Nalin Parekh ICT/Finance June 2009 ICT STRATEGY 2009/2011

Transcription

1 Nalin Parekh June 2009 ICT STRATEGY 2009/2011

2 VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 2/20 June 2009

3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION SCOPE BUSINESS DRIVERS BUSINESS OBJECTIVES GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES STRATEGY ICT MANAGEMENT BUDGETARY ARRANGEMENTS TECHNOLOGY Desktop Operating System Desktop Applications , Print and File Services Document Management Desktops and laptops Printers & Scanner Server Technology MS Windows Servers Virtualisation AntiVirus Software & Firewall STANDARDS Best Practice WEB SOFTWARE LICENSING NETWORK CONNECTIVITY EOC MC Internet Access VPN LAN Infrastructure Remote Access Service (RAS) ICT SECURITY Policy Guidance Awareness LOCAL & CORPORATE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT External Consultancies Backup & Recovery Procedures Upgrades BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING TRAINING & ICT SUPPORT Induction...17 VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 3/20 June 2009

4 Desktop Applications Applications & Systems VCA S OVERSEAS OFFICES MONITORING PROGRESS / REVIEWS ANNEX A - DESKTOP SOFTWARE & APPLICATIONS ANNEX B - VCA ICT WORK PROGRAMME 2009/ VCA Business Plan 2009/2010 References 2 Data Handling Procedures in Government: Final Report (June 2008) 3 Greening Government ICT (Cabinet Office) 4 A National Information Assurance Strategy (Cabinet Office- June 2007) 5 Open Source, Open Standards and Re-Use: Government Action Plan (Cabinet Office March 2009) 6 MFS(SSDL) Data Architecture Strategy v1 issue.doc (June 2007) 7 MFS (SSDL) ICT Straegy V3 (Jan2008) 8 The Government IT Competency Framework 9 SFIA Version 4 Skills Framework See J:\ICT\Public for all DfT and Cabinet Office documents VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 4/20 June 2009

5 Glossary of Terms BCP CESG DfT DGO EOC HW LAN MC MFS ODBC OGC RAS SAN SW VPN WAN Business Continuity Plan UK Information Assurance Authority Department for Transport Dangerous Goods Office Eastgate Office Centre Hardware Local Area Network Midlands Centre Motoring & Freight Services Open Database Connectivity Office of Government Commerce Remote Access Service Storage Area Network Software Virtual Private Network Wide Area Network VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 5/20 June 2009

6 VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 6/20 June 2009

7 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. This document sets out an updated vision of how cost effective ICT services are to be delivered over the next two years to meet the business needs of the Agency. The strategy will contribute to the agency achieving its key priorities as set out in the VCA s Business Plan for 2009/ In particular, the implementation of this strategy will make significant contribution towards meeting the transforming customer service and improved efficiency and capability objectives The business plan also commits VCA to continue to invest in the resilience ICT systems, and the training of staff The strategy also takes in to account changes required to the underlying technology, both hardware and software, to meet the requirements of project Victor. 2. SCOPE 2.1. The strategy addresses the following: ICT infrastructure including network connectivity ICT systems o Corporate o Local o Desktop application software Desktops, laptops, printers and scanners Business Continuity Planning (BCP) ICT Organization, staff & Skills 2.2. Three categories of ICT Systems are defined: Corporate systems used across the Agency and supported centrally by ICT section or by the owners/sponsors of the system Local systems usually developed by individuals for their business areas to assist them in their day to day tasks (eg small ACCESS databases or EXCEL spreadsheets) and locally supported Desk-top application applications developed by individuals for their own use 2.3. Desktop applications and software in use are listed at Annex A. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 7/20 June 2009

8 3. BUSINESS DRIVERS 3.1. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES To provide a cost effective and efficient service to its customers, the Agency needs to identify and exploit the considerable opportunities the use of ICT to meet the business needs. This includes using ICT as a tool to aid administration, simplifying tasks, reducing costs and providing the management information necessary to enable timely assessment of business performance and impact VCA has initiated Programme Victor to take forward projects to provide improved management information. The project aims to do this by identifying disparate systems currently in use in the agency, map out relationships between these systems, update the supporting systems ensuring compatibility across systems through the use of a common platform and application software, and develop information systems that provide the required data for up-to-date management information GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES Deliver the green agenda (set out in the Greening Government ICT Strategy), to the carbon cost of ICT itself and in the use of ICT to reduce carbon emissions in delivering Government Services. Adopt open standards, open source, re-use (as set out in the Open Source, Open Standards and Re-Use Strategy) to drive greater flexibility and competition; Professionalise and invest in our workforce capability to ensure we can deliver ICT enabled change now and in the future, by investing in training our existing staff. Data/Information Assurance will remain at the forefront all VCA ICT systems, both old and new. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 8/20 June 2009

9 4. STRATEGY 4.1. It is clear that the provision of high quality and successful ICT service is fundamental to meet the Agency s business objectives. The quality of ICT service provision is very much dependant investment in ICT resources and training, development of ICT skills across agency and the management of ICT Customer and business related information is currently held locally in spreadsheets, databases or bespoke software, by individual business areas. Project Victor has been set up to review and consolidated the disparate systems to: provide a corporate picture of customer base and activity reduce duplication enable effective Customer Relation Management enable management have the most up to date information on business activity 4.3. ICT MANAGEMENT The ICT section is headed by an SEO, supported by an EO and 2 AOs, and reports to the Head of Finance. The section s role include: day to day management of servers and software that underpins the , print & file, Internet mail, and internet browsing services management of ICT budgets management of LAN and WAN and firewalls daily backup of servers file restores support for users in EOC, MC and Millbrook (GroupWise, local application software, printing, scanning) new desktop/laptop configuration printer management (toner cartridge replacement etc) internet mail management ICT procurement (HW & SW) Application software installation ICT Security ICT advice to business areas 4.4. BUDGETARY ARRANGEMENTS The implementation of this strategy will require substantial investment in Fy2009/10 and 2010/11. The strategy proposes major changes to the underlying supporting technology. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 9/20 June 2009

10 4.5. TECHNOLOGY Desktop Operating System The Agency moved to Windows XP operating system on the desktop in 2007/08. Although the new desktops and laptops are now shipped with Windows VISTA, we are still able specify Windows XP at purchase. There is no immediate business requirement to move to Windows VISTA However, the option to downgrade new PCs/laptops will not be available for much longer. Microsoft is expected to release the replacement for Windows VISTA, called Widows 7 in October Therefore, ICT will undertake a program of work to test all current application for compatibility with Windows VISTA or Windows 7. If no compatibility issues are found then new desktops and laptops will be purchased with Windows VISTA/Windows 7. But existing desktop and laptops will not be migrated to Windows VISTA/Windows A review will be carried out in September 2010 to consider migration to Windows 7 in Desktop Applications The Agency moved to Office 2003 in This meets the business need of VCA. Office 2007 is the current version, but it significantly different in terms of look and feel from Office 2003, and its implementation would require a major retraining exercise. As there is no business requirement to upgrade, Office 2003 should remain the standard. This position should be reviewed in September Over 60% of Agency staff use Adobe Acrobat Writer. We are currently on Version 8. Move to version 9 will be driven by business needs , Print and File Services VCA currently uses Novell NetWare for print and file services; Novell Netware e-dir for managing users and their access rights to the network resources and GroupWise for e- mail. Whilst this has served VCA s business needs in the past, increasingly new applications and systems have little or no support for Novell NetWare or GroupWise. To ensure that VCA continues to benefit from implementation of new applications and system without any unnecessary VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 10/20 June 2009

11 restrictions, VCA will move to a complete Microsoft Windows environment for file and print services by end of ICT have started preparatory work on this The move from GroupWise to Microsoft Exchange, with Outlook as the desktop client will require a lot of planning and some key decision taken by the management board. ICT will start planning for this later this year and present a migration plan to the management board in November Document Management VCA should develop a record/document management policy, which conforms to the National Archives record management policy. The storage of documents requires some control. Each business unit VCA should develop a record management policy that sets out what should be saved, where, how long for, and who has access. VCA should also take an early decision on implementation of SharePoint for managing documents Desktops and laptops The Agency has standardised on DELL laptops and desktop. To meet the Cabinet Office Green ICT objectives, all new desktop and laptops will be Energy star enabled. ICT will take further steps to make the desktops and laptops greener All laptops will have encrypted hard disc. Desktops issued to small satellite offices will also be encrypted to protect against loss of data through theft DfT are carrying out a desktop review for the family. VCA should await the outcome of this review and take advantage if it proves to be beneficial to VCA Printers & Scanner The Agency currently uses HP LaserJet printers. These shared by small work groups in each branch, the ratio varies from 1:4 to 1:10 users. A number of printers have Duplexing kit installed A number of business units also have local scanners. As most of the branches now prefer to keep electronic copies of documents (Scanned in), consideration should be given to replacing the workgroup printers with a reduced number of high speed multifunction printer/scanners, say one per floor. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 11/20 June 2009

12 Server Technology This would remove the need to purchase scanners (plus desktop) for individual work unit, and help us to achieve our Green ICT objective VCA currently has 6 NW and 10 MS server. Each server has its own local disc storage. This leads to inefficient use of disc capacity. VCA will implement Storage Area Network (SAN) technology where the disc storage is separated from the servers. SAN offers a pool of disc capacity that is shared by a number of servers that serve different applications It also offers faster backup to disc and restore options. However, to take most benefit of the Agency needs an effective record management policy so that the stored data can be divided in to work-in-progress and archive MS Windows Servers VCA currently have a number of Windows server that support various applications such as MS Active Directory, SQL, Finance applications, SOPHOS AV distribution, content checker for s and web browsing, With the move to a complete Windows environment, the number of Windows servers will increase. To meet the government Green ICT objectives, VCA needs to consider reducing the number of servers. This can be achieved using virtualisation technology Virtualisation Using virtualisation technology, a number of operating systems (application servers) can be run on a single (high spec) physical server. Currently there are three major players in the market (VMWare, Microsoft and CITRIX). ICT will investigate the offering from these companies in the last quarter of 2009 and after the SAN solution and migration to Windows file servers has been completed. and identify a cost effective solution AntiVirus Software & Firewall VCA currently uses Sophos AntiVirus software on all desktops and laptops, and Sophos Firewall on Laptops. Installation and updates are managed through a central Spohos management console. There are no plans to review or replace Sophos at present. However, a review should be VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 12/20 June 2009

13 carried out after September 2010 to ensure that we are using software that meets all our requirements STANDARDS Best Practice The Agency will ensure that Best Practice guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, OGC and CESG are complied with in the design, development, implementation and support of all our ICT systems Sponsors of new ICT systems that cross across MFS and/or support Transformational Government agenda must adhere to the standards set out in the MFS(SSDL) ICT Strategy V3 and supporting documents WEB The Agency will aim to follow the Guidelines for UK Government Websites issued by the Office of the E-envoy with particular attention to: Data Protection Act Copyright and the notices for government websites Disability Discrimination Act Public Records Act Welsh Language Act Human Rights Act The Agency aims to achieve W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Conformance SOFTWARE LICENSING The Agency will enforce a strict policy of using only licensed software. The ICT section will manage software licensing for all corporate systems As part of the desktop support the ICT section will from time to time check all laptops and desktops identify any unlicensed software loaded on users desktops. If there is a business requirement for the software the ICT section will purchase appropriate licenses. If the business unit cannot justify the license costs then the software will be removed Requests for new items of individually licensed desktop application software should be justified and approved by respective Heads of Branches (or if > 2K by the Management Board). VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 13/20 June 2009

14 4.8. NETWORK CONNECTIVITY EOC MC The current 2Mbps is not adequate to support the ongoing and future ICT needs of the Agency. This link will be upgraded to 10Mbps during Internet Access EOC has a 2Mbps fixed IP link. This link currently serves Internet browsing, traffic and VPN links to satellite offices. This will not meet the demands of project Victor, and provides no back up. ICT will investigate the cost of putting in a second Internet link. MC and DGO have a 2Mbps fixed IP links for Internet access. There are no capacity issues with this link at present VPN Point to point VPN links have been established with the following offices to enable their staff to access applications hosted on servers in the Bristol office US Main Office US Ohio Japan Malaysia Millbrook DGO - Leatherhead This at present meets most of the access requirements for the satellite offices. However ICT will investigate and put in place a better mechanism for transfer of large files LAN Infrastructure The LAN infrastructure including Ethernet hubs and switches in the Bristol and the Nuneaton offices will be reviewed as part of the telephone system upgrade project Remote Access Service (RAS) CITRIX servers and software will be upgraded during The current CITRIX implementation is over 5 years old and runs on Windows 2000 servers. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 14/20 June 2009

15 4.9. ICT SECURITY Policy Guidance Awareness The remote access service uses Novell NetWare servers for authentication and web based access. When VCA migrates to a Microsoft environment, some of these options will change A full review of remote access service will be carried in conjunction with the upgrade of CITRIX servers and the planned move to Microsoft environment VCA s ICT security policies will be based on guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, CESG and DfT VCA will ensure that the recommendation of the Cabinet Office Data Handling Review (2008) are fully implemented and applied to all new systems we put in place Guidance notes on ICT Security policies will be issued from time to time and published don VCA Intranet ICT induction training for new entrants will cover ICT Security. As part of ICT induction, all new staff will be required to complete the e-learning training on data security Established staff will be made aware of new and revised polices via , and the policies and guidance documents will be published on VCA s Intranet LOCAL & CORPORATE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND SUPPORT External Consultancies The Agency will engage external consultancies and resources to design, develop, implement and support new ICT systems. Contracts for these assignments will cover documentation, training, skill transfer and subsequent support and maintenance For ICT systems developed by external contractors for the business areas, the following information should given to the ICT section: VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 15/20 June 2009

16 Details of server hardware (RAM & disc capacity) and operating system requirements, including minimum patch revision levels Minimum specification for desktop Details of client installation process, including a copy of the client software on a CD Documentation identifying directories/folders created on the server Details of any special requirements for backup and restore of the application/system Procedures for recovery after a system failure Backup & Recovery Procedures Upgrades The business unit should also discuss and agree backup and disaster recovery procedures with the ICT section If Business units require ICT section to manage or provide support for any part of local systems, then this should be discussed and agreed ICT section should be notified in advance if upgrades to the application software require upgrades to the server operating system. This is essential if there are other applications on the servers. Owners of the other systems would have to agree to the upgrades Advance notice should also be give, if any shared components (eg ODBC drivers) on the desktop require upgrading to allow for testing ICT will set up a reference system (test environment) for : testing server and desktop software upgrades and patches testing security patches checking compatibility of clients for new business applications testing new technologies BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING The disaster recovery plan for ICT will be reviewed and updated as changes are made to the underlying infrastructure. The plan will be incorporated into the VCA s Business Continuity plan and ICT will test the plan in conjunction with Central Service. VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 16/20 June 2009

17 It is Business units responsibility to ensure that external suppliers hosting their systems have business continuity plans in place TRAINING & ICT SUPPORT Induction ICT section will provide a short induction course for new entrants. It should cover basic training in the use of VCA s system an overview of the network drives and security awareness Desktop Applications Each business unit will be responsible for arranging appropriate training for their staff for desktop application they use Applications & Systems It is unreasonable to expect the ICT section to be able to provide support for all application software in use in the Agency. Heads of Branches should encourage staff to become the centre of expertise for any desktop application they use regularly. They could then provide basic support to other users within the Agency VCA s OVERSEAS OFFICES The North America and East Asia offices will maintain their own ICT infrastructure under the guidance of HQ ICT section. Whatever technology solutions they adopt must be compatible with the HQ systems to ensure that they are able to communicate and exchange data/documents without any problems The following sections of this Strategy will be applicable to both these offices: AntiVirus software Software licensing ICT Security; material on ICT Security Awareness training will be made available to both offices Business Continuity Plan; both offices should have a current business continuity plan VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 17/20 June 2009

18 5. MONITORING PROGRESS / REVIEWS 5.1. Progress against strategy targets and the ICT work programme will be reported to the Management Board quarterly (first report due end of October 2009) An annual review of the strategy will be carried out. Nalin Parekh 1 June 2009 VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 18/20 June 2009

19 ANNEX A - Desktop software & applications Windows XP desktop operating system Office 2003 Internet Explorer 6.5 Internet Explorer 8 GroupWise 6.5 Adobe Reader Adobe Writer V7 & V8 Q-Pulse Sharpowl VISION for SUN & Sharpowl CITRIX (ICA client) Sophos Antivirus V 7 Cisco VPN client (laptops) Microsoft Office Project Microsoft Office Visio SAGE ACT V10 (MSDG/WEEE) TROVE (VISTA & Legstat) Java Runtime Environment Checkpoint Full Disc Encryption (laptops) VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 19/20 June 2009

20 ANNEX B - VCA ICT WORK PROGRAMME 2009/2010 Ongoing ICT support Data Security - Information Assurance Complete audit actions deal with new requirements from DfT/CO Accreditation of VCA s ICT network & systems Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Audit review & update DR plans ARA audit in September 2009 NetWare to Microsoft Windows Migration Migrate to Active Directory Migrate File & Print Services Storage Area Network Install SAN Develop data migration strategy Review backup/restore policies & procedures CITRIX Upgrade GroupWise to MS Exchange/Outlook Training for ICT team Design Microsoft Exchange solution for VCA Develop migration strategy Seek management Board approval for migration and revised policy for VCA Staff training Migrate Remote Access Service Review as necessary Virtualisation Understand the concept (lots of reading) Consider options (VMware, Hyper-V, XEN-apps) plan MS Dynamic CRM MS Sharepoint VCA ICT Strategy 2009/2011 V 1.0 Page 20/20 June 2009