Aker Systems Limited
Secure Cloud Data Platforms
Aker are experts in designing, building and operating secure, scalable and cost-efficient data platforms in the public cloud (AWS, Azure, Google) to UK-OFFICIAL SENSITIVE. Expert data and DevOps engineers build platforms that enable data ingestion, unification and serving across the enterprise, providing enhanced levels of security, performance and cost-reduction
Features
- Cloud (AWS/Azure/Google) and service agnostic (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS)
- Delivered with a proven cloud & data operating model
- Secure, scalable & resilient environments for business-critical use cases
- Leading-edge architectures: big data/domain-driven/web services/event-driven/microservices
- Cloud-native technologies/platforms (Kubernetes/Serverless/Streaming/Kafka/Java/Python/Node.js)
- All staff cleared to Security Check(SC) or Developed Vetting(DV)
- DevSecOps and NCSC principles, security accreditation to UK-OFFICIAL SENSITIVE
- Automation using Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform/Ansible) and CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins/Drone)
- Integrated and scalable data onboarding and data operations functions
- ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials + accredited
Benefits
- Proven track record operating secure UK government data services
- Rapid & assured delivery, enabling improved speed to insight
- Significantly reduces costs of onboarding and operating data sources
- Centralised, standardised enterprise data services to eliminate data silos
- Enables agile, scalable data services & analytics
- Exploits cloud serverless technologies with reduced complexity and costs
- Secure, audited and monitored cloud environments for highly sensitive data
- Extensive experience in Government Digital Services (GDS) deliveries
- System of record ready, with robust data governance/management
Pricing
£400 to £1,500 a unit a day
Service documents
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Framework
G-Cloud 14
Service ID
6 8 6 5 8 5 6 3 7 8 7 2 1 1 7
Contact
Aker Systems Limited
Joe Harris
Telephone: 07711050206
Email: sales@akersystems.com
Planning
- Planning service
- Yes
- How the planning service works
-
Our planning service can be tailored to suit the customer’s needs, but typically follows a similar process;
Understand the customers’ requirements to determine the size and scale of the build/or migration required; Provide a comprehensive view of As-Is and To-Be Target architecture; Create high-level designs of proposed service, including security designs; Map the business outcomes to clear acceptance criteria to ensure the capability meets expectations; Identify risks and issues, along with any mitigations for managing them; Formalise a plan and create a Project Initiation Document - Planning service works with specific services
- No
Training
- Training service provided
- No
Setup and migration
- Setup or migration service available
- Yes
- How the setup or migration service works
-
Our service can be tailored to suit a customer’s specific needs as each setup/and migration will be unique. We would, however, aim to follow a similar process as below:
This planning & design phase will concentrate on gathering the requirements for new services, reviewing existing infrastructure for migrations, a security review, assessing applications and providing a clear plan for the setup or migration.
Our approach to deploying resources is centred around implementing a Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) process that will automate the deployment and minimise the need for manual configuration or intervention during a deployment. The CI/CD process provides the ability to run and test deployments in Development and Pre-Production environments and then, only once proven, exactly replicate the implementation into Production.
The build & migration phase will deliver the setup or migration of the existing services into the new environment and complete the security assurance process. If migrating our approach is to move each service individually as this allows us to isolate the dependencies required by each service and minimises the complexity of each release. It will also ensure that we can reduce the length of time that each service needs to pause Production releases while services are transitioned. - Setup or migration service is for specific cloud services
- No
Quality assurance and performance testing
- Quality assurance and performance testing service
- Yes
- How the quality assurance and performance testing works
-
Quality assurance and performance testing is key to all the services and capabilities that Aker builds. We follow industry best practice and testing includes; functional testing, test-driven development, test automation, non-functional testing (performance, security and accessibility) and test management. Performance testing and benchmarking are unique to each customer, and Aker will work with you to formulate an optimal solution for cost versus benefits.
For migration services, we ensure that services are deployed and run in parallel with the existing version (running in the legacy DC). This allows us to conduct User Acceptance Testing (UAT) live against a current service; making user acceptance as quick and straightforward as possible.
Once a service has been proven in the new environment and successfully passed UAT, we will repoint the services to the new platform, eliminating the need for downtime.
Security testing
- Security services
- Yes
- Security services type
-
- Security strategy
- Security risk management
- Security design
Ongoing support
- Ongoing support service
- Yes
- Types of service supported
- Hosting or software provided by a third-party organisation
- How the support service works
- Support can be provided to the customer throughout any setup or migration project and can be tailored to suit each individual piece of work. We also offer DevSecOps support for cloud-based platforms and each support service can be tailored to suit the clients budget and requirements. A full managed service is also available should a customer wish to outsource the entire support function.
Service scope
- Service constraints
- None
User support
- Email or online ticketing support
- Email or online ticketing
- Support response times
- Service Level Agreements can be tailored to suit the customer’s specific needs but typical response time are 15 minutes from the logged incident, with resolutions varying from 1 hour plus depending on the agreed SLA.
- 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
- Support levels
-
We offer several different support levels from (1st to 3rd line) and follow both agile and ITIL principles and practices, supported by DevSecOps teams. Support can be offered remotely or onsite, example service levels are shown below and can be tailored to each customer operational needs;
• Standard UK Support (Monday-Friday 9 am-5 pm)
• Enhanced UK Support (Monday to Friday 7 am-8 pm, Weekends and UK Bank Holidays 10 am-4 pm)
• 24x7 Support
Resellers
- Supplier type
- Not a reseller
Staff security
- Staff security clearance
- Conforms to BS7858:2019
- Government security clearance
- Up to Developed Vetting (DV)
Standards and certifications
- ISO/IEC 27001 certification
- Yes
- Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
- British Assessment Bureau
- ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
- 19/09/2023
- What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
- N/A
- ISO 28000:2007 certification
- No
- CSA STAR certification
- No
- PCI certification
- No
- Cyber essentials
- Yes
- Cyber essentials plus
- Yes
- Other security certifications
- No
Social Value
- Social Value
-
Social Value
- Fighting climate change
- Covid-19 recovery
- Tackling economic inequality
- Equal opportunity
- Wellbeing
Fighting climate change
Although we're obsessed with client delivery, we also understand that we have a wider responsibility to have a positive impact on all aspects of society. We are actively engaged in environmental causes and invest in giving back to local communities
Method: Aker Systems is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Furthermore, through our Carbon Reduction Plan we are targeted to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2041.
To achieve this, we plan to implement further measures such as:
Encourage efficient home working practices (e.g. temperature settings)
Company-sponsored/supported home improvement programme
Renewable energy buyers’ club
Green commute to work schemes
Policies on business travel (reduce car usage, use public transport)
Waste stream improvement guidance, programmes including food purchase
Scope 3 emissions (direct emissions at site or by organisation-owned assets) represent around 53% of the total in-scope emissions and this is mostly generated by staff commuting process. Therefore, achieving the 2050 target will mostly require us to identify more sustainable ways for our staff to get to work when they are required to commute. Due to the high percentage of employees who work from home, we will also work with and encourage our staff to minimise their domestic emissions.
Further improvements across the three emission scopes will come about as a matter of course (via UK Gov targets and requirements, evolution of industries, new regulations etc.) and will require active engagement by us with our suppliers and staff as well as development of supply chain and operational policy.
To date we have maximised the home working potential of our staff thus minimising travel impacts and inefficient use of rented office space. As the UK comes out of the COVID lockdown, business travel and commuting may increase though we will endeavour to maximise the efficiencies of home-working as much as we can.Covid-19 recovery
Aker Systems are committed to supporting the UK’s recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.
We are creating employment, re-training and return to work opportunities in our high-growth sector through internal initiatives and by supporting client policy objectives.
Method: Aker Systems’ number of employees is growing at a rate of 22% per year since inception, and is forecasting 42% headcount growth up to 2024. This expansion will create opportunities to incorporate employment, re-training and return to work programmes for those left unemployed by COVID-19 in a high growth sector.
We are doing this by:
Building a Junior Talent programme focussed on attracting new employees from diverse backgrounds at early stages in their careers and supporting them with fair pay, professional development opportunities and autonomy – supporting them to develop. In Q1 2022, this work has resulted in targeted recruitment of 4 successful candidates from economically challenged areas.
Working with our social mobility partner - https://www.envision.org.uk/ - to support individuals from economically deprived backgrounds to be better able to enter the workplace. This includes direct involvement in social mobility projects, mentoring of individuals within those teams, and funding to enable those projects to be brought to fruition. During lockdown in 2021, Aker staff helped to draft character references to help students from economically impacted areas to enter the workforce.
Improving workplace conditions through remote working opportunities for all staff
Supporting our employees' physical and mental health through weekly talks with mental health experts at our Company-wide events, also open to our supply chain, and providing employee private medical insurance.
As a fully-remote organisation, we continue to offer our employees location flexibility from day 1. This allows us to recruit throughout the UK and offer work schedule flexibility to enable employee diversity, supporting those with different needs, accessibility requirements and schedules.Tackling economic inequality
Aker Systems are committed to creating new businesses, new jobs and new skills, and increasing supply chain resilience, to support the tackling of economic inequality.
Method: Aker Systems’ number of employees is growing at a rate of 22% per year since inception and is forecasting 42% headcount growth up to 2024. Since our supply chain is formed of 40%+ SMEs, this growth will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and SMEs in our supply chain, as well as for those who face barriers to employment, in a high growth industry.
We will create new businesses, jobs and skills by:
Inviting client staff to join the Aker DevOps Academy to address skills gaps. The Academy is free-of-charge, costing Aker £5,400 per person. It is an interactive, secure e-learning facility designed to increase client’s trained in-house personnel. Completion of the Academy equips attendees to sit AWS and Azure professional certification qualifications.
Support SME Collaboration and Thought Leadership via our corporate affiliations with institutions including TechUK (Data Analytics and AI Leadership Committee) and AWS (Partner 1585901), making these industry collaboration facilities available to our SME partners enabling them to identify new technologies, think creatively and identify new business development opportunities.
Co-Creation of New Service Offerings that provide SMEs with opportunities to showcase their capabilities and products and present tailored offers to our clients.
Working with our social mobility partner - https://www.envision.org.uk/ - to support individuals from economically deprived backgrounds to be better able to enter the workplace.
We will increase supply chain resilience and capacity by:
Introducing new SMEs to client account, encouraging diversification in our supply chain and recruitment.
Increasing the resilience of new and small organisations and assist their growth by adhering to the government’s Prompt Payment Code (PPC).
Encouraging all supply chain to achieve Cyber Essentials +.Equal opportunity
Aker Systems are committed to reducing the disability employment gap and tackling workforce inequality. We are signatories of Disability Confident, Race At Work and the Armed Forces Covenant and have a published Modern Slavery statement.
Method: As Aker Systems grows, we are expanding our HR and Recruitment functions with a focus on policies to support reducing the disability employment gap. Our growth also enables in-work progression to help disadvantaged or minority groups to move into higher paid work.
We will do this by:
Conducting targeted, inclusive and accessible recruitment for the long-term unemployed, disabled, minority and veterans. Removing disadvantages experienced by those with protected characteristics by continuing our commitments to:
DWP Disability Confident accreditation
Race At Work Charter
Armed Forces Covenant. We have recently arranged for AWS to present at veteran resettlement events
Women in Tech. Collaborative 24-month partnership promoting and supporting female careers in the technology industry, including those returning to work
Committing, on request and for free, staff resources to the screening and initial interview process for client apprentices
Providing 40 hours of mandatory training within the company to support our DEI efforts, including Unconscious Bias, Respect at Work and Accessibility training.
Developing talent management programmes supporting women and ethnic minority progression/development, led by our new Chief People Officer.
Further develop our staff engagement programmes, such as our quarterly all-staff social events and encouraging individual and group staff volunteering initiatives to support not-for-profit organisations.Wellbeing
People are the heart of our business. Our dedicated and highly skilled team are the foundation for our success. We proactively invest in the physical and mental health of our people through our wellness programme.
Method: We will continue providing numerous health and wellbeing related sessions and benefits to support the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our employees.
We will do this through:
Our partnership with a Performance & Wellbeing Coach. We run fun and enlightening sessions that have contributed greatly to the team's energy and welfare. Running for over a year, the internal feedback has been excellent. Sessions are also open to our supply chain, helping us influence suppliers to support health and wellbeing.
Provision of various health and wellbeing related employee benefits to our staff: Private Medical Insurance, Life Insurance, Virtual GP and Financial advice.
Offering flexible working to staff, supporting their wellbeing. We offer work schedule flexibility to enable employee diversity, supporting those with different needs, accessibility requirements and schedules.
Pricing
- Price
- £400 to £1,500 a unit a day
- Discount for educational organisations
- No
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 sales@akersystems.com.
Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.