Tri-Borough Cabinet Member Decision Report

Transcription

1 Tri-Borough Cabinet Member Decision Report Decision maker(s) at each authority and date of Cabinet meeting, Cabinet Member meeting or (in the case of individual Cabinet Member decisions) the earliest date the decision will be taken Not applicable Not applicable Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Customer Services - Cllr Tim Mitchell Date of decision: 17 November 2015 Forward Plan reference: n/a Report title (decision subject) Reporting officer Key decision Access to information classification Funding approval for Office 365 migration and SharePoint intranet project Charlie Parker, Chief Executive, Westminster City Council Yes Part exempt - that this report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraphs 3 and 5 in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and contains legal advice. Cabinet Member or senior officer signoff details [Report author to confirm that the authority of the relevant Cabinet Member at each authority has been obtained to the publication of this report or Cabinet Member signature to be added below: Report authorised: [insert] Date: [insert] TBC 1

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. This report seeks funding approval and permission to implement Phase 3 of the cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools (Office 365) programme, which is the migration of user accounts to the new cloud platform. It also seeks funding approval for the shared services SharePoint intranet project. Office 365 Programme 1.2. The Office 365 programme was approved by Shared Services Board (SSB) in April 2015 with subsequent approval for Phases 1 and 2 given by Cabinet in May As set out in previous Cabinet reports, the programme is based on a four phase implementation: Phase 1 Assess the councils technical readiness to adopt Office 365; Phase 2 Procure software and server licences to align licensing structure; Phase 3 Remediate infrastructure and transition to new services; and, Phase 4 Fully implement SharePoint (document sharing software), undertake pilots for Skype, Yammer and broaden device access and exploit Office 365 capability widely across the councils The programme team has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2, which carried out a technical assessment of each council s readiness to adopt; and, procured and aligned software and server licensing across the three councils At the end of Phases 1 and 2 a checkpoint was inserted to allow the three councils to review progress. The councils are now ready to proceed to Phase 3 implementation and transition with a single enterprise arrangement with Microsoft. It is proposed to undertake Phase 3 implementation in a number of stages, some of which may be carried out in parallel, although Stage A lays the foundation for all the remaining stages: Phase 3 - Remediate infrastructure and transition to new services A. Initial integration pilot, for which outside technical support is required; B. SharePoint Intranet deployment; C. Roll-out core and calendar features, to enable transition to the new platform; D. Migrating public folders from the archive E. Skype rollout (software enabling low-cost communication amongst staff and with partners) F. Yammer rollout (an internal enterprise social networking service software enabling more effective and tailored peer-based communications) Phase 4 - exploit Office 365 capability G. SharePoint document management pilot H. Broadening device access pilot 2

3 1.6. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) will lead on a joint procurement for the consultancy support which will be a call-off of services from Crown Commercial Services (CCS) G-Cloud framework. The resulting contract will be entered into by RBKC The cost to deliver the next phase is approximately 409,000 SharePoint Intranet Project 1.8. Stage B of the Office 365 programme includes development of a single intranet platform for use by all three councils Currently, the councils have three sovereign and one shared intranet platforms. These platforms are used extensively by staff to access shared policies, learn about council news, carry out searches and share information across the three councils. The current platforms are no longer fit for purpose, delivering suboptimal functionality to staff and carrying an increasing ICT overhead to maintain The SSB, at its meeting of 2 nd September 2015, agreed to implement a new intranet platform which would serve the needs of all three councils, providing new sovereign branded incidences and a shared service incidence. The main benefits from the project would be reduction in cost to deliver and maintain intranets across the three councils and improved end user experience The project will be delivered by the shared ICT service supported by two subject matter experts. The total project cost is 120,000, which will be apportioned across the three councils equally. Westminster City Council s (WCC) contribution would be 40, RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1. That Part 2 of the report be exempt from disclosure by virtue of the Local Government Act 1972, Schedule 12A, Part 1, Paragraphs 3 and 5 in that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and contains legal advice. 2.2 That this report recommends: Office 365 Programme a) Implementing cloud-based collaboration tools using Office 365, at a tentative cost of 409,000 for Phase 3, to be funded from reserves established to support Westminster City Council data centre migration; and, b) Award of a contract for consultancy support by calling off from the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud framework. 3

4 SharePoint Intranet Project c) Provide funding approval for delivery of the intranet project for 40,000, to be funded from reserves established to support Westminster City Council data centre migration. 3. REASONS FOR DECISION 3.1. This project is a key enabler required to achieve savings in excess of 4.7m per annum in IT starting from 2017/18 and to facilitate further office savings from the City Hall refurbishment WCC s data centre migration is dependent upon completion of Office 365 for hosting and data archive storage. Failure to deliver Office 365 would lead to WCC incurring significant increased costs to deliver and data storage and place completion of the data centre migration at risk The adoption of Office 365 supports the council s ICT strategy in terms of providing joined-up solutions to users, enabling an improved user experience at reduced cost and introducing utility based charging, i.e. costs based on user numbers. The approach of adopting a common set of cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools outlined in this report was approved by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services Westminster City Council in May 2015 in the report Shared ICT Services Procurement of software licences for cloud-based collaboration tools (Phase 2 of cloud-based collaboration) WCC has set out to increase the flexibility and collaborative working capability available to staff enabling significant productivity benefits to be realised. This flexibility is needed across WCC, in working with existing shared services and to allow joint working with other organisations in the future. These benefits are detailed in the documents referred to below in the list of background papers. 4. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Office 365 Programme 4.1. In May 2015, in a report entitled Shared ICT Services Approval of strategy to align cloud based collaboration tools and funding for Phase 1 Assess, the three councils approved a programme which would align the collaboration and productivity tools used by each councils staff, migrating to Microsoft s Office 365 cloud offering. The programme was based on a four phase implementation: Phase 1 Assess the councils technical readiness to adopt Office 365; Phase 2 Procure software and server licences to align licensing structure; Phase 3 Remediate infrastructure and transition to new services; and, Phase 4 Fully implement SharePoint and undertake pilots for Skype, Yammer and broadening device access exploiting Office 365 capability widely across the councils. 4

5 4.2. The report also approved funding across the three councils to deliver Phase 1, Assess In a report entitled Shared ICT Services Procurement of software licenses for cloud based collaboration tools (Phase 2 of cloud based collaboration). The councils approved the funding in June 2015 to deliver Phase 2 of the programme Phases 1 and 2 have completed: Phase 1 - Each council s technical readiness to adopt has been assessed through a series of workshops which identified the technical requirements to align, assessed the server requirements, and provided reassurance against a number of risks/issues. Phase 2 - The councils have aligned their software and server licensing structure through entering into a single enterprise agreement with Microsoft. SharePoint Intranet 4.5. Hammersmith and Fulham, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster City Council have three sovereign and one shared (TriBNet) intranet platforms. These platforms are used extensively by staff to access shared policies, learn about council news, carry out searches and share information across the three councils However, it is recognised that the current platforms across the councils are no longer fit for purpose, delivering sub-optimal functionality to staff and carrying an increasing ICT overhead to maintain The SSB, at its meeting of 2 nd September 2015, agreed to implement a new intranet platform across the three councils. The platform would allow for separate incidences which would retain sovereign branding and content, whilst including a shared area where all staff could access data easily. It would also offer new capabilities to underpin emerging corporate values and transformational objectives The intranet would be based on the new SharePoint platform that is being developed as part of the Office 365 programme, running in parallel to this project The main benefits from the project would be: rationalisation of four intranet platforms into one which is easier to maintain delivering ICT efficiencies; deliver an improved user experience with improved access to information, in particular across shared services; and, provide a viable collaboration tool, promoting and supporting flexible working. 5. PROPOSAL AND ISSUES Office 365 Programme - Outline of proposed solution 5.1. As set out in the previous paper, the proposed approach is based on the Microsoft cloud offering for Exchange online, Office 365, supported by a single simplified Active Directory used solely for user authentication. 5

6 5.2. Phase 3 will deliver cloud-based , calendar, contacts and tasks enabling working across services and with other organisations while handling data securely. It is proposed to undertake Phase 3 implementation in a number of stages, some of which may be carried out in parallel, although Stage A lays the foundation for all the remaining stages: Phase 3 - Remediate infrastructure and transition to new services A. Initial integration pilot, for which outside technical support is required B. SharePoint Intranet pilot C. Roll-out core and calendar features, to enable transition to the new platform D. Migrating public folders from the archive E. Skype for Business pilot for instant messaging, voice, video and web conferences F. Yammer social media pilot Phase 4 further exploit Office 365 capability G. SharePoint document management pilot, enabling users to create new SharePoint team sites in the cloud and developing the +use of OneDrive to share individual files H. Broadening device access pilot Procurement approach 5.3. This is a complex infrastructure project. Developing the Office 365 platform will be undertaken by BT through a Change Control Notice (CCN) from WCC s Lot 1 call-off of services from the information technology framework and by procuring consultancy support to provide assurance that the infrastructure has been set-up correctly. Contract Change Notice (CCN) 5.4. In December 2013, WCC worked collaboratively with RBKC and H&F to award three information technology services frameworks. The frameworks were awarded to single suppliers in December Lot 1 distributed computing (BT); Lot 2 service desk (Agilisys); and, Lot 3 data centre (BT) Call-off contracts for all three lots were approved in April 2014 in a report entitled Approval of call-down from three framework contracts to supply a set of ICT services for Westminster City Council. WCC has since called-off services and successfully transferred to the new service providers The Office 365 programme will be delivered by BT through a CCN of the original Lot 1 call-off of services. The CCN will amend the services provided to include implementation of an Office 365 platform for the following services: , instant messaging/presence and file services ( data storage). 6

7 5.7. Attached as Appendix One is the CCN and programme proposal submitted by BT to complete the works. Procurement of Consultancy Support 5.8. The consultancy support to deliver Phase 3 will be procured through G-Cloud, the Crown Commercial Service s (CCS) procurement framework for information technology commodity cloud-based services. RBKC will lead on the procurement of these services from a Microsoft certified partner for the three shared service authorities The councils will be working with a Microsoft certified partner to deliver the remediation and enablement work which will deliver the Office 365 single incidence and undertaking the migration work Although most of the work will be carried out by the shared ICT service in-house team, additional detailed support is required from a Microsoft certified consultancy. The value of the requirement is above the OJEU threshold of 172,000 and would be subject to UK Public Procurement Regulations Options for sourcing Phase 3 requirements are explored below: Option Benefits Drawbacks OJEU (restricted procedure) CCS Framework Greater level of market competition Most recent market pricing and solutions Pre-selected suppliers Capable suppliers Reduced tendering costs and timescales Timescales to complete. Cost. Limited competition. Framework scope may not be a good fit for requirement IT consultancy is a buoyant market with many competing providers. The area of Office 365 implementation is a particularly fast growing specialisation and represents a relatively new area of expertise. Therefore while the area is expanding and capability is improving, experience of complex Office 365 integrations across multiple is still relatively rare Microsoft manage a partner accreditation programme for certified consultancies, to ensure customers can procure services with the confidence that Microsoft assure their capability and expertise in the particular disciplines. The requirements will therefore include the relevant accreditations in those disciplines aligned with the nature of the services The timescales required and the relative simplicity of the services do not support a full OJEU procurement. G-Cloud is a CCS framework to provide cloud based services and support. The G-Cloud framework is re-tendered every six months to ensure the pricing remains current and competitive; and to refresh the supplier and service offerings in accordance with a fast moving market. The framework contains a high number of suppliers to ensure healthy competition, while providing simple means to down-select. It is a competitive and simple route to 7

8 market for commoditised cloud based services and support such as those required for Phase It is recommended that procurement of support will be from G-Cloud. The contract period will be dependent on the programme delivery timelines across all three councils. The contract documentation, terms and conditions and service level agreements are pre-defined in the suppliers service offering The evaluation approach will be in accordance with the provisions of the G-Cloud framework and Westminster Procurement Code, specifically the Westminster G- Cloud Engagement Process document Initial gateway criteria will be established to allow a down-select of providers under G-Cloud to a manageable shortlist. Final selection of providers will be based on a 60:40 commercial/technical split, with technical criteria based on demonstration of past experience, proposed consultant expertise, and delivery of requirements Pricing will be on a time and materials basis against a published rate card under the G-Cloud framework. Consideration will be given to the pioneering nature of this consultancy work, which will result in lessons learnt and specialist knowledge or intellectual property which may have a recurring value for a consultancy Contract management will establish outcomes and deliverables plus associated acceptance criteria, to ensure that progress under the contract can be effectively managed and tangible outcomes or deliverables are produced and appropriately approved. Pilot Project A small pilot project will be implemented ahead of full implementation of Office 365. The purpose of the pilot will be to test the technical solution, trial some of the modules available within Office 365 and provide assurance that the councils are able to implement the single incidence required to maximally exploit the cloud collaboration capability. Transition to new platform On satisfactory completion of the pilot project, the work can begin to transition fully to the new platform and migrate users to the cloud-based service. Experience from elsewhere suggests that this needs to be undertaken as rapidly as possible. Risk Analysis The main risk to the successful completion of the project is the feasibility of Microsoft s proposal set out in section 5.1 above, with the cloud-based Active Directory synchronising with local, on-premise Active Directories. To enable effective collaboration all three councils must be a single entity on Microsoft s Office 365 cloud, which is supported by a single user directory synchronised with the local Active Directories that continue to be maintained by the three councils. This element represents the pioneering aspect of the requirement. 8

9 5.22. Microsoft report that this deployment model has not been completed in the UK previously, but has been undertaken in the USA by Microsoft, who also has direct access to the software developers for Office 365 software The skills required to undertake the range of assessments required on network connectivity, message routing and other key areas are not available in-house because of the unique arrangements for Microsoft To mitigate against the risks arising from the lack of referenced precedence with this work, the procurement via G-Cloud will require the production of a relevant case study to demonstrate delivery of a project with alignment to the councils requirements. Dependences WCC data centre provision is near end of contract term. The council is in the process of migrating to new data centres by June Delivery of the Office 365 infrastructure is critical in supporting WCC s migration strategy, providing significant document storage capacity and hosting for and archive through Office 365. Failure to complete the data centre migration would impose significant financial risks on the council as well as loss of business access to a number of critical systems. Costs Noted below are the high level estimates of total programme costs for WCC. Description Supplier Nature of Charge Project cost Total Cost 409, There is a level of uncertainty around these estimates at this point: Application compatibility the project requires upgrading to Office 2013 (and possibly Office 2016) and to Internet Explorer 11. Many applications make use of these pieces of Microsoft software. These may encounter compatibility issues that take longer to resolve than anticipated. Cost uncertainty: there are a range of areas where costs are not yet certain: o The exact approach for migrating the , the consultancy support required, costs and duration; and, o The exact statement of works (and therefore costs) for the consultancy support required. tools configuration there are a range of supplementary tools where detailed analysis work on the configuration work required has not been fully estimated. These include support for Blackberry devices, the mail filtering required, and enablement of a secure capability. On transitioning to a new cloud based service, especially one with as high a volume of traffic as an service, there is a potential impact on the internet bandwidth required for the organisation. 9

10 WCC Timelines Current timescales for the programme are shown: Cloud-based Collaboration and Productivity Tools (Office 365) Programme High Level Timeline Aug 15 Sep 15 Oct 15 Nov 15 Dec 15 Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Apr 16 May 16 Jun 16 ASSESS Jul 16 COLLABORATION ENABLEMENT AND CALENDAR ENABLEMENT BUSINESS PILOT MIGRATION IE11 ROLL OUT OFFICE 2016 ROLL OUT SharePoint Intranet Project Outline of Proposed Solution As set out in section , SSB approved the intranet project at its meeting on 2 nd September The project will develop an intranet platform which will be used by all three councils with a single incidence for cross council information, (including shared business services) and sovereign incidences for each council This is a shared service initiative which will be delivered predominately through shared ICT service resource, supported by two external subject matter experts on a consultancy basis. The subject matter experts will deliver the intranet design, technical information governance solution and communication work streams within the project Noted below are the total project costs. The costs will be apportioned across the three councils. The funding request for WCC is 40,000. Funding for the project is currently being approved in RBKC and H&F, subject to separate papers. Resource Cost ( s) Total project cost 120, The project is dependent on the Office 365 for delivery of the SharePoint platform which the intranet will be developed on. 6. CONSULTATION 6.1. There is no public consultation requirement 7. EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS 7.1. There are no Equality/HR implications. In the Office 365 programme, staff training will be considered, planned and implemented as appropriate. The programme board will work closely with the user reference group to develop an effective communications plan. Verified by Jo Meagher, Senior HR Manager 10

11 8. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 8.1. The ICT Strategy has been approved by the Cabinet in May 2015 and the proposed transition to Phase 3 is in accordance with such strategy The delegation sought for approving funding is justified on grounds of current uncertainties as to the final shape of the phase 3 and only high level best estimates have been currently provided The proposal to call-off from the CCS G-Cloud Framework for appointment of the consultant to support project implementation would be in compliance with the Council s obligations under the Public Contracts Regulations Accordingly, the recommendations in this report are endorsed. Verified by: Babul Mukherjee, Senior Solicitor (Contracts) 9. FINANCIAL AND RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS 9.1. The cost for WCC to exit the current Data Centre provision and transfer services to BT, which also includes provision of Office 365 and the SharePoint Intranet project, has been established at 986k of which, 789k is anticipated to be incurred in 2015/16 with the remaining balance of 197k in 2016/17. The price has been finalised with help of the Council's procurement department and is deemed provide the best value for money. The costs are a one-off commitment; payments to BT will be monitored and only paid upon achievement of key milestones The cost referred above is revenue expenditure and will be a charge against the IT revenue budgets. Due to this there will be a corresponding reduction in the IT capital program of 789k in 2015/16 and 197K in 2016/ The potential future benefits realisation has also been considered. However, at an initial review the current projection is anticipated to deliver savings of circa 388k per annum within the IT service contract with BT from This represents a payback period of 2.33 years. Consideration will be given to a further reduction in the IT service contract once the project is complete. The service contract is linked to the number of established FTE posts within the Council and if in the future the number of established posts reduces then the team will look to ensure that this is reflected in the revised service charge. Any further reduction will further enhance the payback period. The actual savings will be fully quantified once the project is underway to ensure that any savings generated are first offset against any on-going costs before the net savings are released. Verification by: Zohaib Nizami, Strategic Finance Manager, Tri-borough Corporate Services 11

12 10. BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS The councils are buying a commodity item, provision of technical advice through G-Cloud. This procurement route is pre-vetted and only suppliers on the frameworks will be able to participate in the procurement. 11. PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS Office 365 Programme Change Control Notice The services noted above will be provided from the Information Services Framework, Lot 1 distributed computing. This framework was established in December, 2013 by WCC. It is a single supplier framework, awarded to BT. The call-off contract is for a period of five years, with the option to extend the contract annually for a maximum of a further two years. In establishing the framework WCC carried out a procurement which was compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) WCC entered into a call-off contract for services from the Framework and the call-off in April 2014 and transfer to the new service provider has progressed well. The migration project is within scope of the framework, represents the intended use of the framework, and was provisionally identified as a line item in the call-off contract. Therefore the change notice will represent the ongoing refinement of that project cost and method of delivery following provision of further requirements information, reviews of possible strategies, and due diligence Further provision of services from the information services framework through the change control procedure is an appropriate sourcing vehicle for these services. Consultancy Support Procurement of the cloud support services will need to be carried out in accordance with EU procurement rules and the three councils contract standing orders A project board has been set up with cross borough representation. The three councils requirements and how the resulting contracts will be set up have been discussed at length. This document presents the outcome of these discussions Further competition under the G-Cloud framework will be carried out in accordance with the framework provisions. G-Cloud is designed as a commodity based marketplace and for most requirements all factors required to select the Most Economically Advantageous Tender are included in the G-Cloud service offerings and published on the Cloud marketplace There is no particular EU procurement risk involved in this procurement other than to state that the proposed strategy complies with EU procurement law. SharePoint Intranet Project 12

13 11.8. Technical Specialist and Information architecture specialist as per the table at 5.12 have been sourced by Westminster City Council via a single consultancy agreement at a combined cost of 70,320. The consultancy has been sourced in accordance with the Westminster Procurement Code. The contract has been entered into and will be managed by Westminster City Council. Verified by: Dermot Doherty, ICT Category Manager. 12. IT STRATEGY IMPLICATIONS The report is aligned with the current shared services ICT strategy and vision of converging software and infrastructure, whilst enabling better collaboration and productivity amongst staff. It is a key enabler to a range of critical council initiatives, including the realisation of savings in excess of 4.7m, the transition from the HFBP contract and the new ways of working planned through the Town Hall project. Verified by: Ed Garcez, Chief Information Officer. LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 2000 LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN PREPARING THIS REPORT No. Description of background papers Name/ Ext of holder of file/copy 1. Shared ICT Services Approval of strategy to align cloud based collaboration tools and funding for Phase 1 Assess 2. Shared ICT Services Procurement of software licenses for cloud based collaboration tools (Phase 2 of cloud based collaboration) Howell Huws, Ext: 5025 Howell Huws, Ext: 5025 Department/ Location shared ICT service shared ICT service 13

14 For completion by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services Declaration of Interest I have <no interest to declare / to declare an interest> in respect of this report Signed: NAME: Date: Councillor Tim Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services State nature of interest if any.... (N.B: If you have an interest you should seek advice as to whether it is appropriate to make a decision in relation to this matter) For the reasons set out above, I agree the recommendation(s) in the report entitled: Funding approval for Office 365 migration and SharePoint intranet project and reject any alternative options which are referred to but not recommended. Signed Councillor Tim Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services Date If you have any additional comment which you would want actioned in connection with your decision you should discuss this with the report author and then set out your comment below before the report and this pro-forma is returned to the Secretariat for processing. Additional comment: If you do not wish to approve the recommendations, or wish to make an alternative decision, it is important that you consult the report author, the Head of Legal & Democratic Services, Chief Operating Officer and, if there are resources implications, the Director of Human Resources (or their representatives) so that (1) you can be made aware of any further relevant considerations that you should take into account before making the decision and (2) your reasons for the decision can be properly identified and recorded, as required by law. 14

15 Note to Cabinet Member: Your decision will now be published and copied to the Members of the relevant Policy & Scrutiny Committee. If the decision falls within the criteria for call-in, it will not be implemented until five working days have elapsed from publication to allow the Policy and Scrutiny Committee to decide whether it wishes to call the matter in. 15