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Nursing and Midwifery Council Award Contract to CloudSource and Bramble Hub

Posted on 20 April 2022 - 09:13 by

Bramble Hub and our partner CloudSource have been awarded a further contract to continue work on the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s) Modernisation of Technology Services Programme (MOTS). This award marks the third phase of MOTS, which began at the start of 2021.

CloudSource will provide a range of skills to the NMC including project management, architecture, development and testing.

The contract was awarded under the G-Cloud 12 framework.

The NMC is the largest healthcare regulatory body in the world, with over 685,000 nurses and midwives, and played a key role in in the emergency recruitment of medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

CloudSource’s CEO, Mark Williams comments:

“It has been a fantastic opportunity for CloudSource to partner with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on their journey to become a digital regulator.

The Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure solution that has been implemented will no doubt be a key enabler for their future organisation.”

Origina: Freeing IBM Users From Expensive Support Contracts

Posted on 19 April 2022 - 10:40 by

At one time, IBM was the dominant force in corporate IT. The giant, best known for its super-powerful and super-stable (and super-expensive) mainframe computers, was the reliable choice. Common wisdom had it that ‘nobody ever got fired for buying IBM’. This attitude resulted in a feeling that IBM was untouchable, both inside and outside the corporation.

This hubris led, in 1993, to IBM posting an $8 billion loss – breaking all previous records. That triggered a switch in strategy, with a new focus on services, rather than just on its proprietary hardware and software. But the core business approach – based around locking customers into IBM products and then charging them handsomely for support, fixes and upgrades – continued.

Founded in 2002, Origina began as an IBM business partner. Then in 2016, the company recognized that IBM customers could be presented with a choice to take back control of their own IT decision making, and took a strategic decision to offer independent third-party support to IBM customers. As Rob Paddon, Origina’s Territory Manager for the UK and Ireland, explains it, “If you own a perpetual license (for IBM software), you’ve paid enormous amounts to own the rights to the software but you are still facing ever increasing annual maintenance charges. The challenge is that IBM will dictate what version of the software they will maintain and customers are on an endless upgrade cycle that diverts funding and resources away from essential digital projects”.

Given IBM’s premium pricing, it was easy for Origina to undercut on price: Rob claims that the average customer saves 30% – 50% on their old contract. But Origina’s benefits go far beyond just price. For many customers, upgrades are more than just a straightforward cost: they require skilled resources to be diverted away from other work. Yet ignoring upgrades may mean that customers lose support for old software versions. This gives customers two unpalatable choices – either to follow the IBM upgrade path, or be pushed into decommissioning the software.

Origina offers an attractive third path. Rob says “We don’t care what version of a product you’re running. We don’t demand upgrades”. Origina will support all versions of any IBM (or even ex-IBM) product. We can protect the software from cyber threats and work on interoperability to allow it to keep working with changes to the operating system, database or linked applications. This means that not only do customers save money on the support contract, but they escape from the upgrade loop.

Once the environment is more static, customers can plan their future migration paths. “What we do is lifecycle management,” says Rob. “We’re typically supporting products that will eventually be decommissioned and on which organisations would ideally spend as little as possible”.

This allows IT managers to pause the upgrade cycle, stabilise the ecosystem, and plan longer-term strategies. But although this seems like an obvious choice for IBM customers trying to escape lock-in, a problem comes to mind: supporting old software requires specialist knowledge.

Origina manages this issue because it is focused specifically on supporting legacy software. “We have the skills to do this,” says Rob. “As IBM has been shedding staff, Origina has been signing them up as Global IBM Experts, all with at least 15 years of senior experience in their specialist domain”.

Not only does this extend the life of software installations, but it extends the careers of veteran IBM engineers with expertise in older software.

Right now, Origina is going from strength to strength, employing 130 staff in the US, EU, UK and Australia, and with a turnover around $50 million.

In partnership with Bramble Hub, Origina has won large projects at the Department of Work and Pensions and is looking to extend its reach in the UK public sector. “We have a good reputation with the DWP,” says Rob, and there are many public sector organisations still using older versions of IBM software. IBM itself is committed to selling its Cloud Pak architecture and commercial models which are not necessarily the direction that customers want to follow. That gives us an opportunity to take over legacy software installations in customers that don’t want to continue down the preferred IBM upgrade path”.

MH&A: Expertise, Experience and Empathy

Posted on 31 March 2022 - 13:15 by

“These are some of the best people I’ve ever worked with”. Matt Hamnett is reflecting on the firm, MH&A, which he founded – “just me and a laptop” – in 2018. The business, and its team, has grown to more than 20 people since then; “we’ve recruited genuine experts to our cause, in a slightly Ocean’s Eleven way”.

The business has grown organically, responding to impressive demand for MH&A’s services in its three key target markets: education, economic development, and major programmes – “big and difficult public service initiatives”. The firm has successfully delivered projects in central Government, regional and local Government, and the education sector.

Matt leveraged his impressive CV to build MH&A. After almost a decade in the civil service, he worked in large consultancy and BPO organisations – PWC and Capita – before taking a “grisly” Chief Executive role in the education sector. After completing that transformation effort, he wanted to set up his own business, so MH&A was born.

MH&A works with clients on strategy, service design and programme delivery. Matt stresses that the firm is focused on helping its clients translate strategic intent into customer and community outcomes, saying: “we’re not going to just give you a pretty slide pack describing your problems back to you. We will give you a gorgeous deck, sure; but what we’re really about is helping you solve the problem and make a difference.”

The firm’s approach relies on three pillars:

  • expertise – “people who are genuine experts in their field”;
  • experience – “people who’ve been there, and aren’t really scared by anything”; and,
  • empathy – “people who understand the client context, and commit to working with them on an embedded, supportive, basis.” When Matt describes the firm’s success, it almost sounds like it’s been easy, but he insists this has not been the case. “It’s not been a cakewalk. But it’s been the adventure the team and I wanted. And our plan is to continue enjoying the adventure. We don’t just want to grow; we want to do interesting and worthwhile work with great clients. We’ll grow because of their trust, and their advocacy for what we do. We don’t take either of those things for granted.”

Can MH&A continue to grow without watering down what makes it special? Matt responds that he’s investing in the business, not least by bringing exceptional people into the fold. “I’m not sure anyone in the country knows more about apprenticeships than Jaine Bolton; Chris McKibbin has incredible expertise in emerging technology, innovation and disruption in public services; Emma Cooper is a real expert in economic development and business support. I could go on…”

MH&A has worked with Bramble Hub for almost its entire four-year history, and Matt suggests that our service is uniquely valuable – enabling MH&A to bid for large public sector projects, and giving public sector buyers access to the firm’s expertise.

Apache iX: Straightforward Thinking for a Complex World

Posted on 25 March 2022 - 10:55 by

Apache iX (iX stands for Independent eXperts) is a small – but fast-growing – IT services company with a strong background in the defence sector. The company was founded in 2014 by Jeff Moreton (ex Qinetiq & HVR Consulting). Jeff was quickly joined by John Marsh and Andrew Page. Together, these three have built the company – it now approaches 20 people.

Jeff Moreton

John Marsh

Andrew Page

Apache iX provides services across the project lifecycle, from business analysis and procurement to technical consultancy and software delivery. Its consultants are senior, specialist, experienced, and accustomed to working within large customer and multi-supplier project teams; their core values are pragmatism, trustworthiness and collaboration.

A services company can only be as good as its people, and it becomes clear, on meeting Andrew, that Apache’s people are good, living up to the ‘iX’ tag. The strength of the team means that Apache are confident to embrace high-complexity environments and requirements. Indeed, as Andrew points out, complexity appears everywhere in the defence sector: at the commercial level, through to stakeholders and users, and of course technology.

It is easier for companies of this size to focus on excellence than it is for much larger consulting firms, which tend to dilute as they grow. But being small has its drawbacks too, especially when it comes to bidding on large public sector projects. The cost and effort involved with bidding on frameworks is high due to the number and breadth of frameworks, with success by no means guaranteed. Andrew points out that the barriers to entry for frameworks like Management Consultancy Framework Three (MCF3) are quite high for SMEs.

It was this fact that led Apache iX to seek out Bramble Hub and become one of our partners, thus gaining access to a greater breadth of frameworks, MCF3 included. And this helps to illustrate one of the strengths of the Bramble Hub model: it allows buyers to access the specialisms of small companies that may be the best in their field, but may not have the resources to successfully bid on all frameworks. In this way, Bramble Hub’s model of doing business gives public service customers access to a far broader pool of service providers than they could by doing business only with the largest consultancies. And this brings a synergy that benefits both customer and supplier.

As Andrew points out, “There are frameworks that we can’t, don’t want to or couldn’t justify the effort of joining,”, and says of Bramble Hub: “We’re pleased to have met you”. And the feeling is mutual.

For more information about Apache iX, see their partner profile page.

Bramble Hub and CloudSource to Assess New Case Management System for The Pensions Regulator

Posted on 24 March 2022 - 13:47 by

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has awarded a contract to Bramble Hub and our partner CloudSource to assess options for the delivery of a new case management system. The project’s goal is to determine whether an existing system (built using OpenText Documentum) should be rebuilt using Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365). The project is anticipated to take around two months, with an option to extend it by an additional four months.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, incorporating AI, which enables organisations to manage their stakeholder relationships. CloudSource is a Gold Microsoft Partner with extensive experience in delivering D365 solutions.

The Pensions Regulator is the public body with the responsibility for overseeing workplace pensions. It is based in Brighton and has around 800 staff. Its five core goals are:

  1. Security: Savers’ money is secure.
  2. Value for money: Savers get good value for their money.
  3. Scrutiny of decision-making: Decisions made on behalf of savers are in their best interests.
  4. Embracing innovation: The market innovates to meet savers’ needs.
  5. Bold and effective regulation: TPR is a bold and effective regulator.

The Bramble Hub / CloudSource proposal was ranked highest of the five proposals submitted. The contract was awarded under the Digital Outcomes and Specialists 5 framework.

Bramble Hub Partner Content+Cloud Announces a Seventh Advanced Specialisation

Posted on 17 March 2022 - 09:58 by

Microsoft specialist and Bramble Hub partner Content+Cloud have been awarded the Calling for Microsoft Teams Advanced Specialisation. This award is made by Microsoft to partners that have proven their ability to deploy Teams Calling services on a large scale: at least 2,500 monthly users. Content+Cloud already far exceeds this threshold, supporting around 90,000 active Teams Calling users per month.

This is the seventh Microsoft Advanced Specialisation that Microsoft has awarded to Content+Cloud, making it one of only 25 Microsoft UK partners to hold seven or more such awards. Content+Cloud have also previously been awarded:

  • Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop
  • Teamwork Deployment
  • Adoption and Change Management
  • Windows Server and SQL Server Migration to Microsoft Azure
  • Threat Protection
  • Small and Midsize Business Management

Samantha Chawner, the Microsoft Relationship Manager at Bramble Hub, said:


“Bramble Hub is delighted to be able to offer Content+Cloud’s specialist services to our customers. We would like to congratulate Content+Cloud on this new award, as well as their recent nominations for prizes in the 2022 National Technology Awards. Our public sector clients can purchase Content+Cloud’s services via the Technology Services 3 Framework.”

Peter Sweetbaum, Content+Cloud’s CEO, said:

“The Microsoft Advanced Specialisation in Calling for Microsoft Teams is another superb achievement for Content+Cloud. We have some of the world’s leading experts in Microsoft Teams, enabling us to offer clients best-in-class security, scalability and global coverage for their end-to-end unified communications.”

Bramble Hub and Icon UK to Provide Digital Signing Solution to Bristol NHS Trusts

Posted on 15 March 2022 - 09:48 by

Document management specialists Icon UK, in partnership with Bramble Hub, have secured a minimum two-year contract with Bristol & Weston NHS Purchasing Consortium (BWPC) to provide a digital document signing solution. The solution is to be rolled out to two NHS trusts: North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS Foundation Trust. Together the two trusts employ over 20,000 people and – via multiple sites – provide over 100 clinical services to a large area including Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

The new eSigning solution will initially be used by an estimated 140 people across the two trusts, and will allow for the electronic signature of documents to move away from paper-based processes and increase efficiencies. The solution will be used to sign tens of thousands of documents by multiple signatories for each, who may be located across the entire combined Trusts area or beyond in the case of external parties.

The requirement included the following solution features:

  • Multiple document types per signing
  • Potential to support the signing of documents which may be required in legal proceedings
  • Ability to allow recipients/signers to add comments or refer envelopes back to the originator or previous recipient if they have questions, corrections, or re-signing is required
  • Solution allows originators to access real-time tracking information on envelopes’ progress in the workflow
  • Solution allows originator to receive notification once the envelope is fully signed
  • A full audit trail of each envelope workflow, including timestamps and IP address of signatories when documents are viewed, edited and signed

The solution will also provide high levels of document security and GDPR-compliant privacy protection. Document signing can be easily upgraded to full Qualified Electronic Signing, should that be needed, using the same back-end platform.

The contract was awarded under the G-Cloud 12 framework.

Chris Jones, Managing Director of Icon UK said: “We are pleased that the superior functionality available through our platform has been recognized by the Trusts. It replaces both paper processes and basic e-Signing methods with a unified consistent eSigning workflow, removing the dependencies on paper and travel, now unlocking huge savings. Moreover, it enables these NHS users to transact at digital speed, enabling responsiveness and convenience for all”.

This builds on Icon’s pedigree in the Public Sector and Clinical Trials eSigning domains. For further information about eSigning, see the recent Bramble Hub interview with Chris Jones.

Are You Ready for eSignatures?

Posted on 1 March 2022 - 14:37 by

Of all the technologies that are set to transform the legal and public sectors, eSigning is among the most significant. The Law Commission’s 2019 report into the subject determined that electronic signatures were, in general, legally valid and acceptable to the courts. However, eSignatures were poorly understood by the legal profession. A key recommendation from the Law Commission was that an “industry working group with multi-disciplinary membership should be convened by Government to consider practical issues relating to the electronic execution of documents”.

A working group was subsequently established by the Ministry of Justice, and recently issued an interim report. Among the group’s members is Chris Jones, the Managing Director of Icon UK, a recognized authority on eSignatures.

The MoJ interim report firmly concluded that the UK should push ahead with wider usage of eSignatures, stating:

“The benefits of electronic execution of documents include speed, clarity, simplicity and security. Appropriate electronic signatures are a safe and effective way of entering into legally binding transactions of all kinds. These include anything from major financial transactions to the sale of goods to consumers.”

The report also pointed out that the technologies required for eSigning are already widely available:

“The technology and legal framework already exist to allow electronic signing by anyone from a major corporation to an individual. HM Land Registry already permits sales of property to be conducted using an electronic signature…”

Chris Jones explains that there are three broad categories of eSignature. First, Simple eSignatures allow for basic signing without authentication. These signatures could be scanned from paper, or involve the creation of a typed signature, such as those supported by PDF documents. The next level – Advanced – allows for more genuinely electronic signatures (also called Digital Signatures) and links the signatory’s identity to the signed document. Only at the top level – Qualified – can eSignatures provide a truly secure experience in which the signatory’s identity is positively verified. Qualified eSignatures (QES) can replace the need for documents to be notarized – a slow and expensive process. Many types of deeds can be eSigned.

Chris further explains how current eSignature capture systems can help detect fraud. There are two broad options: encrypted digital signatures and ‘biometric’ eSignatures, in which a person’s signature is captured by specialist hardware. While ink-on-paper signatures simply capture a shape, and can be replicated with practice, biometric systems also capture the order, strength, speed and rhythm of signature strokes. No two signatures are the same, but sophisticated algorithms can determine whether two signatures are similar enough to have been drawn by the same person.

On the other hand, remote online signing to a QES standard utilizes a mix of user identification techniques such as live video-call agent, 3D facial recognition validated against passport chip data, bank/address/phone details, and/or identity documentation.

Selecting a QES standard means that whether an in-person biometric signature or a remote signature (or both) are used, they are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to forge; and so eSignatures can be far more reliable than traditional ones, with better convenience, speed, security and proof.

For Icon UK, eSignatures are just part of a wider offering that encompasses the entire document lifecycle from composition to archive. Icon’s products and services can be purchased from Bramble Hub by public sector buyers via various frameworks (for more information on buying Icon’s services, see their partner page).

Data and Application Solutions (DAS) Framework extended for 12 months

Posted on 24 February 2022 - 13:54 by

The Data and Application Solutions Framework (DAS – RM3821) from Crown Commercial Service, which was set to expire on 22nd February 2022, has been extended by a year. The framework covers 14 Lots, divided into five areas:

  • Enterprise applications
  • Local government
  • Health and social care
  • Police and emergency services
  • Education

Bramble Hub has open for business on 11 of these Lots for the past three years. Richard Archer, Bramble Hub’s Managing Director, said: “We look forward to delivering more solutions to the public sector over the next year via DAS”.

For full details, see the RM3821 framework page.

Public Sector Recruitment: 27 Points of Failure

Posted on 22 February 2022 - 16:40 by

Rebekah Ramsay smiles when asked why she called her company Twenty-Seven Consulting – it’s a question she’s familiar with. It began when she was brought in to run the Recruitment & Skills function at the Government Digital Service (GDS) as a consultant in 2013, to advise on recruitment strategy. Faced with a proliferation of government websites, each built separately, each one with its own individual look and feel, GDS had mandated that each government department must recruit its own Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data Officer.

Rebekah quickly realised that the recruitment process was fraught with problems, and she identified at least 27 points of failure within the typical campaign (hence the name). These problems began from the very start – for example, poorly written job descriptions which were mainly a generic list of required skills, and frequent errors in the advertising of roles were rarely spotted. The problems went all the way through to the end of the process. Sometimes, when a decision was made to hire a candidate, delays in the offer process could result in good candidates being lost.

Rebekah left GDS in 2016 and went on to set up a similar function in Canberra for the Australian government, before getting homesick and returning to the UK. Eventually she set up Twenty-Seven Consulting, along with partner Caroline Gibson, to continue providing advice to government departments on how to debug and streamline their recruitment processes.

 

 

“We don’t operate like regular recruiters”, she explains. “We don’t charge per hire – we work as business consultants rather than recruitment agents. This means that we are paid to get the process right, rather than be incentivised to simply fill positions. So we fix processes and find the best people for each job”. This makes Twenty-Seven popular with public sector organisations.

But Twenty-Seven Consulting hit a glitch: services such as hers are purchased via frameworks such as the CCS Management Consultancy Framework Three. And complying with the demands of such frameworks is complex and costly for small companies – often prohibitively so.

This is where Bramble Hub comes in. Bramble Hub has successfully bid, along with partners such as Twenty-Seven Consulting, on multiple frameworks, including Management Consultancy Framework Three. Our processes allow us to help SMEs like Rebekah’s win public sector business, so that our partners can focus on their core strengths. And we work on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Rebekah says: “Hiring staff with specialist skills is one of the biggest challenges for government departments. We are a small company that has years of experience in helping the public sector build specialist capability, however, procurement frameworks make it extremely difficult for hiring managers to buy our services. Working with Bramble Hub makes it simple & easy to buy the services much needed from niche suppliers like us”.

Public sector buyers can purchase 27C’s services via Bramble Hub.

The following are testimonials from public sector clients:

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“Thanks to 27C. You, as a whole have been exceptional throughout this process, I have never had such a positive recruitment experience, what a credit to your hard work.”

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“Thank you for your support in the application process. If only all recruitment leads were as helpful and made the process as easy as you have made it. Please feel free to pass this feedback on to NHSBT.”

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“Thank you for all your support. The team at 27C has been fantastic. It’s one of the most positive recruitment experiences I’ve had and I will be recommending you highly.”

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“Many thanks to 27C for all of the support / guidance, this feels like a much more targeted approach and I’m sure that we’ll recruit the candidates we need. ”

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“27C has been an absolute pleasure to work with. Their understanding of the recruitment market is second to none and they bring a wealth of talent under their networks of both expats and UK based candidates. They have given us fantastic support with finding Diverse candidates in a competitive market and I would highly recommend them to anyone needing to find talent for their business.”

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“Throughout the whole process for my recent role change 27C were hugely supportive. I was constantly communicated with and kept up to date with the progress. From the initial contact to my start date there was a steady stream of calls and emails to deal with the process and just check that everything was going smoothly & if there were any questions. The whole transition was made a lot easier thanks to 27 Consulting. I personally believe that it was 27C’s support that made the success of this application to this new role.”

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“27C has provided me with excellent service both as a candidate and as a client. As a candidate, they were clear and quick with communications so I was clear on what was happening at all stages. As a client, they have supported us through all parts of the recruitment process and made it seamless and hassle free. They have found very strong candidates, understood our needs in shortlisting and managed the interview process very effectively – we have been able to completely rely on 27 consulting for the recruitment process.”

See Twenty Seven Consulting’s partner profile.

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