SIMPLIFY OPERATIONS LTD

Habitude: Workflow automation platform for MATs

Habitude's work automation platform gets everyday work done quickly and reliably for schools and Trusts. Habitude cleverly connects existing platforms, teams and data together to run processes via workflows. Every part of the Trust (HR, Schools, Finance and Ops) can benefit to make daily admin more efficient and less stressful.

Features

• Visual 'drag and drop' workflow editor.
• Automated delivery of processes built on Habitude
• Large library of ready-to-go processes
• One click integrations into many 3rd party platforms
• Real-time reporting for process managers
• Performance analytics for process improvement
• Full email domain integration for automated outbound mail
• Single Sign-on
• No code development
• Hierarchical knowledge in built so workflows run contextually by school

Benefits

• Solves complexity of running processes across MATs
• Stops duplicative entry across multiple systems
• Automatically keeps work moving along the process
• Nudges and reminds people to complete their tasks
• Avoids building a complex in-house codebase
• Quickly develop and iterate simple to design powerful workflows
• Communicate between business systems
• Easy to learn and maintain
• Remove the need for developers
• Secure 3rd party integration

£360 to £2,400 a unit

• Education pricing available
• Free trial available

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODT

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  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 izzi@habitude.co. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

934853809407104

Contact

Izzi Dorrian
07816 503614
izzi@habitude.co

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: Any services or software that can be surfaced via API using our powerful extensions system
• Cloud deployment model: Hybrid cloud
• Service constraints: No
• System requirements: For email domain sending, buyer to amend DNS records

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: We respond within 2 hours between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday excluding Bank Holidays for Growth and Infrastructure Plan custoemrs and same day for Starter Plan customers.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• 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 access real-person web chat from anywhere within the platform. Instructions are given clearly about expected response time so they are understandable. ; The web chat is not compatible with assistive technologies currently.
• Web chat accessibility testing: None as yet.
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Technical and product support is provided through online, live chat, telephone and email channels in the first instance.; ; Beyond that we have Technical Account Managers that will have dedicated virtual calls with customers to provide support where needed, at no extra cost.; ; Should additional support be required then this will be escalated to the Technical team who will assess the resources required. ; ; We do not charge the client for support but if it is identified that there is an underlying additional training need, or specific assistance with process mapping or building a new workflow that requires on site support, we will charge at our day rate of £500 per day for that time.
• Support available to third parties: Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: New customers are allocated an Account Manager whose primary role is to guide the client through the setup of Habitude and the deployment of initial workflows. For all new customers, a Technical Deployment call will be set up with the IT or Network Manager at the Trust in order to ensure accounts are correctly authenticated and integrated with the Trust's existing systems. ; ; For all customers, hands on support will be given with process mapping, process build (or amendment if using a template) and deployment of initial workflows. For Growth and Infrastructure Plan customers there is also a package of x4 75 minute online training sessions given for Workflow Creators and Administrators on process mapping and all aspects of using Habitude. ; ; The process is supported through virtual meetings, account reviews, webinars, training videos, screen share, project days, onsite training, online training and user documentation. ; ; When any user logs in for the first time the platform intelligently gives them a tour of the site and the key features they'll need. All help documentation can be accessed online and is also searchable without logging in to Habitude.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • ODF
  • PDF
  • Other
• Other documentation formats:
  • Searchable Knowledge Bank website
  • Video introductions & guides
  • Live webinars
• End-of-contract data extraction: Most core data can be exported by users through the reports tools that extract the data into CSV formats. For additional data not available directly through the system we offer a data extraction service. This is offered at no cost in the first instance for simple extractions, for more complex extractions a fair charge is offered.
• End-of-contract process: If a customer decides to no longer use Habitude they have 60 day period following the last day of their contract period to use the data extraction tools provided within the platform to export their data.; ; Should they require other 'meta' data beyond what is natively available this can be provided on request.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Chrome
  • Safari
• Application to install: No
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Workflow creation and tracking is not currently available on mobile. All other services are available on mobile.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: Our user interface is designed to feel familiar, clutter-free and accessible for all users. We work closely with users to create interfaces that achieve make things feel simple. We make subtle use of colour and space to nudge users towards their next action, and incorporate prompts and hover text for guidance where needed. ; ; It's easy to overwhelm. We bring datasets to life with tables, charts and 'kanban' style boards to present datasets in formats that keep things digestible, and we tailor the experience of every platform visitor so that the options and settings on offer make sense for their responsibilities.
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Habitude is actively implementing WGAC 2.1 standards.
• Accessibility testing: Google Lighthouse testing suite has been used. Habitude is used by over 25 special and alternative provision schools across the country, and by users experiencing a range of special needs and disabilities. We collect feedback from all users, including users with additional needs. Accordingly, our interface is customisable through browser-based accessibility controls. We recommend Google Chrome for the best range of accessibility controls and plugins, such as their high contrast, colourblind, and greyscale modes.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: The Habitude API is used for workflow and task management. API calls require an application token generated in the settings.; The API can be used to both trigger their workflows and to notify users of changes to, and completion of their workflows.
• API documentation: Yes
• API documentation formats:
  • HTML
  • PDF
• API sandbox or test environment: Yes
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: Habitude is a highly customisable workflow automation platform. Users with Administrator or Creator rights can build and edit their workflows via the workflow editor within Habitude. ; ; Workflows can be configured to match the context and processes used by the organisations. Workflows can either be built from scratch or amended based on existing templates developed in partnership with existing customers. ; ; All aspects of workflows can be customised, emails, forms, updates and reminders, integrations with other systems, data being sent to spreadsheets, files being saved in storage, delay timings and contents of approvals and checklists. Once created, workflows are easy to iterate and amend with clear version control in place. ; ; Logos can be added to Forms. Custom branding is available for Growth and Infrastructure Plan customers. ; ; Who is given access to the tracking of Workflows can be controlled as who is given Follower access. This can be given either globally or contextually i.e. for specific roles or institutions.

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Our infastructure is based on unlimited scaling principles. We employ industry leading load balance and performance management capabilities with our workflow engine and we dynamically increase resources in realtime as they are required. In extreme scenarios some workflows may be slowed or queued to ensure fair use of the platform.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Volume of work running or complete inside any process, viewable over time or by school inside group.; ; Average time-to-complete for any process, viewable over time or by school inside group.; ; Step-by-step analytics showing average times to compete for every step within a process.
• Reporting types:
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Regular reports
  • Reports on request

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Other security clearance
• Government security clearance: Up to Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations:
  • United Kingdom
  • Other locations
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Complies with a recognised standard (for example CSA CCM version 3.0)
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: In-house
• Protecting data at rest:
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
• Data sanitisation process: Yes
• Data sanitisation type: Explicit overwriting of storage before reallocation
• Equipment disposal approach: In-house destruction process

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Users can setup direct API writebacks into their 3rd parties including Spreadsheet and database services. We also offer CSV download of their data directly from within the platform.
• Data export formats:
  • CSV
  • Other
• Other data export formats: XLS
• 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: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: Targeted availability for these services is 99.9% up time, not including planned maintenance times. Planned maintenance will always be programmed within school holidays. The Customer can expect to be informed of scheduled planned maintenance at least one week in advance. The Customer may expect the following level of compensation for failure to achieve the targeted level of availability:; For each 0.5% availability below 100% the school can expect a refund of 10% of the annual subscription.; Availability to be calculated cumulatively throughout a subscription term and reported at the end of such. Any penalties are to be paid within 30 days of the end of the subscription term.
• Approach to resilience: Our AWS provided data centres offer extremely high resilience and are certified to ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 standards.; ; Our internal architecture features rapidly recycled resources housed within a firewalled network. We have a large array of issue and error detection mechanisms that provide a realtime stream of platform health information for our on-call teams.; ; We have a Business Continuity Management Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan in place.
• Outage reporting: Where there are platform issues or any service degradation, we display these through banners on our main pages.; Where there is are issues affecting platform access we send email alerts to account admins to let them know of this. We also notify account admins via email and website banners ahead of time where we are implementing a planned outage period.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
  • Other
• Other user authentication: We authenticate users through proof of one of the following:; 1. They have provided an email address and password that matches our records;; 2. They have proved that they have access to an email inbox of a user that matches our records;; 3. They have used MFA to prove ownership of multiple user provided channels.
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: System admins grant access for user accounts to access to the Workflow Editor and Account Settings. Workflow Creators can add additional Creators, plus Managers and Followers to workflows.; ; Controls allow customers to manage the tools and data that individuals have access to across their organisations.; ; Customer permission sought when Habitude need to access customer accounts as part of a support ticket.; ; We exercise control of service tokens used by our development teams per our Information Security policy. Tokens are fully encrypted never exposed away from the production server environment. Every session into Habitude is authenticated via time/user limited JWT tokens.
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least every 6 months
• Management access authentication: 2-factor authentication

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: At least 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: User-defined
• How long system logs are stored for: Less than 1 month

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: No
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: No
• Cyber essentials plus: No
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: No
• Security governance approach: We work within the Cyber Security Essentials Framework as well as adopting the protocols found in CSA CCM. All work undertaken on our platform is carried out under the governance of our internal policy framework which includes GDPR, Acceptable Use, Access Control and Information Security (covering data transit, storage and disposal).
• Information security policies and processes: Habitude protects customer data through the implementation of a robust set of policies, protocols and controls that sit under the governance of Senior Management and the Board. These include our Data Protection Policy, Information Security Policy, Acceptable Use Policy as well as documented protocols for incidents and breaches.; ; Senior management review these policies, protocols and controls on an annual basis.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: Our deployment process includes a suite of more than 600 tests to prevent bugs from getting into production. Any changes to Habitude are fully versioned and have been tested via our multiple pre-production stages which include automated unit testing.; ; We use Seed to track and monitor all aspects of our development and release cycle, as well as to intervene if we need to rollback feature releases.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: We have incorporated OWASP into our testing, including their Top 10 vulnerabilities, as part of 300 tests that we run within every release cycle.; ; For security patches that are not automatically handled as part of our AWS configuration, we deploy them as soon as they have been deemed safe.; ; We conduct high level penetration testing as part of every major release and full penetration testing annually.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: Habitude monitors log data to ensure that changes to data, errors and user activity are auditable. Aggregate data is used to monitor platform health. Outlying or potentially compromising events are also reported.; ; Where errors, issues or breaches are detected they are immediately reported to our Engineering Team via automated alerts. Our team classify the issue and handle per our escalation protocols.; ; Issues that impact platform uptime or security are immediately reported to Senior Management. Issues that are determined to be serious will be subject to investigation within 48 hours. Minor issues are resolved within 7 days.
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: Our Information Security policy outlines how we identify, handle and report incidents, including potential security incidents.; ; Habitude has a wide range of issue and error surveillance measures in place to detect incidents, including potentially security incidents. These include well communicated 24/7 channels for users to report issues.; ; As incidents are handled in line with our policy they are recorded in a centralised Log which is reviewed by Senior Management and the Board. In the instance of a major incident, a major incident report will be produced.

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

  We believe small businesses have a huge part to play in the fight against climate change. Being environmentally responsible is a key social value for us and every business decision we make is made against the backdrop of our environmental impact. ; ; The software we develop is paperless by design, which means the organisations who adopt it reduce their paper consumption and decrease waste, and find ways to improve their carbon footprint.; ; We routinely adopt the following procedures:; * Reusing, repairing, updating or repurposing as much electronic equipment as possible.; * Working remotely first and encouraging our employees to choose utility companies that use renewable energy.; * Having a coworking space that does the same.; * Using public transportation and bikes for travel to the office and meetings. We facilitate this further by being part of the Cycle2Work scheme. ; * Utilising digital document resources for signing, sending, and storing. ; * Providing all employees with reusable coffee and water cups to reduce consumption of plastic.

  Covid-19 recovery

  Our commitment to ongoing Covid recovery, as well as future proofing for further pandemics, is three-fold: firstly to our staff, secondly to our customers and their staff, and thirdly to empowering schools to ensure a robust response to any other global event. ; ; Our staff are remote first, which enables them to protect themselves and their families from illness and disease as they see fit. They are not required to be present in the office if they are ill, which prevents spread of any contagious illness to other staff members and members of the public on transport or in the co-working space. We are in a position to react quickly and appropriately in the event of a further outbreak of any contagious disease because all our internal systems are online and do not require any face-to-face interaction. We have also ensured that our co-working space is diligent in their cleaning, hygiene and communication to protect the health and safety of our staff.; ; Secondly and thirdly, our business enables school operations to become digital first - all of the workflows we have designed remove the need for paper or face-to-face interactions. This allows support staff who are not integral to teaching to work remotely through any further outbreak of a contagious disease, and the school’s operations could continue as normal in a way that might not have been possible, or as efficient or reliable, before. In addition, all onboarding for our products can be done remotely through video conferencing, and online tutorials, with telephone and email support where needed.

  Tackling economic inequality

  As a business dedicated to improving school efficiency, we inherently want to improve the overall quality of education in the UK. This, in turn, increases social mobility of pupils and increases equality across the country. Helping schools save time and money by building efficiency into their operations model frees up expenditure to focus on education and educational outcomes. ; ; Within our own business operations, our remote working policy allows us to recruit from all areas of the UK, diversifying our talent pool from focusing solely within the London area and allows us to seek candidates from areas that are traditionally less socially mobile. We prioritise supplier relationships from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds in order to bring them into our business fold and ecosystem, and like to showcase these relationships and provide referrals where we can. ; ; We do not require new staff to have specific degrees, preferring to recruit based on competency, aptitude and experience. This opens up a vast network of potential candidates who have not been to university, but nonetheless possess the necessary skills and ability we are looking for, enabling them to find work that does not depend on their education level.

  Equal opportunity

  We have a robust and comprehensive diversity and inclusion policy that goes beyond the basics. This is important to us in order for all employees to feel welcome and included at our company from the start. We are a thoughtful company that understands equal opportunities are essential not only for our business success, but also as a social commitment to our society and its future. ; ; We expect our customers and suppliers to have similar commitments, attitudes and values towards diversity and discrimination.

  Wellbeing

  Employee wellbeing is at the heart of our company and we have designed the company and its values to include health and wellbeing at its foundations. Our staff are entitled to take unlimited holiday, and we offer true flexible working to ensure a genuine work/life balance, which means not just allowing, but encouraging employees to work where they work best at the times they work best. The coworking space we use is at our team’s disposal and is a haven for plants and green spaces within central London; it also provides regular yoga and fitness classes for employees to use free of charge. We are part of the Cycle to Work scheme for employees.; ; We encourage and champion open communication around mental health but also respect the sensitive and confidential nature of it and respect any employee who does or does not want to talk about their own experience. We nurture a psychologically safe work environment where feedback and questions are encouraged and discussed, staff are listened to in an empathetic and non-judgemental manner and we have a zero tolerance towards bullying or harassment, which extends to suppliers and customers.; ; Some of the workflows we produce for schools are designed to help schools with wellbeing at work, such as staff absence and return to work processes; we are constantly designing new ones in order to support this area. Results have shown our processes to reduce staff workload and save significant time, therefore improving overall performance and wellbeing for our customers.

Pricing

• Price: £360 to £2,400 a unit
• Discount for educational organisations: Yes
• Free trial available: Yes
• Description of free trial: Organisations can trial a single workflow with upto 10 steps. This can be run x10 times for each constituent part of the organisation i.e. for each school in a Trust.

Service documents

• Pricing document

  ODT

• Service definition document

  ODT

• Terms and conditions

  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 izzi@habitude.co. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.