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Virgin Media Business

Microsoft Office 365 from Virgin Media O2 Business

Microsoft 365 is Microsoft’s subscription-based hosted productivity SaaS solution provided by the Supplier for email, collaboration, communication, and storage. The Supplier wraps the familiar Office services, Exchange email, Microsoft Teams and One drive storage with specialist focus on set up, deployment into the Cloud and on-going telephone or email support.

Features

  • Hosted messaging solution delivered as a cloud-based service
  • SharePoint Online - a service for businesses of all sizes
  • Microsoft Teams connects people anytime, virtually anywhere
  • Users can access documents, email/calendars from virtually any device
  • Archiving, compliance, regulatory, and e-discovery solutions
  • Office Online allow users to access documents almost anywhere
  • Choice of a range of ‘multi-service’ plans and standalone services
  • Options on Government, Business and Enterprise plans

Benefits

  • Cloud solutions offer simple to use, scalable deployment
  • Improved productivity- users can access documents, email/calendars from multiple devices/locations
  • Improved collaboration drives employee engagement, and a results-driven culture
  • 'Access anywhere' enables flexible working, benefitting both employee and organisation

Pricing

£1.80 a licence a month

  • Education pricing available

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 publicprocurement@virginmedia.co.uk. 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 7 2 1 2 2 9 0 5 6 0 8 6 2

Contact

Virgin Media Business Diane Murray
Telephone: 07973 622296
Email: publicprocurement@virginmedia.co.uk

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
No
Cloud deployment model
Public cloud
Service constraints
Not applicable
System requirements
  • https://products.office.com/en-GB/office-system-requirements
  • Microsoft 365 can be installed across multiple devices:
  • PCs/Macs/Android tablets/Android phones/iPad/iPhone
  • Microsoft 365 is designed to work with the latest browsers
  • Using older browsers/Office versions may affect quality of experience
  • Microsoft won’t provide code fixes to resolve non-security related problems
  • Microsoft 365 doesn’t support interoperability with third-party software

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
>90% call SLA and issues resolved within 1 day

Target 4hr response time
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
No
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), 7 days a week
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
No
Support levels
We offer free support, via phone and email . We also have technical account managers, and cloud support engineers too which are available as a chargeable extra (see professional service options on attached Pricing Document).
Support available to third parties
No

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Customers receive a welcome email with next steps on how to set up their licences.
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • HTML
  • PDF
End-of-contract data extraction
Please see https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-online-data-portability
End-of-contract process
Upon expiration or termination of your Office 365 subscription or contract, Microsoft will provide you, by default, additional limited access for 90 days to export your data.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
Application to install
Yes
Compatible operating systems
  • Android
  • IOS
  • Linux or Unix
  • MacOS
  • Windows
  • Windows Phone
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
The service is optimised for mobile, desktop and tablet use and there are differences. Core functionality is available across all platforms.

See https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Office-Online-browser-support-AD1303E0-A318-47AA-B409-D3A5EB44E452
Service interface
Yes
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
Description of service interface
Refer to Service Definition for the service
Accessibility standards
None or don’t know
Description of accessibility
Service meets WCAG 2.0 AA or EN 301 549 accessibility standard
Accessibility testing
WCAG 2.0 AA or EN 301 549 applies
API
Yes
What users can and can't do using the API
Users can maintain their subscription through the cloud services broker platform.
API documentation
Yes
API documentation formats
Other
API sandbox or test environment
Yes
Customisation available
No

Scaling

Independence of resources
Not applicable

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Not applicable

Resellers

Supplier type
Reseller providing extra support
Organisation whose services are being resold
Microsoft

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
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)
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
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
Protecting data at rest
Other
Other data at rest protection approach
For data at rest, Office 365 deploys BitLocker with AES 256-bit encryption on servers that hold all messaging data, including email and IM conversations, as well as content stored in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. BitLocker volume encryption addresses the threats of data theft or exposure from lost, stolen, or inappropriately decommissioned computers and disks. Your organization’s files are distributed across multiple Azure Storage containers, each with separate credentials, rather than storing them in a single database.
Data sanitisation process
Yes
Data sanitisation type
Deleted data can’t be directly accessed
Equipment disposal approach
Complying with a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v.30, CAS (Sanitisation) or ISO/IEC 27001

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Please see https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-online-data-portability
Data export formats
  • CSV
  • ODF
  • Other
Other data export formats
See https://products.office.com/en-us/business/office-365-online-data-portability
Data import formats
  • CSV
  • ODF

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
  • Other
Other protection between networks
For data in transit, all customer-facing servers negotiate a secure session by using TLS/SSL with client machines to secure the customer data. This applies to protocols on any device used by clients, such as Skype for Business Online, Outlook, and Outlook on the web. See also http://aka.ms/Office365CE
Data protection within supplier network
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
Please see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/microsoft-365-multi-geo?view=o365-worldwide
Approach to resilience
Please see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/o365-data-locations?view=o365-worldwide
Outage reporting
Microsoft technical account manager will report on outages and we will report this to our customer. Issues regarding the provisioning platform, customers will be notified by the Supplier.

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
Yes
User authentication
  • Username or password
  • Other
Other user authentication
Username and password

Username and strong password/passphrase enforcement
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Modern authentication Modern authentication brings Active Directory Authentication Library (ADAL)-based sign-in to Office client apps across platforms, enabling sign-in features such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), SAML-based third-party identity providers with Office client applications, and smart card and certificate-based authentication.

Cloud identity authentication - Users with cloud identities are authenticated using traditional challenge/response.

Federated identity authentication - Users with federated identities are authenticated using Active Directory Federation Services 2.0 or other Security Token Services.

MFA for Office 365 - users are required to acknowledge a phone call, text, or an app notification on their smartphone after correctly entering their password.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office-365-user-account-management.aspx
Access restriction testing frequency
At least once a year
Management access authentication
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password
  • Other
Description of management access authentication
Identity federation with existing provider (for example Google apps)

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users receive audit information on a regular basis
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
British Standards Institution
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
23/01/2022
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
The ISO 27001 certificate covers the protection of Buyer and Supplier employee information that is managed within the Supplier's organisation.
ISO 28000:2007 certification
No
CSA STAR certification
Yes
CSA STAR accreditation date
06/15/2020
CSA STAR certification level
Level 1: CSA STAR Self-Assessment
What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover
More information about the certification can be found at the CSA STAR Registry at: https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/star/registry/microsoft/services/microsoft-office-365
PCI certification
No
Cyber essentials
Yes
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
Yes
Any other security certifications
  • ENISA Information Assurance Framework (IAF)
  • EU Model Clauses
  • EU-U.S. Privacy Shield
  • ISO 27018 Information Technology
  • SOC 1 / SOC 2
  • FedRAMP
  • Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-171
  • HIPAA/HITECH. ISB 1596
  • Certified Cloud Services List (Infosec Registered Assessors Program - IRAP)

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
Yes
Security governance standards
  • ISO/IEC 27001
  • Other
Other security governance standards
• Cyber Essentials Plus • ISO 20000 IT Service Management • ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management • ISO 9001 Quality Management System
Information security policies and processes
An ISMP has been established to enable Office 365 to maintain and improve its management system for information security. Through establishment of the ISMP, Office 365 plans for and manages protection of its assets to acceptable security levels based on defined risk management processes. In addition, Office 365 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).

Office 365 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.

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
Office 365 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. OSA combines this knowledge with the experience of running hundreds of thousands of servers in datacenters around the world.
Vulnerability management type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Vulnerability management approach
In support of the Information Security Policy, Office 365 runs multiple layers of antivirus software to ensure protection from common malicious software. Servers within the Office 365 environment run anti-virus software that scans files uploaded and downloaded from the service for viruses or other malware. Additionally, all mails coming into the service run through the Exchange Online Protection engine, which uses multiple antivirus and anti-spam engines to capture known and new threats against the system. Microsoft has its own Security Response Center (MSRC) that also supplies information to all our customers covering the whole range Microsoft products.
Protective monitoring type
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Protective monitoring approach
Office 365 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 Office 365 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
Please see http://aka.ms/Office365SIM

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Independent review of processes (for example CESG CPA Build Standard, ISO/IEC 27034, ISO/IEC 27001 or CSA CCM v3.0)

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

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

Fighting climate change

The Supplier’s approach to protecting the environment is detailed in our Environment Policy and guided by certification to internationally recognised standards and systems including ISO14001:2015. The Supplier has internal policies regulating water usage, waste disposal, minimising single-use plastics and carbon emission reduction.   

In April 2023, we received validation from the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) for the following carbon-reduction goals:
• Net zero by 2040 with a 90% reduction in value chain emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3).
• Reducing operational emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 90% and scope 3 emissions by 50% by the end of 2030.
• Reducing operational emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 60% and scope 3 emissions by 25% by the end of 2025.

As of February 2024, the Supplier has reduced operational emissions by 45% (baseline FY2020). Here are some examples of the actions we’re implementing to achieve our goals:
• A stringent Code of Conduct requiring suppliers to have a board-approved carbon reduction plan with SBTi-aligned Net Zero goals and interim targets.
• Continuing to source 100% renewable electricity to power our network where we control the bill.
• Delivering a Mast De-Carbonisation Project to drive the landlords of third-party sites to source green electricity. In 2023, the Supplier has de-carbonised 1,128 masts.
• Transitioning our fleet of over 4,000 vehicles to electric by the end of 2030.
• Free-of-charge carbon footprint estimations for our solutions, so customers are better equipped to implement technology sustainably. Our model has been certified by the Carbon Trust.

The Supplier also aims to achieve zero waste operations and zero waste products by the end of 2025. To support this, all customers (including public sector organisations) can receive cash for trading in their unwanted devices and a minimum of 95% of this waste is recycled.

Covid-19 recovery

Immediate response to the pandemic:
The Supplier’s priority during the COVID-19 pandemic was to ensure that communities were safe and supported. Actions included:
• Providing 40GB of free data a month to support home-schooling families struggling to connect during lockdown.
• Offering any customer who worked for the NHS an extra 10GB of data monthly for six months from Summer 2020.
• Partnering with environmental charity, Hubbub, to launch ‘Community Calling’, which works with 400+ local community organisations to re-distribute smartphones to people who need them most.
• Offering vulnerable customers on mobile contracts unlimited minutes and an extra 10GB of data
• Launching an Essential Broadband tariff for existing customers who receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance and/or Income-based Employment Support.

Continued support for those impacted by COVID-19:
The Supplier recognises that COVID-19 exacerbated existing economic and social challenges, and created new ones, so we’re continuing to contribute to economic recovery and support the most vulnerable. Actions include:
• Continuing to provide return-to-work opportunities – the Supplier recently announced 200 new entry-level positions being created in 2024.
• To ensure our customers can access the information they need, the Supplier offers over 60 zero-rate sites including National Energy Action, Citizens Advice and National Debtline.
• 9.7 million people are now eligible to benefit from the Supplier’s Essential Broadband tariff.
• In 2022, the Supplier provided a £400,000 grant fund to launch the Tech Lending Community. This initiative makes tablets and free data available to community organisations supporting vulnerable individuals across the UK, all while extending the life of second-hand tech.
• In June 2021, the Supplier announced its support for the ‘Together Coalition’, by offering grants of £1,000 to 400 small charities that champion and celebrate the community spirit, belonging and togetherness across the UK.

Tackling economic inequality

The Supplier is committed to tackling economic inequality across the UK. This includes:
• Hiring over 2,600 apprentices since our award-winning scheme began in 2008. Our ‘blind recruitment’ process opens opportunities to those who have potential but may lack relevant experience.
• Working with organisations, such as ‘Blind in Business’ and ‘Step into STEM’ to help create opportunities for groups often facing barriers to employment.
• Supporting business creation and growth, through Wayra (start-up cohort) and 5G accelerator hubs.
• Hosting a virtual work experience programme for 14–16-year-olds, focused on driving diversity in STEM careers.

The Supplier works directly with our customers to provide employment and upskilling opportunities in their communities. For example, our nationwide network of 170+ ‘Future Careers Ambassadors’ provides support and guidance to pupils from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM. The Supplier pays around £2.5m every year through the Apprenticeship Levy and has spent 55% of the levy to date on apprenticeships (versus a UK average of 39%).

Additionally, the Supplier has a significant focus on addressing digital exclusion since this is a key barrier to economic equality. By 2025, we aim to:
• Connect 1 million digitally excluded individuals.
• Equip 6 million people with digital skills, confidence, and tools.

The Supplier’s customers benefit from access to subject matter experts in this space, as well as our established partnerships. Our digital inclusion initiatives include:
• Partnership with the Good Things Foundation to create the National Databank, which provides free-of-charge SIMs for individuals experiencing data poverty. Since 2022, over 78,568 SIMs have been distributed.
• The Supplier’s nationwide ‘Connect More’ programme enables our employees to use their five paid volunteering days to deliver digital skills training through local authority and third-sector drop-in centres.
• As part of our ‘Community Calling’ initiative, over 18,292 phones have been re-homed.

Equal opportunity

The Supplier is dedicated to tackling inequality and enabling everyone across the UK to fulfil their potential.
The Supplier’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy, ‘All In’, sets bold ambitions to be achieved by 2027. These are measured and reviewed regularly to ensure that the Supplier is on track.
To support ‘All In’, the Supplier has created an Inclusive Recruitment Programme to ensure our end-to-end recruitment journey for internal/external talent is fully inclusive.
The Supplier also reduces barriers through our policies aimed at providing the right support and flexibility for all employees. This includes:
• Industry-leading Family Friendly people policies which include up to 26 weeks’ paid maternity and adoption leave, 14 weeks’ paternity leave and up to 12 weeks’ paid neonatal leave, plus paid time off for caring, bereavement, emergencies, and more.
• Optimising our workplace adjustment process in collaboration with industry leaders, ‘Microlink’.
• Our ‘Work Smarter, Live Better’ hybrid working policy empowers our people to work in a way that helps them thrive.
• Integrating an ‘Adjustment Passport’ into our HR system, which provides comprehensive documentation of the accommodations provided for employees. This eliminates the necessity to divulge personal information.
• Regularly collaborating with our employee networks which represent the LGBTQ+ community, gender, disabled people, people who are neurodivergent, unpaid carers, and underrepresented ethnic groups.
• Signing up to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme and working towards achieving the Level 2 Disability Confident Leader standard.
• Attaining the 'Carers Confident' Level 1 classification and actively progressing toward Level 2.
• Funding gender transition treatment for our transgender and non-binary employees and helping them access medical care and support.

Additionally, all our suppliers must provide a Modern Slavery Transparency Statement detailing the actions they have taken to minimise the risk of Modern Slavery in their operations and supply chains.

Wellbeing

Improving Health and Wellbeing:
The Supplier promotes a culture of health, education, and wellbeing so that we can support all employees, both personally and professionally.
Our ‘Thrive’ programme provides a comprehensive range of advice, tools and policies to ensure our people can be their best at work. As part of Thrive, our employees have free 24/7 access to confidential support and advice from trained therapists via Bupa Healthy Minds. Our people can also access free online treatment, such as Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
The Supplier offers the following management development modules:
1) Stamp Out Stigma: Managers’ mental health awareness
2) Anxiety and Depression: Managers’ toolkit
3) Workplace Stress: Managers’ survival kit.
To support physical wellbeing, the Supplier’s employees are enrolled on the Bupa Medical plan from day one. Our people can even choose to extend this to their partner and/or children by paying an amount every month. The Supplier also offers a Ride-to-Work scheme to help our people improve their fitness, reduce their carbon footprint, and save money on the cost of a bike.
Personal development also has a crucial role in wellbeing, so the Supplier ensures that our people have the right knowledge, skills and behaviours to reach their full potential. We have a wealth of learning and development tools available, including unlimited access to 16,000+ online courses on LinkedIn Learning, which are taught by passionate real-world professionals.

Community Integration:
When delivering social value propositions, the Supplier prioritises collaborating with the community to help deliver a shared vision for the area. This includes partnering with the public sector, private sector, and third sector.
Additionally, all the Supplier's employees have five paid volunteering days per year to support and connect with their local communities, digitally and in person. Since 2023 alone, our people have supported over 443 charitable causes.

Pricing

Price
£1.80 a licence a month
Discount for educational organisations
Yes
Free trial available
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 publicprocurement@virginmedia.co.uk. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.