within the framework designed by the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals ( 2-Zero Hunger, 6- Cleaner Water & Sanitation, 12-Responsible Consumption and Production, 13-Climate Action and 15- Life on Land); We invest in research & development and technological innovation to improve agriculture and the environment internationally. Working with industry, universities and research institutes, ensures we can offer the most appropriate technologies to support specific climate-related interests. We work on Climate and Change-related detection for the EU Common agricultural programme (CAP), Food industry and Real-Estate projects and contributed to scientific research, including on desertification. We promote the transition to Industry 4.0, to optimize production processes and in choosing Abaco as your supplier we will work with you, bringing to bear our knowledge and research partners expertise to support Climate change transition within your organisation.
• Covid-19 recovery:

  Covid-19 recovery

  Deploying the GeoPhoto application supports organisations, government agencies, Agricultural operations and businesses to complete inspections, evaluation and compliance validation activities without a physical attendance on-site, reducing transmission risk, enabling efficient and rapid reduction in backlog of site inspections and audits.; Introducing these new ways of working helps relieve the impact of staff shortages by increasing efficiency & effectiveness, as it increases the cost effectiveness of gathering of validation and progression evidence. ; By introducing GeoPhoto it will improve workplace conditions as it supports the COVID-19 recovery effort, where evidence is gathered remotely ensuring effective social distancing and facilitating remote working for inspections which is secure, utilising anti-fraud and anti-GPS-spoofing technology.; .
• Tackling economic inequality:

  Tackling economic inequality

  Supply Chain Resilience: ABACO provides innovation technologies that supports sustainable land management and food production, driving the use of precision agriculture activities with a range of integrated technologies and GIS data sources to deliver lower cost and higher quality food into the supply chain. Integration with other tools means we support resilience and capacity throughout the supply chain, linking to Abaco’s Soil and Water applications for example to evidence sampling, providing historic indicators and predictive patterns that help rationalise the integrity of the supply chain. The use of Open APIs supports emerging innovative niche tools, often from SME’s and start-ups, many of whom are farmers themselves, with whom we collaborate. Currently we are developing a supply chain partnership with UK supermarkets and key producers to deploy Soil health & water apps, co-developed with UK research establishments, as part of our sustainability program.
• Equal opportunity:

  Equal opportunity

  Equal opportunity; ; Tackle workforce inequality ABACO have a number of active policies to identify and manage the risks of modern slavery in the delivery of the contract, including in the supply chain. Full documentation is available on request.
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  Wellbeing ABACO have an active program of support for our employees health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health, including any staff that are contracted to our workforce. Improve community integration ABACO collaborate in the Discovery, Design and Deploy stages with our user communities in agriculture and the supply chain in the co-design of new applications and functionality withing the ABACO family of agricultural solutions. We also facilitate collaboration, the setting up by customers of their own user communities where they can share data, information and trends. The Digital Soil Health Scorecard app, developed with AHDB ( Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and NIAB ( National Institute of Agricultural Botany) is a classic example of co-design and developing strong, integrated communities.

Pricing

• Price: £14 a user a month
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Free download enables users to experience receiving instructions, taking photos, uploading and adding dialogue, viewing the uploaded information. It is time limited.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODT

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  ODT

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

• Modern Slavery statement

  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 bid@abacogroup.eu. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.