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BOXXE LIMITED

boxxe/TCN Azure Storage - Files

Fully managed file shares that use the standard SMB 3.0 protocol. Available in the UK Datacentre region. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/storage/

Features

  • Share data across on-premises and cloud servers
  • Migrate fileshare-based applications to the cloud with no code changes.
  • Integrate modern applications with File Storage
  • Simplify hosting for high-availability workload data

Benefits

  • Simplify the provision of shared storage to applications and storage
  • Reduce operational overhead and match costs to load
  • Enables migration of existing apps to Azure without code change

Pricing

£10 a user

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 tenders@boxxe.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

9 6 6 4 7 7 3 7 5 6 4 2 2 0 2

Contact

BOXXE LIMITED Gemma Franklin
Telephone: 07704551950
Email: tenders@boxxe.com

Service scope

Service constraints
See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/ to determine applicable constraints based on buyers requirements.
System requirements
See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/support/plans/
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
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support
Web chat
Web chat support availability
24 hours, 7 days a week
Web chat support accessibility standard
None or don’t know
How the web chat support is accessible
See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/
Web chat accessibility testing
See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/support/plans/
Support available to third parties
No

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/ plus comprehensive online documentation for various solutions available across the platform. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
  • Other
Other documentation formats
Online videos and interactive learning portals
End-of-contract data extraction
Customer are able to remove their data at any time through the same means they uploaded. Either over their network (internet or express route) or via the Azure Import/Export services. Also see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/privacy
End-of-contract process
Please see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/privacy/you-own-your-data. In our Online Services Terms, Microsoft contractually commits to specific processes when a customer leaves a cloud service or the subscription expires. This includes deleting customer data from systems under our control. If you terminate a cloud subscription or it expires (except for free trials), Microsoft will store your customer data in a limited-function account for 90 days (the “retention period”) to give you time to extract the data or renew your subscription. During this period, Microsoft provides multiple notices, so you will be amply forewarned of the upcoming deletion of data. After this 90-day retention period, Microsoft will disable the account and delete the customer data, including any cached or backup copies. For in-scope services, that deletion will occur within 90 days after the end of the retention period. (In-scope services are defined in the Data Processing Terms section of our Online Services Terms.) See http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/Downloader.aspx?DocumentId=13655

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Using the web interface
Manage and deploy services via the Azure Portal. See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/
Web interface accessibility standard
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Web interface accessibility testing
See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
Users are able to utilise the Azure API Management service to create their own API's for the solutions they deploy on to the platform. Additionally we have the Azure Service Management API which provides programmatic access to much of the functionality available through the Management Portal. Available here https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/ee460799.aspx
API automation tools
  • Ansible
  • Chef
  • SaltStack
  • Terraform
  • Puppet
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
HTML
Command line interface
Yes
Command line interface compatibility
  • Linux or Unix
  • Windows
  • MacOS
  • Other
Using the command line interface
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. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cli/azure/install-azure-cli

Scaling

Scaling available
Yes
Scaling type
  • Automatic
  • Manual
Independence of resources
Azure represents a hyper-scale public cloud service.
Usage notifications
Yes
Usage reporting
  • API
  • Email
  • SMS

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 Developed Vetting (DV)

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
United Kingdom
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
Another external penetration testing organisation
Protecting data at rest
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Encryption of all physical media
  • Scale, obfuscating techniques, or data storage sharding
  • Other
Other data at rest protection approach
See http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/D/D/0DD8FB12-6343-4A50-80B2-545F2951D7AE/MicrosoftAzureDataProtection_Aug2014.pdf , and https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/storage-service-encryption
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

Backup and recovery

Backup and recovery
Yes
What’s backed up
Under user control
Backup controls
Under user control
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
  • Private network or public sector network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Other
Other protection between networks
For data in transit, Azure uses industry-standard secure transport protocols, such as TLS/SSL, between user devices and Microsoft datacenters. You can enable encryption for traffic between your own virtual machines (VMs) and your users. With Azure Virtual Networks, you can use the industry-standard IPsec protocol to encrypt traffic between your corporate VPN gateway and Azure as well as between the VMs located on your Virtual Network.
Data protection within supplier network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • IPsec or TLS VPN gateway
  • Other
Other protection within supplier network
ACL Based Network Security Groups are also used. See https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/network-security-groups/

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
Availability Set: A small, relatively local group of redundancy and reliability that protects you from things like power loss to a server rack or updates that you might encounter in a single fault domain. You get a 99.95% SLA when you have an availability set with 2 or more VMs.
Availability Zone: A physically separate location (like a datacenter) within an Azure Region that provides redundancy and reliability that protects you from a disaster like a flood that might impact the whole datacenter. You get a 99.99% SLA when you have 2 VMs in two separate Availability Zones within the same region.
Approach to resilience
Please see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/global-datacenters and https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/TrustCenter/
Outage reporting
Please see https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/status/ and https://portal.azure.com/#blade/HubsExtension/ServicesHealthBlade

Identity and authentication

User authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Public key authentication (including by TLS client certificate)
  • Username or password
  • Other
Other user authentication
Azure Active Directory is Microsoft’s multi-tenant cloud based directory and identity management service. Azure-AD provides an affordable, easy to use solution to give employees and business partners single sign-on (SSO) access to thousands of cloud SaaS Applications like Office365, Salesforce.com, DropBox, and Concur. For application developers, Azure-AD lets you focus on building your application by making it fast and simple to integrate with a world class identity management solution used by millions of organizations. Azure-AD also includes a full suite of identity management capabilities including multi-factor authentication, device registration, self-service password management, self-service group management, privileged account management. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/active-directory-whatis
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Azure-AD can designate separate administrators to serve different functions. These administrators will have access to features in the Azure portal and, depending on their role, will be able to create or edit users, assign administrative roles to others, reset user passwords, manage user-licenses, and manage domains, among other things. A user who is assigned an admin role will have the same permissions across all of the cloud services that your organization has subscribed to, regardless of whether you assign the role in the Office365 portal, or in the Azure classic-portal, or by using the Azure-AD module for Windows PowerShell. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/active-directory-assign-admin-roles
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google Apps)
  • Username or password
Devices users manage the service through
Dedicated device on a segregated network (providers own provision)

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
Between 6 months and 12 months
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users receive audit information on a regular basis
How long supplier audit data is stored for
Between 6 months and 12 months
How long system logs are stored for
Between 6 months and 12 months

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
Aprio, LLP
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
24/08/2020
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
Out of the controls within ISO 27001 only two items were not applicable and those are: A8.3.3 – Media Handling; BeyondTrust does not transfer physical media A14.2.7 – Outsourced Development; BeyondTrust does not outsource software development.
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
Yes
CSA STAR accreditation date
17/03/2017
CSA STAR certification level
Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover
N/A
PCI certification
Yes
Who accredited the PCI DSS certification
Self-certified, Level 4
PCI DSS accreditation date
07/07/2021
What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover
BeyondTrust's solutions/development practices.
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
https://www.beyondtrust.com/security/industry-certifications

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
  • Other
Other security governance standards
FACT, FedRamp, NIST 800-171, EU Model Clauses, Cyber Essentials Plus
Information security policies and processes
An Information Security Management Program has been established to enable Microsoft Azure to maintain and improve its management system for information security. Through establishment of the ISMS, Azure plans for and manages protection of its assets to acceptable security levels based on defined risk management processes. In addition, Azure monitors the ISMS and the effectiveness of controls in maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of assets to continuously improve information security. The ISMS framework encompasses industry best-practices for information security and privacy. The ISMS has been documented and communicated in a customer-facing Information Security Policy, which can be made available upon request (customers and prospective customers must have a signed NDA or equivalent in place to receive a copy). Microsoft Azure performs annual ISMS reviews, the results of which are reviewed by management. This involves monitoring ongoing effectiveness and improvement of the ISMS control environment by reviewing security issues, audit results, and monitoring status, and by planning and tracking necessary corrective actions. Also see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/TrustCenter/Compliance/ISO-IEC-27001 and The Microsoft Cloud Security Policy is available via the Service Trust Platform aka.ms/stp

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
Azure has developed formal standard operating procedures (SOPs) governing the change management process. These SOPs cover both software development and hardware change and release management, and are consistent with established regulatory guidelines including ISO 27001, SOC 1 / SOC 2, NIST 800-53, and others. Microsoft also uses Operational Security Assurance (OSA), a framework that incorporates the knowledge gained through a variety of capabilities that are unique to Microsoft including the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), the Microsoft Security Response Center program, and deep awareness of the cybersecurity threat landscape. Please see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/SDL/OperationalSecurityAssurance and https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sdl
Vulnerability management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Vulnerability management approach
When providing the Antimalware solution for Virtual Machines, Azure is responsible for ensuring the service is highly available, definitions are updated regularly, that configuration through the Azure Management Portal is effective and that the software detects and protects against known types of malicious software. MCIO-managed hosts in the scope boundary are scanned to validate anti-virus clients are installed and current signature-definition files exist. Vulnerability scans are performed on a quarterly basis at a minimum. Microsoft Azure contracts with independent assessors to perform penetration testing of the Microsoft Azure boundary.
Protective monitoring type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Protective monitoring approach
Microsoft Azure employs sophisticated software-defined service instrumentation and monitoring that integrates at the component or server level, the datacenter edge, our network backbone, Internet exchange sites, and at the real or simulated user level, providing visibility when a service disruption is occurring and pinpointing its cause. Proactive monitoring continuously measures the performance of key subsystems of the Microsoft Azure services platform against the established boundaries for acceptable service performance and availability. When a threshold is reached or an irregular event occurs, the monitoring system generates warnings so that operations staff can address the threshold or event.
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
Microsoft has developed robust processes to facilitate a coordinated response to incidents. • Identification – System and security alerts may be harvested, correlated, and analyzed. • Containment – The escalation team evaluates the scope and impact of an incident. • Eradication – The escalation team eradicates any damage caused by the security breach, identifies root cause for why the security issue occurred. • Recovery – During recovery, software or configuration updates are applied to the system and services are returned to a full working capacity. • Lessons Learned – Each security incident is analyzed to protect against future reoccurrence.

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)

Separation between users

Virtualisation technology used to keep applications and users sharing the same infrastructure apart
Yes
Who implements virtualisation
Supplier
Virtualisation technologies used
Hyper-V
How shared infrastructure is kept separate
Please see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/TrustCenter/Security/default.aspx

Energy efficiency

Energy-efficient datacentres
Yes
Description of energy efficient datacentres
Please see https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/environment/energy

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

Fighting climate change

boxxe is committed to supporting environmental protection and improvement and to delivering and influencing environmentally conscious solutions to address the critical issue of climate change, focusing on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions and influencing all stakeholders towards environmental protection and improvement.
Our latest Carbon Reduction Plan, available on our website confirms we are carbon neutral across all sources of emissions through investing in the Carbon Exchange-Traded Commodity. We aim to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest through emissions reduction initiatives e.g. renewable electricity procurement and supplier engagement.
Environmental protection is embedded in everything boxxe does and offers and we are proud to have been named as a finalist in the Best Value Chain Initiative category at the CRN Sustainability in Tech Awards 2024.
We maintain an accredited ISO 14001 Environmental Management System covering the entire scope of our business, and our goal is to be recognized as the UK’s most sustainable IT reseller and service provider.
boxxe is committed to adopting, promoting, and implementing the principles of a Circular Economy and have developed a Circular Management Plan which articulates our strategy for waste minimisation and the enhancement of material reuse and recycling in our operations and the products we supply. This underscores our dedication to environmental stewardship, resource efficiency, and sustainable growth, driven by innovative and accountable resource and waste management practices.
We ensure that our supply chain is aware of and understand our environmental policies and we work with them to manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. We prioritise the purchase of recycled, recyclable, or re-furbished products and materials where these alternatives are available, economical, and suitable.
We conform to WEEE regulations and seek to sustainably reduce, reuse, and recycle, to ensure we and our customers minimise the impact of IT waste on the environment.

Covid-19 recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed boxxe’s ways of working, leading us to implement a fully remote workforce to maintain customer service and operational functionality during the crisis. This transition enabled us to develop and implement a "Work from Anywhere in the UK" policy. By allowing our employees to work from any location, we have broadened our recruitment reach, enabling us to attract the best talent regardless of their geographic location. This approach has reduced barriers to inclusion, enhanced employee retention, and supported a healthier work-life balance. Additionally, remote recruitment strategies have allowed us to target candidates from areas particularly impacted by Covid-19, thereby positively contributing to their local economic recovery.
Recognising the significant skills shortages highlighted by the pandemic within the IT industry, we have taken proactive steps to retain and enhance our workforce's capabilities. We encourage continuous training and development in our employees' respective fields of expertise. Experienced staff and external specialists provide mentoring, offering a hands-on learning experience that ensures the effective application of newly acquired skills. Moreover, we are committed to inspiring the next generation by inviting local youth to experience the day-to-day life of our tech teams and organising regular hackathons and think tanks for soon-to-be graduates, providing them with career guidance.
Building on our pandemic experiences, we have developed a robust business continuity plan, ensuring that we are well-prepared to maintain uninterrupted service in the event of a similar crisis. It is worth noting that during the height of COVID-19, our strategies allowed us to maintain seamless business operations, underscoring our resilience and adaptability in challenging times. This foundation not only prepares us for future challenges but also reinforces our commitment to innovation and excellence in a post-pandemic world.

Tackling economic inequality

boxxe is committed to addressing disparities in employment, skills, and pay within our workforce and across our supply chain. Our ‘Work from Anywhere in the UK’ policy allows us to recruit the best talent regardless of their geographic location, removing barriers to inclusion, improving retention, and promoting a healthier work-life balance. By enabling staff to work remotely, we foster collaboration and create more equitable opportunities for all potential and current boxxe employees.
To address the skills shortages in tech industry, we invest in our staff’s continuous in-work skills development, facilitating career progression and helping retain talent. All staff have access to on-demand learning opportunities, available irrespective of role or seniority. We provide funding for a variety of training programs: specialist vendor/industry accreditations and professional qualifications. Experienced staff provide mentoring, ensuring that newly acquired skills are applied effectively.
We are dedicated to maintaining a robust and diverse supply chain by actively supporting SMEs, startups, and specialist suppliers. We invite these partners to collaborate with us, providing them with a route to market and guidance on best practices in industry and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Moreover, we have created the boxxe Community, where every employee can contribute 11½ days each year to support community and social value activities. We prioritise a local-first approach to giving, ensuring that support reaches grassroots charities and local causes where it is needed most. This includes our involvement in the 'Graduation to Employment' programme where experienced personnel volunteer to provide career coaching to university graduates.
Through the boxxe Academy, we offer apprenticeships and seasonal internships to encourage the next generation into IT. We welcome interns and apprentices to our customer service, HR, service delivery, and service delivery teams, providing them with all-round experience to kick-start a career in tech.

Equal opportunity

Equal opportunities, and our dedication to DEI are rooted in our mission to Making Tech Human.
boxxe is committed to a workforce that reflects diverse populations with the skills to drive a compassionate and inclusive culture and a genuine sense of belonging. We embed inclusivity, celebrate uniqueness, and foster collaboration to eradicate inequalities in employment, skills, and pay in our workforce and our supply chain.
Recruitment is focused on inclusivity and fairness, encouraging diversity in ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and socio-economic backgrounds by anonymising our candidates, concentrating on the alignment of their skills and experience, reducing conscious or unconscious bias. Our Competency Framework gives employees clear guidance on progression and developing the necessary competencies for higher level roles, integrating both technical and behavioural aspects in a Skills Matrix, and mapping out potential career paths. We offer online training and invest in our staff’s professional qualifications. Our annual pay review maintains market-aligned salaries, and we are a certified Real Living Wage employer. We offer enhanced, inclusive family policies including maternity, parental, and fertility-treatment paid leave.
We hold Flexa accreditation and operate a ‘Work from Anywhere in the UK’ policy which enhances accessibility for candidates facing barriers to inclusion, bolsters retention and facilitates a healthier work-life balance. We are a Level 1 Disability Confident Committed employer, aiming to achieve Level 2 by 2025. We actively address underrepresentation, particularly women in tech, and racial inequality as a founding member of Technology, Community for Racial Equality. We are proud of our advancement of female leadership, recognised at the CRN Women & Diversity in Channel Awards 2023. Our involvement with the Stonewall Diversity Champions reflects our dedication to LGBTQ+ allyship.
As a silver accredited Armed Forces Covenant member, we work to help create employment opportunities for ex-service personnel and support staff who are military reservists.

Wellbeing

boxxe’s Wellbeing Strategy, built on direct feedback from our employees, reflects our dedication to prioritising our workforce’s mental, physical, social, and financial wellbeing. This holistic approach recognises the importance of a comprehensive support system for overall health, satisfaction, and effectiveness of the workforce. We adhere to the Mental Health at Work Commitment and incorporate elements from the Thriving at Work guidance, despite being an organisation of less than 500 employees. This includes tailored mental health support, financial advice and low interest support loans, an EPA, occupational health support, and counselling services provided in-house by Mental Health First Aiders.
We champion a healthy workplace environment through the Mindful Business Charter, which emphasises removing unnecessary stress and promoting mental wellbeing with strategies including smart meetings, respecting rest periods, and mindful delegation. This charter serves as a guideline for all employees on small, practical changes to safeguard personal and colleague health.
To encourage open discussions about health, we foster a supportive culture where physical and mental health issues can be openly discussed, creating a safe space for employees to express concerns. We encourage our staff to participate in the boxxe Community programme, which has been shown to positively impact physical and mental wellbeing.
Our proactive engagement with the workforce includes regular wellbeing surveys, specialised training for managing stress at work, and comprehensive health benefits that cover physical and mental resources. We promote active lifestyles through incentivised physical activities, and we maintain health and safety standards in line with our ISO 45001 accreditation. We ensure wellbeing extends to our supply chain through our Supplier Code of Conduct, emphasising the importance of ethical standards and worker health and wellbeing, demonstrating our dedication to fostering a culture of health and wellbeing across all facets of our operations.

Pricing

Price
£10 a user
Discount for educational organisations
No
Free trial available
Yes
Description of free trial
Please see https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free
Link to free trial
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free

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 tenders@boxxe.com. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.