HR and Payroll Solutions

Transcription

1 HR and Payroll Solutions Central Government RM 1557 PARTNERSHIP THROUGH INSIGHT, INTEGRITY AND INNOVATION HR & EMPLOYEE SERVICES CASE MANAGEMENT EDRM & DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT FINANCE & ACCOUNTS

2 CONTENTS 1. Overview PeopleAX Benefits Supporting Infrastructure Public and Private Options Additional Environments Information Assurance Business Continuity On- & Off-Boarding On-boarding Process - Online HR Software On-boarding Process - Online Payroll Software On-boarding Process - Online Integrated HR and payroll software On-boarding Process - Online Payroll Services Off-boarding Process - Private/Public Online HR Solutions Standard Implementation Process Pricing Public Cloud Service Pricing - HR Solutions Private Cloud Service Pricing - HR Solutions Day Rates Volume Discounts Data Extraction Service Management Introduction Constraints Maintenance Windows Permitted Customisation Product Schedules Service Levels Performance Availability

3 Support Service Service Credits Training Ordering & Invoicing Process Ordering Process Invoicing Process Termination Terms By Consumers By the Supplier Consumer Responsibilities General Obligations Consumer's Information Implementation Training Service Desk Support Technical Requirements Specification of machines accessing the on-line CRM Bandwidth Requirements Trial Service

4 1. OVERVIEW 1.1. The HR and payroll solutions that Equiniti ICS provides through G-Cloud are: 1. Integrated payroll and HR software 2. Payroll software 3. HR software 5. Payroll Services The software solutions will be based on Equiniti ICS' PeopleAX suite of software which provides all the functionality required for HR and payroll including: HR Management Recruitment Training Absence Payroll Expenses Time and Attendance self service workflow report writing data analysis interfaces Solutions are suitable for organisations rather than individual access. Payroll services based on currently installed software solutions, our Perito Payroll software or on the PeopleAX suite of software which can be accessed as part of the overall solution include: 1 Payroll bureau service - the client is responsible for data entry, payroll processing and provision of payroll expertise - Equiniti ICS generates the outputs (payslips, reports, interfaces, BACS process) and carries out year end processing as well as managing the software 2 Managed payroll service - roles for the payroll process are as agreed with the client but typically Equiniti ICS imports data, processes the payroll, generates the outputs and provides payroll expertise while the client filters employee queries and provides elements of payroll expertise 3 Fully managed payroll service - Equiniti ICS takes on all aspects of the payroll process including expertise and dealing with employee queries Perito Payroll Perito Payroll will be the payroll platform for public sector organisations requiring PENSERVER integration. 4

5 People AX PeopleAX builds on the MS Dynamics AX platform, giving exceptional interoperability with Microsoft products, a look and feel that users recognise and are comfortable with and great depth of functionality across the HR and payroll environment. People AX provides a fully functional UK payroll solution for existing Dynamics AX implementations as well as a HR and payroll software solution on a stand-alone basis. People AX is a fully integrated HR management information system. The PeopleAX solution provides a system that is easy to use as it integrates seamlessly with MS Outlook and other MS Office applications. Users can work with their familiar Outlook environment providing for faster adoption by users, and higher productivity for every user of the system. Functionality covers all aspects of HR and meets the following challenges faced by the HR function: Monitoring employee demographic and skills trends Keeping up to date staff records including multiple sets of contact details Generating organisational charts Tracking labour requirements Running integrated recruitment campaigns Running appraisals and monitoring development goals Tracking health and safety incidents and training Providing a fully integrated, fully functional payroll solution meeting UK legislational requirements Integrating with Microsoft Office products Reporting functionalityand dashboards are provided and help to drive effective decision making in all aspects of the organisation. Built in functionality allows organisation users to drill into detailed information and to export any subset of PeopleAX data to Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet software for further analysis. PeopleAX also provides a number of standard, one-button reports using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services as the underlying report engine. Users can save frequently used reports that are refreshed with current data every time they re opened. Security and access controls are built into every report so users can only access data they are authorised to view. An example PeopleAX HR Dashboard is shown below: 5

6 1.2. PeopleAX Benefits PeopleAX is a business application platform layer that sits on top of and leverages the power of the Microsoft Application Platform technology building blocks (Windows, SQL Server,.NET, SharePoint and MS Office) and is designed to significantly accelerate the return on investment of the enterprise-class business applications. Key values include: Familiar Microsoft technologies that increase user adoption and give end-users a consistent experience across all Line of Business (LOB) applications (Office/Outlook) and provide IT professionals with technology they know (SQL Server, Windows,.NET). Enterprise-class capabilities through highly scalable multi-tenancy deployment for efficient management of multiple large-scale LOB applications in a single environment. Reduced time to deploy with point & click customisation allowing each LOB application to be completely built (relational data model, process automation, user experience) and maintained through a point & click interface, whilst fully extendable with bespoke.net. Reduced Risk with a predictable proven platform with many existing customer examples capitalising on commercial Off the Shelf software platforms and taking advantage of a defined product development roadmap Supporting Infrastructure The Equiniti ICS PeopleAX HR and Payroll Software solution is provided from its Belfast Data centre on HP rack mounted blade servers and storage solutions based on a mixture of HP EVA SANS and EMC storage technology. The communications infrastructure is based on Cisco switches and routers. 6

7 A typical hosted schematic would look like this. Cloud Client Components Services Storage Requirements Citrix Access Gateway Citrix Access Gateway Filtering Web Browsing User Profiles Home Folders File Shares MPLS Citrix Server Farm Client Components MS CRM MS Office Internet Explorer HR & Payroll Change Works Now Concept Evolution Business Intelligence Active Directory Services Anti-Virus Service URL Filtering Windows Software Update Service Backup Schedules System Monitoring Network & Security Management SQL Reporting Services (Sharepoint) SQL Server 2008 Application DB HR & Payroll DB Exchange Mailboxes Equiniti ICS provides the following support services: Server monitoring & administration Data storage & backup Data archiving services & archiving Network Security Disaster recovery Provision of Data & Voice lines User Help Desk & UAR administration Equiniti ICS complies with ITIL standards for Service Level Management. As standard, Equiniti ICS will appoint a Service Manager who will be responsible for managing and monitoring the service provided. The Service Manager is responsible for reviewing the performance of the service on a monthly basis to ensure that the service requirements are being met efficiently by the Equiniti ICS team. Reporting will cover: incident reporting, security breaches, requests for change, patches, cycles of upgrades, hardware replacement, Microsoft service pack roll out, mail box size etc. In addition to this a monthly report can be provided detailing the month s activities. This will provide the client with early performance indicators as to how the service is being utilised and how Equiniti ICS is performing against the stated SLA s. This report will provide the following summary information: Open calls status 7

8 Closed calls root cause Planned downtime Requested downtime Virus report Backup and restore verification Storage information System alerts 1.4. Public and Private Options Equiniti ICS provide two implementation options for the on-line HR Service The Public on-line Service provides access to a multi-tenanted HR implementation shared among different organisations The Private on-line service provides a dedicated HR implementation for a single organisation All data will be hosted in Data Centres located in the UK Additional Environments Equiniti ICS provides a single "production" on-line HR environment as part of the standard Cloud Service costing. Additional environments can be provided for testing, support and training purposes, these will incur additional costs. 8

9 2. INFORMATION ASSURANCE The Equiniti ICS Data Centre and associated hosting services are accredited to ISO/IEC 27001:2005. The ISO accreditation ensures Equiniti ICS maintains and continually reviews all Security Management Systems and Plans and also carries out regular risk assessments. The plans adhere to the security requirements for data classified at Business Impact Level 2 as standard. Equiniti ICS hosted systems are subject to 2 external audits per annum to maintain the ISO accreditation. Equiniti ICS will work with client appointed auditors and network penetration testers if required however advance notice is required to ensure these activities are scheduled. Equiniti ICS follows best practice security policy through all our hosted services solutions, using two different fully resilient firewalls implemented in a back to back configuration offering a high degree of protection. The firewall configurations consist of perimeter appliances configured as a high availability pair and the inner firewall is a clustered configuration. All network traffic, inbound or outbound, passes through the firewalls which are configured to allow only agreed addresses and protocols. The security of client systems is ensured by using VLAN technology which separates groups of virtual servers into logical networks and network traffic may only pass into or out of a VLAN if a specific firewall rule allows. A Web Application Firewall Appliance is deployed as an Application Delivery Platform, terminating and proxying all client requests irrespective whether these come across an MPLS, Internet or VPN connection. This device provides intelligent Load Balancing services as well as essential security capabilities including SSL acceleration and offload, network firewall services, Denial of Service protection, protocol security, cookie encryption, and application attack filtering. This appliance offers multiple authentication mechanisms for users connecting to the hosted services and is used to provide Single Sign-On if required. Single-Sign-On (SSO) technologies exist to provide seamless authentication to VDI, web or application servers once the identity of the user has been established. Because users enter their credentials only once rather than for each application, user productivity improves and there are fewer incidents of lost or forgotten credentials that result in costly support calls. Once a user is successfully authenticated and using the services, their network traffic is continually monitored using an Intrusion Detection System. The IDS deployed monitors all traffic for vulnerabilities and exploits providing detection and prevention at the network layer for application level attacks. We provide protection against Malware from both a network standpoint via an Intrusion Prevention System on the inner firewall cluster, application security exploit protection on the perimeter load balancer as well as on all servers on the network utilising System Centre Endpoint Protection This covers not only anti-virus but extends to cover spam, phishing and functions as a host intrusion prevention product. Equiniti ICS currently hosts services for a range of public and private sector clients including some systems where data is marked as Restricted. We have been accredited to IL3 for some client systems and can offer this to Private Cloud clients. The requirements for IL3 will require individual discussion. 9

10 3. BUSINESS CONTINUITY Equiniti ICS offer a comprehensive application or full desktop hosting service which can provide either a shared Public Cloud environment or a Private Virtual Cloud solution with dedicated virtual servers running the complete range of services required. The physical infrastructure is provided on enterprise class hardware components using the latest HP Blade Servers housed within HP BladeSystem c7000, EMC SANs for the storage and Microsoft Hyper- V for the virtual infrastructure. Infrastructure Servers The HP BladeSystem c7000 enclosure provides all the power, cooling and I/O infrastructure needed to support the modular servers and redundant interconnect components required to deliver the service. The Intelligent Power Module automatically maps servers to their power source verifying power redundancy in the process. HP Insight Control provides the server management. HP BL465 Server Blades configured as part of a Hyper V cluster are used to provide the virtual servers required with capacity in each for failover which rules out any single server hardware points of failure. The HP BL465 Server Blades have the latest AMD processors and integrated HP Virtual Connect FlexFabric architecture and these servers will deliver the performance required for the most demanding of application workloads. Storage A pair of EMC VNX SANs is used to provide the shared storage for the Equiniti ICS hosting services and these SANS provide high availability by using redundant components (power supplies, fans, and storage processors) as well as dynamic failover and failback. The EMC VNX has been designed to take advantage of the latest innovations in Flash drive technology and the combination of Flash drives and hard disk drives delivers a balanced solution of performance and efficiency. The performance of the SAN is significantly enhanced by using the EMC FAST Suite on the VNX SAN which tiers data across heterogeneous drives and boosts the most active data to cache. The efficiency of the SAN can be improved by using file level de-duplication which reduces the disk space used by selectively compressing and de-duplicating inactive files. The ability to upgrade system software or hardware while the VNX system is running is another key feature which makes this SAN a robust and resilient solution for shared storage. The EMC VNX SAN solution will encrypt all data written to the SAN disks. PowerPath Encryption with RSA is a host-based, data-at-rest encryption solution that is a modular enhancement to the wellknown multipathing, load-balancing, and failover capability. Because of PowerPath s unique position in the I/O stack, upper-level applications are unaware that data is being encrypted; therefore, applications require no change. VNX Host Encryption enables compliance with internal, private, and government standards including the Payment Card Industry Data SecurityStandard (PCI DSS), one of the most widely applicable compliance standards in use today. 10

11 The EMC VNX is significant in business continuity planning as it replicates all data to the Equiniti ICS remote DR site providing a recovery point objective of less than 1 minute. This is critical for assured recovery of data within a time objective which suits most clients. Virtualisation Microsoft Hyper-V is the virtualisation solution of choice for the Equiniti ICS hosted cloud service. Microsoft Hyper-V provides a dynamic, reliable and scalable virtualisation platform with a single set of integrated management tools to manage both physical and virtual resources. Leveraging the clustering capabilities of Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V provides support for disaster recovery within the local environment and across data centres. Equiniti ICS uses this technology to provide many virtual servers on each physical server, maintaining isolation, we balance the workloads across the different resources. Hyper-V includes business continuity features, such as live backup and quick migration, enabling stringent uptime and response metrics to be met. Hyper-V together with Microsoft System Centre 2012 ensures the Equiniti ICS Hosting Service offering is dynamic and agile. Microsoft s Hyper-V hypervisor provides a scalable solution for virtualisation on the Windows Server platform and many of the advanced features of the Hyper-V environment are enhanced by the highly scalable EMC storage array. Network The network components are designed with both resilience and security in mind. Our datacenters are linked with multiple fibres and a minimum of 1Gb speed is available throughout the hosting environment. All servers within the blade enclosures perform at 10Gb network speeds. The network is built using a range of Cisco switches and port security is applied on each switch which prevents any device connecting to the network. Guaranteed separation of the client systems is secured using VLAN technology which separates groups of servers into logical networks. Virtual LAN or VLAN is a concept of partitioning a physical network, so that distinct broadcast domains are created preventing traffic from one VLAN reaching another VLAN. Environmental Monitoring Environmental monitors are installed which monitor temperature, humidity and other environmental conditions in the data centre. The monitors are user configurable with high and low warnings and critical temperature and humidity thresholds. and SNMP alerts are sent to the technical support help desk system when conditions are abnormal and in addition to this the Alert Centre facility is used to provide automated telephone voice and text alerts 24/7 to the technical support mobile to give early warning of impending computer room problems. Equiniti ICS Cloud Services include backup and recovery procedures to ensure system availability and data retention in the event of a system failure or disaster occurring. The hosting service is provided from a main data centre with a backup DR facility located 6 miles away. 11

12 Business Continuity Data Replication For business continuity purposes if a client has requested Disaster Recovery services all data is replicated to the remote site using SAN to SAN replication. RecoverPoint EMC RecoverPoint provides continuous data protection with multiple recovery points to restore applications instantly to a specific point in time. Tape Backup Services Tape backups of specific systems are scheduled to run each night and the tapes are taken off site to a secure storage area within our remote DR site each day before 11am. Tapes are transferred by Equiniti ICS staff. The standard tape backup service operates with multiple clients data being written to a single set of tapes. Options are available to provide a separate backup service with a separate set of tapes for an individual client, encryption of all data written to these tapes or an increased backup cycle. A 2nd backup server is installed in the DR site and gives catalogues etc for a faster recovery from tape if required. 12

13 4. ON- & OFF-BOARDING 4.1. On-boarding Process - Online HR Software Client completes standard registration/order form Client completes HR Definition Document SLA / service documentation signed off by client Supplier sets up HR software Client provides file containing employee details for loading Supplier uploads client file and tests solution Standard HR configuration is provided to client, normally within 5 working days Client carries out user acceptance testing If further configuration is required then a specification will be agreed along with costs and implementation plan for this work 4.2. On-boarding Process - Online Payroll Software Client completes standard registration/order form Client completes Payroll Definition Document SLA / service documentation signed off by client Supplier sets up payroll software Client provides file containing employee details for loading Supplier uploads client file and tests solution Standard payroll configuration is provided to client normally within 15 working days Client carries out user acceptance testing If further configuration is required then a specification will be agreed along with costs and implementation plan for this work 4.3. On-boarding Process - Online Integrated HR and payroll software Procedures set out in 4.1 and 4.2 are followed with aggregation of procedures where appropriate reflecting the solution required by the client On-boarding Process - Online Payroll Services Client completes standard registration/order form Client completes Payroll Definition Document SLA / service documentation signed off by client Supplier sets up payroll software Client provides file containing employee details for loading Supplier uploads client file and tests solution Standard payroll configuration is provided to client normally within 15 working days Supplier / client carry out a parallel run / user acceptance testing If further configuration is required then a specification will be agreed along with costs and implementation plan for this work 13

14 4.5. Off-boarding Process - Private/Public Online HR Solutions Clients must provide 3 months' notice of termination and complete service termination form An exit plan will be agreed including data extract arrangements. Data can be extracted in.csv,.xml or.xls format Data volumes over 1000 employees will require individual extraction plan including agreement on extract media After contract termination, all live client data will be deleted. All customer specific backup tapes will be destroyed. Client data for payroll will still be held on shared system backup tapes. If clients require to have individual backup tapes and not be part of the shared backup this must be notified at time of ordering. There is an additional charge for providing individual backup services Standard Implementation Process The standard implementation process is based on the Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step Methodology Sure Step is the official Software Implementation Process from Microsoft for Dynamics AX-based Projects. Sure Step defines process phases, milestones roles, artefacts, cross-phase-processes and additional project management processes. Sure Step supports different project types: Full Implementation, Rapid Implementation, Optimization and Upgrade. The Overview Diagram is provided below. 14

15 15

16 5. PRICING 5.1. Public Cloud Service Pricing - HR Solutions Ref Service Set up Service Charge per month 1. Integrated payroll and HR software 2. Payroll software 3. HR software 4. Payroll Services 30,000 plus 1,000 per 100 employees 30,000 plus 500 per 100 employees 20,000 plus 500 per 100 employees 30,000 plus 1,000 per 100 employees 2,000 plus 140 per 100 employees 1,500 plus 70 per 100 employees 1,500 plus 70 per 100 employees 500-1,500 per month plus per employee dependant on service level Standard service charge covers up to 1000 employees. Discounts (on application) will be provided for larger employee populations. Backup provided at system level covering all tenants as standard. Individual customer backups can be provided at additional cost Private Cloud Service Pricing - HR Solutions Ref Service Set up Service Charge per month 1. Integrated payroll and HR software 30,000 plus 1,000 per 100 employees 2,000 plus 140 per 100 employees 16

17 2. Payroll software 3. HR software 4. Payroll Services 30,000 plus 500 per 100 employees 20,000 plus 500 per 100 employees 30,000 plus 1,000 per 100 employees 1,500 plus 70 per 100 employees 1,500 plus 70 per 100 employees 500-1,500 per month plus per employee dependant on service level Standard service charge covers up to 1000 employees. Discounts (on application) will be provided larger employee populations. Backup provided at system level covering all tenants as standard. Individual customer backups can be provided at additional cost Day Rates Staff Level Type Standard Day Rate Project Manager 850 Programmer/Analyst 850 Consultancy 900 Training (up to 6 delegates) Volume Discounts Volume discounts available for employee numbers over Price provided on application Data Extraction Standard charge to provide data extract of volumes up to 1000 employees is 1,000 including media cost. The extract will be provided using standard routines to.csv,.xml or.xls format. Volumes over 1000 employees will require agreement on extract media and format and will be individually costed. 17

18 6. SERVICE MANAGEMENT 6.1. Introduction Equiniti ICS provides Service Management arrangements based on ITIL principles, complying with defined service levels covering support response times, defect resolution times, maintenance updates, system upgrades, and change controls. The customer will receive full maintenance for the overall solution which may include software and database updates, fixes and support for any new functionality that has been developed specifically for the customer. The on-line CRM solution will be configured to meet an agreed functional requirements specification. After the functional specification is agreed, the solution can only be modified through a formal Change Control procedure. This ensures that ongoing development of the system will be fully controlled. We have a full complement of support staff to manage the systems and availability of the Equiniti ICS Cloud Services, with the Availability Management team providing 24x7 cover for our datacentre to manage incidents arising and alerts raised by the system management tools. The system tools adopted allow the System Manager to monitor the performance and availability of individual components of the system. Any alerts requiring escalation are passed to technical experts in the appropriate areas. The Equiniti ICS support service is both proactive and reactive, taking the lead on preventative measures by utilising the latest analytical tools such as HP SIM and Advent OpManager for critical components such as the servers and network switches. OpManager is a powerful fault and performance management tool for the network, which performs system health checks and trigger alerts in the event of an error occurring or systems operating outside of predetermined thresholds. The tool provides warnings and threshold exceptions for a wide range of issues such as environmental conditions, hard drive SMART warnings, and other predictive errors as well as actual failures Constraints Maintenance Windows Equiniti ICS will perform updates on a pre-published schedule, normally outside of standard working hours. Customers will be given at least two weeks notice where possible of scheduled maintenance tasks Permitted Customisation Equiniti ICS can provide customisation services for the MS CRM application. The system can also be extended further using the "XRM" capabilities. These services are subject to additional charges based on the published rate card, however the client can make changes to the solution providing it has the required skills internally to do so. The on-line CRM solution will be configured to meet an agreed functional requirements specification with each customer. After the functional specification is agreed, the solution can be modified by Equiniti ICS through a formal Change Control procedure. This ensures that ongoing development of the system by Equiniti ICS will be fully controlled. 18

19 Product Schedules Product roadmap and related information are available on the Microsoft website Service Levels Performance Response time target for accessing screens of the CRM system should be within 3 seconds (at a minimum) 99% of the time Response time target for simple searches for information and displaying results within the system should be within 5 seconds 95% of the time Response times exclude network latency Availability Standard system availability target of the online-crm service is 99.5% Support Service Support Summary Equiniti ICS proves a single contact point for all problems including advice on all aspects of the solution be it on the hardware or software side. This is provided through a Help Desk that is available as a standard service from 09:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday. Additional support, including cover for weekends, evenings, bank/public holidays, and 24x7 on call support, can be arranged on a short- or long-term basis if necessary and we would be pleased to discuss this further with customers. Response times vary according to Service Level Agreements (to be formally agreed with the client on award of contract); our standard response time for a medium priority call is 4 hours. Exact levels of support/response times need to be agreed with the customer and we welcome further discussion on this. Customers must provide a Service Manager as a single liaison point for co-ordination of support issues Call Logging The primary means of logging all calls, incidents and queries is via the Equiniti ICS Call Service Desk using the following address: [email protected]. The secondary means of contact to the Equiniti ICS Service Desk is via the following telephone number: Calls may also be logged on the Equiniti ICS Call Handling web interface via the following web link: Support and maintenance calls are recorded by support receptionists allocated to a Service Desk. The Service Desk will record all support calls on the Call Monitor system detailing: 19

20 Date and Time of Call Receipt Client Code and Contact Nature of Call Call Priority The Call Monitor system assigns a Call ID (a unique reference number) to the call, and the Service Desk will inform the caller of this number. The call details are then passed to the most appropriate functional/technical person to be resolved, and the progress of the support call monitored with the assistance of the Call Monitor application to ensure a prompt follow-up. The technician will progress the call through to resolution and will involve other support resources, including 3rd party organisations, as appropriate. Calls will only be closed when the client is content that the call has been resolved to its satisfaction. The client has the right to escalate calls of particular urgency; escalation procedures exist to ensure that all required resources are assigned to a critical problem Response Times Standard Equiniti ICS support and maintenance agreements provide guaranteed acknowledgement and targeted resolution of issues within the agreed service level. See below for the standard SLA. Priority Response Time Incident Description Target Fix Time 1 - Critical 1 hr Critical business impact for example: Entire System is unavailable e.g. client unable to access the online CRM system 2 - High 2 hours Major business impact for example: An important component of the System is unavailable 3 - Medium 4 hours Medium business impact for example: A component of the System is subject to fault but a workaround exists 4 - Low 8 hours Minor business impact including: functionality problems of a cosmetic nature; or Request for advice or guidance. Within 1 Working Day (with a workaround within 4 hours) Within 2 Working Days *Fixed for Release within 10 working Days As agreed Problem Management If, in the resolution of any incident, an underlying issue is detected that may lead to further re-occurrences of the same incident, Equiniti ICS may record a problem call that will be progressed and monitored as any other call in the system. The client will be kept informed of such calls. 20

21 Service Credits The standard online-crm service does not include provision of service credits for failure to meet the standard service levels. An enhanced service including service credit provision can be provided at additional cost, tailored to specific customer requirements 21

22 7. TRAINING Training is tailored to each individual organisation requirements. It is charged on a daily rate basis as per SFIA table. Training Approach Equiniti ICS offers training that is closely tailored to project requirements and provided by training professionals with project-specific application expertise, meaning Central Government organisations can be confident in the quality and efficacy of the service. Good training ensures fast end user adoption of new or upgraded technologies, allowing Central Government organisations to realise the benefits of their investment immediately. Equiniti ICS are highly experienced in training delivery in the public, private and third sectors with projects ranging from 18,000 users to one-to-one training with people with disabilities. Training success is assured by ensuring people are at the centre of the training and are well informed in relation to the project objectives, outcomes and approach to delivery. At all stages a Training Consultant will work with the organisation to ensure a clear strategy and delivery structure in relation to the project, the types of users and their needs. We will also ensure that the training meets the organisation s exacting requirements and that Super Users, Trainers and Champions are confident in the process of training to be provided. Equiniti ICS can offer a full training package, or 'train the trainer' sessions, providing delivery ensuring best value for money and promotion of overall user adoption and knowledge transfer. This approach allows Central Government organisations to take ownership of the training element of the project, ensuring that it is able to retain the relevant knowledge in-house and so deliver additional, top-up, and crossskilling training. In addition, the Training Department at Equiniti ICS Equiniti can produce professionally designed training materials and documentation and can offer post go-live training delivery, support and consultancy. Equiniti ICS believes that successful training depends on pre- and post-course delivery planning, as well as on what happens in the classroom itself. When compiling a training plan we factor in predelivery, delivery, and post-delivery tasks. Knowledge gathering Training Needs Analysis Course development & pilot Develop customised courseware Delivery Post-delivery support Pre-course Delivery Equiniti ICS believes that the greater the effort put into pre-course preparation, the more likely it is to succeed in delivering the requirements. Acquiring a combination of organisational knowledge, context-specific technical knowledge, and an understanding of the experience of Central Government personnel is essential to this success. Organisational Knowledge 22

23 The success of any training project is maximised by the amount of background information gained regarding the customer s business/strategy, the systems, working practices and procedures, and the reasons behind the decision to conduct a training rollout. Subsequently, before embarking on any course design, Equiniti ICS proposes to work with the Central Government organisation to define clear, workable training requirements based on an understanding of Central Government s core services, strategy, and objectives. In organisations where we are involved in defining the as-is and to-be processes we achieve a high level of understanding of the business and are therefore best placed to deliver relevant training of the highest quality. Training Needs Analysis (TNA) Equiniti ICS will co-operate with Central Government organisations in conducting detailed TNA to identify the exact skill levels and training requirements of the organisation and potential G-Cloud users. This will allow Equiniti ICS to establish the most appropriate course content; a copy of the TNA will be provided to the organisation. Ideally, Equiniti ICS will operate a two-phase approach to conducting the TNA, using a combination of questionnaires and interviews to obtain the most accurate response. Course Development Having completed the process of requirements analysis through meetings with Central Government staff and conducting a TNA, Equiniti ICS will develop the training programme and present our recommendations/course outline(s) to Central Government for approval. We often prefer to conduct a pilot of the course, to be sure of its suitability to Central Government s needs. Customised Courseware/Documentation Each delegate attending an Equiniti ICS/Central Government training course will receive a comprehensive, professionally designed training manual specifically written for Central Government G-Cloud training rollout. In this way your particular needs can be targeted and worked examples provided which are specifically tailored to the business application being trained. Equiniti ICS also recommends that manuals be made available electronically on the organisation s intranet. Delivery Training will be provided either onsite at Central Government s offices, Equiniti ICS premises, or an agreed 3rd party location. Our experience indicates that learning is best achieved in small classes of up to 8 delegates, where each attendee has access to their own computer as well as other visual aids such as presentations and demonstrations. Equiniti ICS advises its customers to hold training as close as possible to the go-live date so that the trainees can put their newly acquired knowledge into use immediately. 23

24 Post-delivery support during first phase of go-live During the first days of go-live, Equiniti ICS can provide floor walkers available to answer queries, and will also place one or more senior Technical/Functional Consultants on site to iron out any teething problems. The Training Department at Equiniti ICS are happy to discuss specific client requirements in relation to training and associated learning management. 24

25 8. ORDERING & INVOICING PROCESS 8.1. Ordering Process Clients must complete standard registration/order form, provided on-line, this includes: o Client Details o Online CRM System Name (by default the Client name) o Number of Users Required o Additional Environments Required o Additional storage required (if applicable) o Specification of Customisations Required (If applicable) o Specification of any specific communications requirements Equiniti ICS will provide order confirmation form including detailed cost breakdown Customer must confirm acceptance of order confirmation and associated terms and conditions 8.2. Invoicing Process Clients will be invoiced on a monthly basis Payment must be made within 30 days using bank transfer to the Equiniti ICS banking details provided 25

26 9. TERMINATION TERMS 9.1. By Consumers Consumers must give one months notice of termination 9.2. By the Supplier Equiniti ICS will provide 1 years notice of a Cloud Service being withdrawn 26

27 10. CONSUMER RESPONSIBILITIES General Obligations The Consumer shall be responsible for providing all agreed information and data to enable Equiniti ICS to perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Consumer shall provide Equiniti ICS with reasonable access to appropriate members of the Consumer s staff, as may reasonably be required, after reasonable notice having been given by Equiniti ICS, so that Equiniti ICS can discharge its obligations under this Agreement. The Consumer shall provide suitably qualified staff to fulfil the Consumer s roles and duties under this Agreement. The Consumer shall comply with any obligations placed on it in the Security Policy Consumer's Information The Consumer shall respond and/or provide such documentation, data and/or other information that is within its immediate control, that Equiniti ICS reasonably requests that is necessary for the Equiniti ICS s performance of its obligations under this Agreement. The Consumer shall, throughout the Term, provide to Equiniti ICS timely notification of Consumer policy and/or regulation changes which impact on the provision of the Services Implementation The Consumer shall make best endeavours to perform those obligations specified in any agreed implementation plan Training The Consumer shall ensure that all staff using the service are given appropriate training Service Desk Support The Consumer shall provide a Helpdesk which shall: be available to all Consumer staff to report queries, incidents and problems with the Service. If the Consumer's Helpdesk is unable to resolve these, it will report them to Equiniti ICS s Service Desk for attention or resolution. provide assistance and guidance on the use of the Services to Consumer staff. 27

28 11. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS Specification of machines accessing the on-line CRM As a guide the system will typically be able to be used on standard computer hardware available for the past five years. As the system will be accessed via a web-browser, no CRM software needs to be installed, allowing users of standard operating systems such as Windows to access the system, as long as they have an Internet connection and a supported web browser. The browsers officially supported are: Internet Explorer 7 and above (32-bit & 64-bit) Mozilla Firefox 3.6 and above Safari 4.04 and above Note that other browsers, whilst not officially supported, may display on-line CRM with little or no issue Bandwidth Requirements As with any browser based system, the greater the bandwidth that the end user has available the faster their connection will be to the hosted server side application. The time required to upload/download documents will be dependent on the document size and the speed of the internet connection. 28

29 12. TRIAL SERVICE Equiniti ICS provide a 3-month Online-CRM trial service covering up to 5 users. There is a one-off 750 setup charge for this trial service, deductable from the full service setup charge if this proceeds within 12 months of the trial. 29