Nexus Open Systems Ltd

Microsoft Azure Compute Services

Microsoft Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform that enables organisations to quickly build, deploy, and manage applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. Azure Compute from Nexus offers clients on demand computing power for development and production workloads, with basic, standard and optimised virtual machine options.

Features

• Scalable infrastructure, highly available and load balanced
• Pay-as-you-go services allowing you to scale to match demand
• On-demand compute and storage to host, scale and manage apps
• Self Service Provisioning via web-portal, command line or API
• Wide range of compute machine configurations
• Machine Image Gallery – preconfigured base operating systems
• Infrastructure Management with health monitoring and alerts
• Enterprise grade Service Level Agreements (SLA) on services
• 24/7 technical support and round-the-clock service health monitoring
• Runs on a worldwide network of Microsoft-managed datacenters

Benefits

• Reduction in time to market for services and applications
• Reduction in capital expenditure
• Negate overheads for the management of infrastructure
• Improve the uptime and availability for your services
• Pay only for the services which you consume
• Accelerate the deployment of your applications to the cloud
• Help your dispersed teams collaborate on projects
• Increase the agility of IT Service Delivery
• Hybrid cloud solutions, more IT options, less complexity and cost
• Allow IT staff to focus on more strategic business requirements

£0 a virtual machine an hour

• 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

• Modern Slavery statement

  ODT

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 stuart.wilson@nexusos.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

664041744905405

Contact

Stuart Wilson
01392 205095
stuart.wilson@nexusos.co.uk

Service scope

• Service constraints: Not Applicable
• System requirements:
  • Microsoft Edge (latest version)
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Safari (latest version, Mac only)
  • Chrome (latest version
  • Firefox (latest version)

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support response times: Standard SLA is for 2 hours response for Critical issues; 4 hours response for Major issues and 8 hours response for Minor issues.
• 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: Web chat
• Web chat support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support accessibility standard: None or don’t know
• How the web chat support is accessible: Users can interact with our Technical, Sales and Training teams. Raising questions which are dealt with there and then. Alternatively we will take enquiries away and respond direct to users through email.
• Web chat accessibility testing: None yet
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Basic - Service Desk Facility; Incident & Problem Management; Dedicated Account Management; Third Party Liaison; Escalation Procedure; Remote Support; Access to Customer Portal.; Standard - Service Desk Facility; Incident & Problem Management; Dedicated Account Management; Third Party Liaison; Escalation Procedure; Remote Support; Access to Customer Portal; Service Level Agreement; Remote Monitoring & Alerting.; Advanced - Service Desk Facility; Incident & Problem Management; Dedicated Account Management; Third Party Liaison; Escalation Procedure; Remote Support; Access to Customer Portal; Service Level Agreement; Remote Monitoring & Alerting; Annual IT Strategy; Monthly Remote Health Checks; Proactive Monitoring & Alerting; On-site Support.; Support cost: Pricing is dependant on customers infrastructure and environment; A dedicated Technical Account Manager is assigned to each customer and our Service Desk team includes Cloud Support Engineers.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: We follow a defined process for on-boarding new clients to ensure that they have the assurance of our help, whilst at the same time remain in control of the cloud services which are often at the core of their business.; ; Through the on-boarding process Nexus will complete a detailed assessment of:; ; • Client’s strategic vision; • Organisational culture; • Current and future objectives; • Desire business outcomes; • Potential improvements to existing business processes; • Project and programme delivery resources; • Current governance and programmes.; ; We can provide onsite training to our clients as well as instruction at our own training centre. User documentation is provided by way of client portal guide.
• Service documentation: No
• End-of-contract data extraction: The Azure Import/Export service allows you to securely transfer large amounts of data to Azure blob storage by shipping hard disk drives to an Azure data center. You can also use this service to transfer data from Azure blob storage to hard disk drives and ship to your on-premises site.; ; When customers delete data or leave a Microsoft cloud service, Microsoft follows strict standards for overwriting storage resources before reuse, as well physical destruction of decommissioned hardware, including; contractual commitments to specific processes for the deletion of data and the destruction of storage hardware.
• End-of-contract process: There are no additional costs at the end of the contract.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Using the web interface: The Microsoft Azure portal is a central place where you can provision and manage your Azure resources.; Ability to browse services, sign up to services and subscriptions; Ability to create and browse resources; Ability to consistently manage different types of resources; Ability to customise the portal and bring important information to the front and centre; Ability to control access to resources using role based access; Ability to get help and support
• Web interface accessibility standard: WCAG 2.1 AAA
• Web interface accessibility testing: Microsoft Azure is constantly updated with accessible features, making it easier for people with limited vision, hearing, speech, mobility, and learning abilities to use the suite of applications.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: The Azure developer portal is where developers can learn about APIs, view and call operations, and subscribe to products. Prospective customers can visit the developer portal, view APIs and operations, and sign up.
• API automation tools:
  • Ansible
  • Chef
  • OpenStack
  • SaltStack
  • Terraform
  • Puppet
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats: HTML
• Command line interface: Yes
• Command line interface compatibility:
  • Linux or Unix
  • Windows
  • MacOS
• Using the command line interface: The Azure CLI 2.0 is Azure's new command line experience for managing Azure resources. It can be used on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Azure CLI 2.0 is optimized for managing and administering Azure resources from the command line, and for building automation scripts that work against the Azure Resource Manager

Scaling

• Scaling available: Yes
• Scaling type: Automatic
• Independence of resources: Azure is a multi-tenant service, meaning that multiple customers’; deployments and virtual machines are stored on the same physical hardware. Azure, provides geographically dispersed regions around the world. These platforms also provide capabilities that support availability and a variety of disaster recovery scenarios. Azure has resiliency and disaster recovery built in to many of its services.
• Usage notifications: Yes
• Usage reporting: Email

Analytics

• Infrastructure or application metrics: Yes
• Metrics types:
  • CPU
  • Disk
  • HTTP request and response status
  • Memory
  • Network
  • Number of active instances
• Reporting types:
  • API access
  • Real-time dashboards

Resellers

• Supplier type: Reseller providing extra features and support
• Organisation whose services are being resold: Microsoft

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
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • Other locations
• 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: No
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Backup and recovery

• Backup and recovery: Yes
• What’s backed up:
  • Virtual Machines
  • Files and Folders
  • Databases
  • Block Bob Storage
  • SQL Server Databases
• Backup controls: Azure Backup is the Azure-based service you can use to back up and restore your data in the Microsoft cloud. Azure Backup replaces your existing on-premises or off-site backup solution with a cloud-based solution that is reliable, secure, and cost-competitive. Azure Backup offers multiple components that you download and deploy on the appropriate computer, server, or in the cloud. The component, or agent, that you deploy depends on what you want to protect. All Azure Backup components can be used to back up data to a Backup vault in Azure.
• Datacentre setup: Multiple datacentres with disaster recovery
• Scheduling backups: Users schedule backups through a web interface
• Backup recovery: Users can recover backups themselves, for example through a web interface

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
• Data protection within supplier network:
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: This service is underpinned by a Microsoft Service Level Agreement (SLA) which describes Microsoft’s commitments for up time and connectivity.; For this service, availability of at least 99.95% is guaranteed. The following monthly up time limits attract the indicated service credits. <99.95% (10%); <99% (25%); <95% (100%).
• Approach to resilience: Available on request
• Outage reporting: A public dashboard shows the status of the service.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication: 2-factor authentication
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Nexus manage access to management interfaces and support channels through the use of Named Contacts. Those users who require access to management interfaces and support channels such as the client portal must apply for access through their organisation to the Nexus Service Desk. These user applications are then reviewed and approved or rejected with the individual recorded as a Named Contact for the particular service and appropriate credentials provided.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication: 2-factor authentication
• Devices users manage the service through:
  • 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)
  • Directly from any device which may also be used for normal business (for example web browsing or viewing external email)

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long user audit data is stored for: User-defined
• Access to supplier activity audit information: Users have access to real-time audit information
• How long supplier audit data is stored for: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: User-defined

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: NQA
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 29/04/2021
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: Our ISO 27001 certification relates to the information security management system and not to the products or services of our organisation. The certificate reference number, the mark of the Certification Body and/or the accreditation mark may not be shown on products or stated in documents regarding products or services.
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• 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:
  • CSA CCM version 3.0
  • ISO/IEC 27001
• Information security policies and processes: Nexus hold and maintain an Information Security Policy and Management System. We have an Information Security Officer (ISO) who is responsible for the development, management and enforcement of the policy across our organisation in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001:2013.

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: Nexus have a configuration management process for tracking changes in the specification of our services and products, this is managed centrally. Nexus also implement a full change management process for assessing and if appropriate executing any changes to services and products.
• Vulnerability management type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Vulnerability management approach: One key operational best practice that Microsoft uses to harden its; cloud services is known as the “assume breach” strategy. A dedicated “red team” of software security experts simulates real-world attacks at the network, platform, and application layers, testing Azure’s ability to detect, protect against, and recover from breaches. By constantly challenging the security capabilities of the service, Microsoft; can stay ahead of emerging threats.
• Protective monitoring type: Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
• Protective monitoring approach: Microsoft security researchers are constantly on the lookout for threats. They have access to an expansive set of telemetry gained from Microsoft’s global presence in the cloud and on-premises. This wide-reaching and diverse collection of datasets enables Microsoft to discover new attack patterns and trends across its on-premises consumer and enterprise products, as well as its online services. As a result, Security Center can rapidly update its detection algorithms as attackers release new and increasingly sophisticated exploits. In the event that customer data is compromised, Microsoft will notify its customers.
• 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: All Incident tickets will be recorded in the Nexus Service Desk system under the Incident Management workflow. All new Incident tickets will undergo an initial impact assessment. Nexus will further look to determine the number of users/systems affected and establish the commercial impact to the customer’s environment. We have a knowledge base to be able to check for common events. Users can report incidents by phone, email or through their client portal. Incidents are included in any appropriate service monthly ticket summary reports.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Separation between users

• Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart: No

Energy efficiency

• Energy-efficient datacentres: Yes
• Description of energy efficient datacentres: Microsoft data centres are utilised in the delivery of this service. Microsoft has already, or is planning to implement, the majority of the Code's best practices in its data centres in Europe and across the world.

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  The environmental benefits of our G-Cloud Service provision for Cloud Hosting Services utilising Microsoft Azure are substantiated by Microsoft’s own studies and commitments towards climate change.; ; A 2018 study found that using the Microsoft Azure cloud platform can be up to 93% more energy efficient and up to 98% more carbon efficient than on-premises solutions.; ; Azure has committed to focus on four key areas of environmental impact to local communities; carbon, water, waste, and ecosystems by way of; using 100% renewable energy by 2025 by partnering with renewable energy projects, replenishing more water than they consume by 2030, achieving zero-waste certification by 2030 and achieving net-zero deforestation from new construction and re-forestation initiatives by greening communities with native woodlands.; ; Real sustainability requires solutions that address wastefulness at every level of a business. Hosting on the cloud is more environmentally friendly and results in less of a carbon footprint.; ; Cloud infrastructures support environmental proactivity, powering virtual services rather than physical products and hardware, and cutting down on paper waste, improving energy efficiency, and (given that it allows employees access from anywhere with an internet connection) reducing commuter-related emissions. ; ; Reports predict that data centre energy consumption would drop by 31% from based on the adoption of cloud computing and other virtual data options.
• Covid-19 recovery:

  Covid-19 recovery

  As a member of the COVID-19 High Performance Computing Consortium, Microsoft is helping researchers accelerate their understanding of the virus and the development of treatments and vaccines through two major initiatives; HPC Consortium and AI for Health.; ; The COVID-19 HPC Consortium encompasses computing capabilities from some of the most powerful and advanced computers in the world. Microsoft hope to empower researchers around the world to accelerate understanding of the COVID-19 virus and the development of treatments and vaccines to help address infections. Consortium members manage a range of computing capabilities that span from small clusters to some of the very largest supercomputers in the world.; ; AI for Health is a new $60 million, five-year philanthropic program from Microsoft, created to empower non-profits, researchers, and organizations tackling some of the toughest challenges in global health. Microsoft are providing access to AI and expertise in these areas; Accelerating medical research to advance the prevention, diagnoses, and treatment of diseases, increasing our shared understanding of health and longevity to protect against global health crises, reducing health inequity and improving access to care for underserved populations and supporting fundamental research capabilities, including data collaboratives and differential privacy.
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  The primary benefits of Microsoft Azure services are the transfer of ownership of compliance and maintenance of cloud infrastructure and its security and that IT Managers and business owners no longer need to be concerned about those elements of their IT systems once in Azure.; This inherently has a significant positive impact on wellbeing of employees within organisations across the world.

Pricing

• Price: £0 a virtual machine an hour
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Eligible customers receive USD200 in Azure credits to be used within the first 30 days of sign-up and 12 months of select free services. This offer is limited to one Azure free account per eligible customer and cannot be combined with any other offer unless otherwise permitted by Microsoft.
• Link to free trial: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/offers/ms-azr-0044p/

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Skills Framework for the Information Age rate card

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

• Modern Slavery statement

  ODT

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 stuart.wilson@nexusos.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.