www. abacus - WhatDoTheyKnow · PDF fileAbacus e-Media is a leading software developer and new...

Abacus Software Ltd trading as Abacus e-Media No. 3387095

Registered office 84-86 Regent Street London W1B 5RR

w w w . a b a c u s e m e d i a . c o m

Cl ient > E l lesmere Por t & Neston Borough Counci l

Proposal > Content Management So lut ion

Date > 7 August 2008

Vers ion > 1 .0

Client Contact > Equanet

Cl ient Ti t le > Mark Brazington

Abacus Contact > Ralph Swan

Te lephone > 0207 297 5237

E-mai l > ra [email protected]

Address > Abacus e-Media – London

84 - 86 Regent S treet london N1 7JQ

London W 1B 5AJ

Address > Abacus e-Media – Portsmouth

St Andrews Court

St Michaels Road

Portsmouth P01 2JH

Table of Contents

1 Terms of Reference _____________________________________ 5

1.1 Background _______________________________________________ 5

1.2 Purpose __________________________________________________ 5

1.3 Objectives ________________________________________________ 5

1.4 Options ___________________________________________________ 6

1.5 Timescales ________________________________________________ 6

1.6 Licensing _________________________________________________ 6

2 Executive Summary _____________________________________ 7

3 Proposed Solution ______________________________________ 8

3.1 Overview _________________________________________________ 8

3.2 Our Approach ______________________________________________ 10

4 Abacus e-Media_________________________________________ 13

5 Response to Specified Requirements ______________________ 14

5.1 ___________________________________________________________ 14

5.2 ___________________________________________________________ 14

5.3 ___________________________________________________________ 25

5.4 ___________________________________________________________ 29

5.5 ___________________________________________________________ 29

5.6 ___________________________________________________________ 30

5.7 ___________________________________________________________ 30

5.8 ___________________________________________________________ 30

5.9 ___________________________________________________________ 30

5.10 __________________________________________________________ 32

5.11 __________________________________________________________ 32

5.12 __________________________________________________________ 32

6 Implementation Plan _____________________________________ 34

7 Schedule of Prices ______________________________________ 35

www.abacusemedia.com | Tel: +44 (0)20 7297 5200 | Fax: +44 (0)20 7287 3178 of 51

13/08/2010 | C:\Documents and Settings\AW253M\My Documents\400843-Aug-2010\Abacus-Emedia\EPNBC Proposal v1.doc

8 Abacus Support ________________________________________ 37

8.1 Help Desk ________________________________________________ 37

8.2 Software Support ___________________________________________ 37

8.3 Service Levels _____________________________________________ 37

9 Abacus Hosting_________________________________________ 38

9.1 Introduction _______________________________________________ 38

9.2 The Partners ______________________________________________ 38

10 Equal Opportunities Statement ___________________________ 44

11 Health and Safety Policy ________________________________ 46

11.1 GENERAL STATEMENT ____________________________________ 46

11.2 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY __________________________ 46

11.3 APPLICATION OF THE POLICY ______________________________ 47

11.4 RESPONSIBILITY _________________________________________ 47

11.5 MONITORING AND REVIEW PROCEDURES ___________________ 47

12 Site References ________________________________________ 48

12.1 Lincolnshire County Council _________________________________ 48

13 Webstructure Client List ________________________________ 49

14 Legal Forms___________________________________________ 50

14.1 Certificate as to Collusive Tendering ___________________________ 50

14.2 Certificate as to Canvassing _________________________________ 51

15 Appendix 1____________________________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.



1 Terms of Reference

1.1 Background

As a result of changes announced by the Local Government Minister, John Healey, in late 2007, two new

unitary authorities will be formed – Cheshire West and Chester and, Cheshire East – which will take up their

responsibilities from April 2009.

Joint Implementation Teams have begun preparation work for the creation of the new authorities. The ICT

and Knowledge Management Working Strand has delegated a Web Site Project Team to establish a

programme of work to enable the smooth delivery of authorities amalgamated information and data to

customers as part of the ICT service provision.

Progress to date includes:

Interim website created for Cheshire West and Chester Joint Committee, now live at

www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk, hosted by Vale Royal.

A-Z search providers arranged for both East and West (Open Objects – contracted through

Cheshire, Halton and Warrington Information Consortium CHWIC and providing free of charge).

The Domain name is registered

The existing website will be re-launched with a new look and feel after the logos have been chosen,

with input from all authorities.

The project is being managed by Ellesmere Port & Neston Borough Council (EPNBC).

1.2 Purpose

This proposal supports the requirement to replace the existing external and internal websites of the

authorities being merged to create Cheshire West and Chester.

The new websites will be underpinned by a content management system (CMS) that will deliver a

transactional website with a full range of Council services, in line with the Council‟s overall communications

strategy and requirement to deliver services to the 328,000 population of the new Council. In addition, the

CMS will provide an intranet, extranet, micro sites and partner sites.

1.3 Objectives

The objectives of the project are to deliver:

a CMS that facilitates accessibility, usability, navigation and workflow;

a platform to enable the Council to provide seamless access to information and services by 16

February 2009;



a platform to support a transactional site capable of handling the key financial and interactive

processes that are currently available through the existing Councils‟ websites. The bulk of

transactional services will be delivered initially by the Council through existing web services;

a communication channel for customers and employees to reflect the new Council‟s identity, ethos,

aspirations and values, whilst delivering cost savings. As importantly, it should replace the previous

brands, identities and appearances to avoid ambiguity.

1.4 Options

Option 1

Supply and install CMS and associated hardware to the Council.

Option 2

Hosted website, supported by a 3-year agreement.

Further Option

Supply and implement an intranet.

The above options should include all hardware maintenance; software upgrades and bug fixes and,

supporting SLAs which guarantee system availability of 99.9%.

1.5 Timescales

The authority‟s preference is that the authoring environment should be in place by October 2008.

1.6 Licensing

Licensing costs should be clearly outlined.



2 Executive Summary

Cheshire West and Chester (CW&E) is a new unitary council and wishes to procure a content management

platform to support it external and internal facing websites. The council wishes to deliver a transactional

website with a full range of council services and, in addition, deliver intranet, extranet, micro sites and

partner sites.

Abacus e-Media is a leading software developer and new media agency, which specialises in the provision

of web-based software and services to local authorities. We are ISO 2000:2001 certified and all project

managers adhere to our PRINCE2-based delivery methodology.

To meet your requirements, we are proposing a combination of software and services, to create a platform

and the necessary skills to empower you to develop your internet channels independently, while we provide

ongoing background support.

We propose the use of our Webstructure Content Management System (CMS) to underpin CW&C‟s new

website. Webstructure has been developed specifically for local authorities and currently supports more than

50 public sector websites. This will be complemented by our e-Government User Interface (UI) Framework,

which provides all the necessary components for the creation of local government websites, extranets and

intranets.

Additionally, we propose the use of the following add-on modules to meet your specific requirements:

Inform – an e-forms package that integrates with Webstructure and provides users with an easy and

quick way to deliver targeted forms, questionnaires and surveys;

Communities – a multi-language module to support the provision of focussed sites to your

community. Lincolnshire County Council is currently using this module to support more than 70

devolved community and parish council sites;

POPI – a module for presenting public information including venues, courses, services and elected

representatives to your Council‟s population, also supporting self-service;

Dispatch – a comprehensive e-mail management tool allowing non-technical users to manage the

distribution of email-based services, dynamically generated from content within the CMS.

In order to meet the requirements of Option 2, we have proposed hosting the CMS platform in our partner‟s

secure data centre at Telehouse. The environment provides 24/7 monitoring and also supports business

continuity through its fully redundant topology. The use of virtualisation provides a highly scalable and

flexible solution.

Our approach focuses on delivering the core systems together with a training programme for your staff,

which will include product training, on a train-the-trainer basis, and technical training for to support the visual

and functional development of new sites.

Our approach has allowed us to offer a highly cost effective solution. The total costs for the options are as

follows:

Option 1 – £96k Implementation

Option 1 – £13k Support

Option 2 – £33k per annum

Option 3 – Not proposed – we believe that CW&C will be able to develop this in-house.



3 Proposed Solution

3.1 Overview

The project will involve the delivery of the following core products, modules and services:

Webstructure CMS

E-Government UI Framework

Inform e-forms package

Communities module

POPI module

Dispatch

Product / Technical Training

Hosting

Implementation Support

Hosting Infrastructure Maintenance and Support

3.1.1 Webstructure

Webstructure CMS is a toolset that provides a flexible and pragmatic approach to managing and

disseminating electronic information. It can be used to bring together electronic content from a number of

sources and give them a coherent front-end. It is a browser-based product, designed to provide a managed

user facing layer for existing systems.

Webstructure manages the four main components of any online service – the content, the access rights, the

personalisation and the navigation. When used on an intranet, or other controlled environment, Webstructure

can be used to provide user-friendly navigation to existing internal applications as well as managing text and

HTML based content. Content held within the Webstructure database can be disseminated to any electronic

platform, and the categorisation system allows data to be personalised to suit each users‟ preference.

3.1.2 E-Government UI Framework

The Webstructure e-Government UI Framework is a set of core templates and components, covering main

templates such as the homepage, section page and document pages.

A typical page is made up of a header, site search, structured navigation, sub-navigation, content area and

promotional positions.

These templates content can be expanded upon by using components, including „More in this Section‟,

„Attachments‟, „Related Documents‟, „Web links‟ and others, which add further information and links to the

pages.

The UI Framework document also covers templates such as the „A to Z‟ listings, Login area and User Polls,

which add further functionality to the pages. Optional extras are also covered, including email alerts, forums,

ratings and Inform.



3.1.3 Inform

Inform is a complementary product to Webstructure. Abacus developed Inform as an easy-to-use form

creation and management tool to allow non-technical users to set-up and analyse web-based forms, surveys

and questionnaires.

It is highly flexible, allowing administrators to create anything from the simplest of feedback forms through to

highly sophisticated multi-page surveys. It also provides tools to manage the process of responding to

returned forms.

Inform significantly increases the ability to interact dynamically with stakeholders and to gather and analyse

valuable information. Form creation is a simple five-stage process and requires no technical, html or

programming knowledge. The system is intuitive and allows the administrator to review and change the form

at any stage.

3.1.4 Communities

Our Communities module provides functionality to create community websites, including foreign language

sites, with their own identities. Administration of these sites can be undertaken directly within the main

instance of Webstructure, in an administration area specifically for the community site administrator. For

examples, see

3.1.5 POPI

POPI (Provision of Public Information) is a module to enable the creation and maintenance of organisation

records within customisable organisation types and the creation and maintenance of venue records.

It can be used to maintain information relating to specific datasets, for example, places of worship, clubs and

societies, libraries, elected representatives, therapists and courses. The data can be used to drive front end

searches, for example, „Find my nearest library‟. Data can be maintained manually by a Webstructure POPI

Administrator or by devolving responsibility to the organisation or venue owner using front end Self Service

functionality.

3.1.6 Dispatch

Dispatch is a comprehensive e-mail management tool allowing non-technical users to manage distribution of

email-based services. This system has been specially designed to integrate seamlessly with Webstructure.

The system allows the website manager to create, control, send and report on email alerts and email

newsletters. These can be one-off pieces or automatically generated from the content management system

and sent on a scheduled basis. Templates can be designed to include banner advertising and promotional

text (for plain text e-mails). Standard Dispatch functionality includes the ability to:

generate new email alerts or newsletters based on customer criteria from the CMS;

generate one-off alerts and newsletters;

automatically personalise newsletters;

create e-mail send schedules;

send scheduled or unscheduled alerts to registered users;

create, manage and send html and plain text versions;



send test emails prior to going live;

view activity reports on e-mail sends;

view error reports to identify incorrect mail addresses.

3.1.7 Product / Technical Training

Abacus will provide class-based training for up to 6 people per session. Section 3.2.4 provides details of the

products and type of training that we are proposing to enable CW&C to develop the sites and services that

they require.

We have provided for necessary training in the costs section. Additional training can be provided on a time

and materials basis.

Training type Duration

User (products and modules) 8 days

Technical (products, modules, services) 10 days

3.1.8 Hosting

Abacus provides a secure, virtualised environment based at Telehouse in Docklands, with a disaster

recovery facility at BlueSquare in Maidenhead. Management of the key virtualisation environment will be

handled by our partners ESG, one of the few VMware VIP Gold status partners.

Abacus would install the CMS on this 24/7 environment.

3.1.9 Implementation Support

We have provided for one of our CMS specialists to work alongside your staff during the initial site setup, for

example, helping to configure workflow, roles, navigation and metadata. We have assumed that 5 days will

be sufficient for the initial site and that this resource will not be required for further implementation.

3.1.10 Hosting Infrastructure Maintenance and Support

Once the system is live, we will hand over to our support team, who provide second-level support. They will

co-ordinate all incoming queries and deal with them in accordance with the agreed support SLA. Details of

the support function are included at Section 8.

3.2 Our Approach

Abacus will manage the delivery of the project with the support of a project manager appointed by CW&C,

who will be the central point of contact on the client side and ensure that all required infrastructure and

resources are in place according to the requirements established at the outset of the project.

The design phase will confirm that the e-Government templates are suitable for the required web, intranet

and extranet sites. The templates will then be implemented alongside the Webstructure CMS, Inform,

Communities, POPI and Dispatch on an Abacus development server. The software and the templates will be

tested using our testing methodology.



The working versions of the authoring environments will also be available for viewing, testing and sign-off by

CW&C project team members prior to installation on the live server. Following implementation on the live

server the sites and software will be tested and the post-implementation warranty of 3 months will apply

before the support contract begins.

The following sections outline a number of the key stages of the project.

3.2.1 Project meeting

Following the award of the project, we will set up an initial project meeting to confirm requirements for the

project in order to set the basis for creating a full specification.

We will aim to scope the deliverables and exclusions of the project, including products, services, training,

hosting, remote access requirements (if applicable), security considerations, documentation and ongoing

support. This will include the division of responsibility between Abacus and CW&C.

3.2.2 Specification

The specification sets out the architectural plan for the development and is both a technical document and a

statement of what we are going to implement. It is therefore important that the document communicates both

with our client and our development team. In the end both will have a shared vision of what the project aims

to achieve. This will result in a specification document and confirmed project plan.

3.2.3 Client approval

The specification is subject to agreement and sign-off by Abacus and CW&C.

3.2.4 Consultancy and technical training

Our aim is to provide your staff with the knowledge required to implement websites and associated services.

The training will cover the following elements:

User training CSS/HTML Technical

(ASP/XML/XSLT)

Webstructure CMS

E-Government UI

Framework

Inform e-forms package

Communities module

POPI module

Dispatch

The above training is dependent on the staff at CW&C having the following pre-requisite skill levels:



CSS/HTML – advanced skills;

ASP/XML/XSLT/SQL Server – Intermediate skills;

User training – familiarity with CMS.

In addition to the above training, we have allowed for 5 days graphic design consultancy to assist CW&C in

the creation of mocked up designs for your corporate website. This will help ensure that the designs match

the UI Framework functionality. We have assumed that you will need assistance on the first site only.

We have provided a more detailed plan at section 6



4 Abacus e-Media

Abacus e-Media is a leading software developer and new media agency. We are ISO 2000:2001 certified

and all project managers adhere to our PRINCE2-based delivery methodology. Abacus supplies three core

products:

Webstructure – a public sector-specific CMS;

Webvision – a private sector CMS designed for B2B and B2C Publishers; and

Recruit – an online recruitment management system designed specifically for local government.

We have been helping local authorities to meet their e-government targets and to achieve the e-Gov priority

outcomes since their inception. We were first involved with public sector content management when we

provided local authority kiosk networks. Since the advent of the Web, Abacus has been designing, building

and providing content management tools for public sector websites. Today, the Webstructure content

management system supports in excess of 50 public sector web sites, as well as intranets and micro sites. It

also supports the high-profile Financial Sector Continuity (FSC) website (www.fsc.gov.uk), jointly procured by

the Bank of England, HM Treasury and the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Our extensive experience with local authorities has established us as one of the leading e-government web

consultancies in the UK today.

We are a longstanding member of Intellect and are part of the Suppliers Advisory Group (SPAG) for the

Local Directgov project chaired by the ODPM.

Abacus is a profitable company with a long history, but its credibility as a supplier of software has been

further strengthened by its purchase in 2007 by Bond International, a global software group which supplies

software in over 46 countries.

Company Name Abacus Software Ltd. trading as Abacus E-media

Trading Address 84-86 Regent St, London, W1B 5RR

Registered Address Parklands Avenue, Goring By Sea, Worthing, West

Sussex, BN12 4NQ

Registered Company # 3387095

Date of Registration 1983

Telephone 020 7297 5200

Fax 020 7287 3178

Organisation Type Limited Company

VAT Registration # 755 0891 12

Parent Company Bond International Group.

2007 Turnover £3.8m



# Staff 55



5 Response to Specified Requirements

Key: - requirement is met in full - requirement is not currently met P - requirement is currently partially met

Ref Description Requirement

M/D

Response Met

P

5.1 Design –

Look and Feel

Externally Managed Internally Managed

To supply options and

guidance for the

design of the website.

This will include the

branding of the site,

the navigation,

website usability,

accessibility and

compliance.

The Council‟s

representative will

require full control of

the design templates,

colour schemes and

navigation schemes.

M/

D

The Webstructure CMS will be delivered with our standard e-

Government UI Framework, specifically designed to meet the

requirements of local government. This provides a platform for the

common elements of the site, such as masthead, navigation and

footer, which are controlled by the style sheet, easing the complexity

of the design component of the implementation. It also provides a

range of presentation formats for all areas of the website.

We are ideally placed to provide design consultancy. Our award

winning design team is highly experienced in delivering website and

product design to the public sector, having delivered over 50

websites to both local and central government. We can provide

design consultancy tailored to your specific needs. As a starting

point, we have will supply you with both creative and technical design

and development consultancy to cover the main site, which will

provide your staff with the capability to develop further sites.

5.2 Content




M/D

Response Met

P

Creation

5.2.1 Ability for non-technical users to complete all

content tasks using a simple browser based

interface.

M The administrative side of our CMS system is accessed via a

standard Internet browser. All content related tasks are straight

forward and non-technical staff require minimal training.

5.2.2 Ability to create, manage and maintain

directories and databases, with a built-in search

engine capable of searching on keywords.

D Webstructure has an optional module called the Provision of Public

Information (POPI), which enables the creation and maintenance of

organisation records within customisable organisation types and the

creation and maintenance of venue records.

It can be used to maintain information relating to specific datasets, for

example, places of worship, clubs and societies, libraries, elected

representatives, therapists and courses. The data can be used to

drive front end searches, for example, „Find my nearest library‟. Data

can be maintained manually by a Webstructure POPI Administrator

or by devolving responsibility to the organisation or venue owner

using front end Self Service functionality.

Abacus can also provide additional modules with associated

databases, for example, an elections module supports the publishing

of election results in near real time on the Council website.

It is not possible for users to create bespoke databases from within

the CMS, other than those highlighted above. However, Abacus has

worked with a number of clients to meet their needs in terms of

additional database requirements. We have an experienced team of

analysts, developers and designers who can work with you going

P




M/D

Response Met

P

forward to meet your emerging requirements.

5.2.3 Ability to import content from standard office

tools such as MS Word, MS Excel, PDF, email

or reports from proprietary databases. The

content that is produced in these formats should

be able to be imported into the CMS without

reformatting.

M Content can be copied into Webstructure from the sources specified.

The issue with third-party mark-up is (especially within Word) is that it

is not XHTML compliant. Therefore, our solution to date has been to

provide a tool to remove non-compliant mark-up elements. Generally,

this approach requires little, if any, additional formatting.

P

5.2.4 Ability to import information from the councils‟

existing CMS systems?

M Abacus is highly experienced at content conversion and migration.

We have assisted numerous clients migrate a variety of content into

Webstructure, including from other CMS, flat file sites and document

migration.

5.2.5 Ability to export information from the proposed

CMS system?

M Webstructure allows exporting of content in an XML format.

5.2.6 Ability to effectively control page design and

updates through the use of templates and clear

administration rights

M Webstructure is delivered with a UI Framework, comprising a

standard set of templates designed specifically for local government.

These support the development of websites that comply with

Government standards, such as, eGMS and eGIF.

The website design is established during the creation and

implementation of the site, and is generally not accessible by Council

staff.

Content and its associated design elements are controlled via the




M/D

Response Met

P

hierarchical security structure inherent within Webstructure.

Administrators establish roles to dictate what groups of users can and

can‟t see and do within Webstructure. Examples of typical roles are

„Viewer‟, „Contributor‟, „Editor‟ and „Administrator‟, each with

permissions appropriate to their role. However, any number and

range of roles can be set up, for example, to control those entering

images or looking after the category structure without publishing

rights. The rights that can be created within a role range from

publishing rights through to which metadata fields can be viewed and

completed and, whether images or attachments can be added to a

page. Once roles have been set up, users can be assigned to them.

Where multiple sites are used or where closed user groups are

established to allow different groups within the authority to manage

different parts of the website, users can be given different roles for

these different areas. For instance, a user may be allowed to publish

pages to a particular section of the site but may only be allowed to

view and not edit pages in another section.

As well as having roles that govern what users can and can‟t do,

page statuses form the basis of the workflow stages. These enable

allocation within the workflow and control the path of content through

to publication.

The exact configuration of the roles and page statuses will be

established during the implementation.




M/D

Response Met

P

5.2.7 Timed submissions – to set expiry/publication

dates for content to allow for more effective

management of site information including

warning of expiry date

M Content display is controlled with display from and display to dates.

While an expiry warning is not provided, a review date can also be

set to prompt for the next content related action.

5.2.8 Ability to develop and host additional public

facing Websites without the need to purchase

additional licences

M A Webstructure enterprise license will enable the development and

hosting of multiple public facing web sites without the need for

additional licenses.

5.2.9 Ability to setup thumbnails for photos, images

and graphic displays and create photo galleries

M Image management functionality is standard within the system. Photo

gallery templates for the front end can be provided in addition to the

core template set.

5.2.10 Ability to gather extensive metadata and

metadata hierarchy for content tagging and e-Gif

support

M Webstructure was developed for the public sector and supports the

latest government interoperability and metadata recommendations,

as applied within e-GMS.

It does so by providing a configurable metadata definition profile (with

no minimum field set), crucially supporting sophisticated metadata

default definition to minimise the need for document-by-document

metadata entry. The profile includes interaction with the full range of

government recommended taxonomies as found at

www.esd.org.uk/standards.

We believe that Webstructure has the most sophisticated metadata

support available in any CMS and will allow CW&C to fully comply

and indeed to exceed any requirements outlined in the e-GMS.




M/D

Response Met

P

In terms of W3C and IETF compliance, our designers and

programmers ensure that all sites and software complies with

required standards. In terms of minimising site errors, the preview

function within Webstructure allows users to validate the „finished‟

page during the production process to ensure HTML compliance,

CSS validation, and accessibility checking, while the link checker

finds broken links within the page.

5.2.11 Ability to provide a standard search engine that

can index site or document content, integrating

with current software i.e. Open Objects

M SQL search functionality is included as standard within Webstructure.

Optionally, Word and PDF documents can be indexed at the point of

storage. This option was implemented for Macmillan on their

www.onestopenglish.com website, which contains a significant

volume of documents.

For more comprehensive indexation and search facilities, Abacus can

integrate alternative solutions and has considerable experience in

this area. For example, Abacus integrated Google Enterprise Search

for Lincolnshire County Council.

5.2.12 Automatic link checker – ensuring integrity of all

site links as pages are built and the facility to

remove dead links

M Webstructure has a built in link checker that checks the integrity of

page links on demand. Broken links are presented with the link, link

name, the error description, instances, and functions for previewing

and editing the link.

5.2.13 Facility to provide user polls – to allow creation

of user polls for immediate polling of users on

specific subjects

D Webstructure provide the ability to create and run multiple polls

concurrently. Each poll can have a variable number of response

options, display from and to dates, and a status.

http://www.onestopenglish.com/




M/D

Response Met

P

5.2.14 Ability to accept customer subscriptions to notify

of page updates.

D Abacus has implemented this basis functionality for other clients,

including Lincolnshire County Council.

For a more sophisticated approach to communication with the user

community, we recommend using our Dispatch product. This is a

comprehensive e-mail management tool allowing non-technical users

to manage distribution of email-based services. This system has

been specially designed to integrate seamlessly with Webstructure.

The system allows the website manager to create, control, send and

report on email alerts and email newsletters. These can be one-off

pieces or automatically generated from the content management

system and sent on a scheduled basis. Templates can be designed

to include banner advertising and promotional text (for plain text e-

mails). Standard Dispatch functionality includes the ability to:

• generate new email alerts or newsletters based on customer

criteria from the CMS;

• generate one-off alerts and newsletters;

• automatically personalise newsletters;

• create e-mail send schedules;

• send scheduled or unscheduled alerts to registered users;

• create, manage and send html and plain text versions;

• send test emails prior to going live;




M/D

Response Met

P

• view activity reports on e-mail sends;

• view error reports to identify incorrect mail addresses.

5.2.15 Ability to generate email notification, through MS

Exchange email system, of certain events

M The user record is used to generate emails which inform the user

when their pages have been published or rejected. This is useful in

those instances where workflows exist and not all Webstructure users

have administrator or contributor level access.

5.2.16 Ability to publish material to multiple sites via a

single publishing action

M Webstructure provides functionality to update the content in multiple

pages and across multiple sites via a single publishing action. This

content is controlled by a single set of publishing criteria, such as,

display from and to dates, review date and priority. Updates to a

single instance of the content are reflected in all other instances.

5.2.17 Ability to update to a newer version of content or

restore to a previous version, as well as tracking

any changes made to files. Content should

incorporate details of publication and expiration

dates. Facilities should allow content to be given

a life cycle after which there is an automatic

archival process. All content will be version

controlled, with a secure, auditable history

available to nominated users.

M Page content change history is maintained, recording all versions of

the page. It is straight forward to revert to different instance of

content.

All content can include metadata such as, publish date and expire

date, via the display from and to fields, which are populated at the

time the content is created. On expiration of the content, it can be set

to archive.




M/D

Response Met

P

5.2.18 Ability to support requirements to translate

content to multiple languages e.g. Urdu, Polish

etc

D Webstructure supports the creation of multi-language versions of web

pages. Language versions of pages are linked to enable users to

switch between languages at page level.

The language module is comprehensive, allowing for multi language

versions of metadata, image captions and all “site furniture” to ensure

a full site transformation. The system also supports special

characters.

Conwy County Borough provides an example of a bi-lingual

implementation of the multi-language module, available at

www.conwy.gov.uk.

5.2.19 Transactional

Web Services

Ability to redesign the HTML wrapper for the web

services from back office system pages to

ensure its look and feel is consistent with the

new website

To establish a mechanism for priority back off

links and protocol for remaining services

D Abacus has developed a service that can call on the templates and

design elements within the CMS and pull in the required site furniture

to brand the transactional web service with the corporate brand

identity. This service removes the need to create bespoke page

furniture for both integrated and non-integrated external services.

5.2.20 E-Forms Ability to create E-forms for all key services. The

forms server should have options for internally

and externally hosting, along with the ability for

offline completion. The forms should be a set of

basic local authority forms, with the option for

reasonably easy internal development, if

required, alternatively access to/training

D In order to complement its Webstructure product, Abacus developed

Inform, an easy-to-use, integrated form creation and management

tool to allow non-technical users to set-up and analyse web-based

forms, surveys and questionnaires.

It is highly flexible, allowing administrators to create anything from the

simplest of feedback forms through to highly sophisticated multi-page

P




M/D

Response Met

P

provided on skills for more complex, intelligent

forms.

surveys. It also provides tools to manage the process of responding

to returned forms.

Inform significantly increases the ability to interact dynamically with

stakeholders and to gather and analyse valuable information.

Form creation is a simple five-stage process and requires no

technical, html or programming knowledge. The system is intuitive

and allows the administrator to review and change the form at any

stage.

The Inform product does not accommodate off-line completion. If this

is a mandatory requirement, we integrate with a third-party product.

5.2.21 Ability to generate templates for e-forms

production

D Inform is template driven.

5.2.22 Ability to capture the data from e-Forms into our

corporate databases

D It is possible to develop an XML feed, which depending on the

receiving system, can be automated. Where automation is not

possible, data can be exported from Inform in various formats,

including, csv, delimited text, and XML, for manual import to other

corporate systems.

5.2.23 Ability to generate or convert e-Forms to printed

forms automatically (Supplier to specify if third

party products will be used to satisfy this

requirements)

D Forms can be printed in full from the summary view.




M/D

Response Met

P

5.2.24 Work flow functionality with clear mapping of

work against functions to enable targeting the

forms to specific people or functions

D Inform is role-based. The roles and set-up around these controls the

workflow of form creation and publishing. Inform is integrated with our

Webstructure CMS. The CMS is used to control which groups are

able to access a particular form, survey or questionnaire.

5.2.25 Integration of emails for notification of delivery

and expiry (if not part of the workflow)

D Inform forms published via the CMS are treated like other content

and therefore benefit from the controls associated with other content,

including publication, expiration and review dates.

5.2.26 Notification of receipt of forms via our email

system.

D Email notifications can be set up for response receipt.

5.2.27 Notification could include information such as

who or what function will be dealing with the

issue

D Inform does not currently allow email acknowledgements to be

tailored.

Discussion is required to further define the requirement.

P

5.2.28 Deep linking The ability to establish meaningful URL‟s around

key pages to permit deep linking to and at the

same time provide the ability to establish

multiple web sites, with their own identities for

community groups and others. provide a tool for

managing both internal and external links on the

website

M Webstructure provides functionality to add deep linking and associate

friendly page links. For example,

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?sectiontype=listmixed&cati

d=1875 could be http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/environment.

A Communities module provides functionality to create community

websites, including foreign language sites, with their own identities.

Administration of these sites can be undertaken directly within the

main instance of Webstructure, in an administration area specifically

for the community site administrator.

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?sectiontype=listmixed&catid=1875

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/section.asp?sectiontype=listmixed&catid=1875

http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/environment




M/D

Response Met

P

Links (both internal and external) are managed in the Links section

within the administration area of the CMS. Link options include link

search, link editing and link checking.

5.3 Technical

Requirements

5.3.1 Compliance

with industry &

government

Standards

XML Compliant M Fully XML compliant.

5.3.2 E-GIF Compliant (interoperability) M The Webstructure solution complies fully with eGIF standards.

5.3.3 E-GMS Compliant (metadata) M Webstructure offers market leading metadata support that ensures

pages can be categorised both according to the site structure that

has been designed to best reflect the needs of the audience and to

the controlled taxonomies laid out in the IPSV, LGSL, LGNL etc.

5.3.4 Coding

HTML 4.0.1

(XHTML1.0)

CSS 1.0

2.0

M

D

M

D

Abacus coding standards are fully compliant with W3C standards.

We will use XHTML and ensure standards are met via validation

using the W3C code validator.

Abacus can develop to CSS 2.0 standards, as required.




M/D

Response Met

P

5.3.5 Accessibility

WCAG 1.0 to AA Standard

AAA

PAS78

M

D

M

All Webstructure sites are designed to meet accessibility guidelines

and Webstructure itself supports the publication and management of

accessible web content as defined by the W3C.

All our designers understand implicitly the considerations for

designing accessible websites for public sector organisations and are

familiar with the latest guidelines and published standards in

accessible web design.

Abacus has proven experience in developing both standard AA sites

and in delivering innovative solutions to meet AAA or „See it Right‟

standard.

5.3.6 Browser

Internet Explorer: All versions 5+ (Including IE*8,

but excluding IE5 for the Mac)

Firefox 1.0.4+

Opera 6+

Safari 1.2+

M

M

M

M

Browser compatibility with IE6+

Firefox 2+

Not compliant.

Safari 3+

P




M/D

Response Met

P

5.3.7 Platform Compatibility

PC and Mac

M

The CMS is not Mac compatible. The application can be accessed

and administered via PC based web browsers that meet our

minimum requirements.

P

5.3.8 A list of server platforms and databases onto

which the system has been successfully

installed, tested and operated

M

The CMS is based on Microsoft technologies and therefore requires

Windows platform

5.3.9 What open application programming interfaces

(APIs) and standard languages are supported?

M Product written in Microsoft ASP with Web Service integration

capability. The product conforms to e-GIF standards.

5.3.10 Security Suppliers should indicate how security for

sensitive data can be maintained, and where

appropriate, how different levels of security can

apply to different classes of user.

M User access is controlled throughout the CMS via the combined use

of roles, user groups and user permissions.

Closed user groups offer protected areas intended for use by specific

groups and can be applied to both front and back ends. This level of

control is suitable for intranet, extranet, partner sites and micro sites.

This means that users can only view content they are permitted to

view.

5.3.11 Does the system comply with ISO27001, if yes,

to what level?

D System has just been upgraded to meet stringent security

requirements, as specified by our client, the Bank of England.

However, we have not developed specifically to this standard.

P




M/D

Response Met

P

5.3.12 The ability for administrative/editorial functions to

be performed from any PC

M Providing the PC meets the minimum specification.

5.3.13 The ability to integrate with Active Directory

Services and network directory services

(Lightweight Directory Access Protocol - LDAP)

D Requires integration.

Discussion is required to further define the requirement.

P

5.3.14 The system to provide a full audit trail M Webstructure maintains a full audit trail of changes made to the

content and content structure, including user details, area changed,

time stamp. This is supported by a search facility to help identify

specific changes.

5.3.15 The system to comply with DISC PD0012 (Data

Protection Guide to managing databases)

M Webstructure supports the practices necessary for DPA 1998

compliance.

5.3.16 Integration Any bespoke web development to be based on

Microsoft .NET technology.

M Bespoke .NET components can be displayed in the UI Framework.

5.3.17 Please identify the portal, digital asset

management, document management, ERP or

CRM products that you integrate with out-of-the-

box or have pre-packaged connectors for.

M In practice, the majority of integrations have been achieved through

implementation of web services to share data. Due to the large

number of applications which our clients use, we have not built

specific connectors.

We have only included costs for LDAP integration.

P




M/D

Response Met

P

5.3.18 Printing Ability to provide a “printer-friendly” conversion

of web pages M All site pages are enabled as „printer-friendly‟. This is incorporated

within the CSS.

5.4 Training Technical

To supply sufficient training to technical staff

M

Webstructure has full system and training documentation. Abacus will

provide administrator training during the implementation project.

Administrator training consists of a half day training session

accommodating up to six attendees for a fixed price.

5.4.1 Authors To supply sufficient training for content

authors with the option to take a „train the trainer‟

approach.

M Webstructure has full system and training documentation. Abacus will

provide user training at the appropriate stage during the

implementation project.

Webstructure training consists of a 1 day course accommodating up

to six attendees per session.

A train-the-trainer session will be provided as required.

5.5 Business

Intelligence

Ability to provide comprehensive management

and performance information

M Site statistics can be provided using third-party tools. The no-cost

option would be Google Analytics. However, we have integrated with

Nedstats and Omniture.

If Abacus host the CMS, we can provide server performance

information.




M/D

Response Met

P

5.6 Testing To ensure that the solution is tested at

application and system level

M All testing is included in our proposal.

5.7 Documentation To supply all relevant documentation to include

Training (technical and author)

Architecture

M Abacus will provide supporting documentation in order to ensure that

your staff are confident in the operational procedures necessary to

run the system. Often this will be the content management processes

and sometimes will also include more IT oriented training for

webmasters and IT support staff.

5.8 Support &

Maintenance

To provide a support contract, including detailed

SLA targets and support procedures

M We will agree an SLA with you during the establishment of contracts.

The support provisions are detailed in Section 8

5.8.1 The nature of supplier helpdesk support must be

defined, as should the availability and method of

remote support

M See section 8.1

5.9 Future

Developments

A roadmap of future development of the

application software

M The following provides an outline roadmap for Webstructure. In

addition to the items set out, fixes and small changes will be made as

routine.

Release 7.4 - August 2008:

Major: Re-development of POPI (provision of public information)

database module

Other: Modified style sheet for improved usability




M/D

Response Met

P

Release 7.5 - February 2009

Major: Revised web page create/edit functionality to include new

Xstandard xml text editor

Other: Addition of introduction field for web pages (in addition to

summary)

Improved predictive searching for content

Release 7.6 - August 2009

Major: POPI record de-duping and reviewing functionality

Improved drafting and copying functionality

Release 7.7 - February 2010

Major: Development of .NET UI Framework

Additionally, there are a large number of changes in the pipeline.

These get agreed by the user community.

5.9.1 Suppliers should state how software upgrades

are implemented. These should comply with ITIL

change management good practice. Examples

could include CD-ROM, downloading

updates/fixes via the Internet from the supplier‟s

website. In addition, any costs incurred over and

above the annual maintenance in respect of

M Software upgrades will be supplied remotely by Abacus to the hosting

environment. Abacus can apply the changes directly or provide

details of how to apply the changes to the ICT team that controls the

hosting environment. All changes go through a formal process that

complies with ITIL change management good practice, including,

change prioritisation and classification, impact assessment, approval,

scheduling, documentation that defines each change and coordinated

implementation. The annual software maintenance charge covers the




M/D

Response Met

P

porting upgrades are to be itemised. costs of Abacus remotely installing upgrades. Abacus proposes that

a test server is supplied as part of the installation to support the

development and upgrade process.

The typical time to install a new software version would be 2/3 days.

New versions of Webstructure are optional and the software is

provided free of change. Clients pay only for the time taken to install

and test the new version and for any template development work that

is required by the client as part of the upgrade.

5.10 Pricing Capital and revenue costs to be included, up to

and including year 3.

M A detailed breakdown of these costs is set out in Section 7

5.11 Specific

Requirements

Our live air quality information is currently

generated as a series of information bulletins

that give residents the level of pollutant and the

relevant health implication. These bulletins are

currently hosted by an external provider. The

external provider calculates the worst case

scenario and appropriate health implication from

the data generated by our server, and this is

then published to the web. The information is

automatically updated throughout the day.

M See 5.12.

5.12 Page plug-ins The CMS should have the ability

to allow the creation of custom content plug-ins

where a solution is not provided by the supplier,

e.g. an RSS feed viewer, view onto a back office

M The e-Government UI Framework is very open in its structure and

allows for inclusion of dynamic third-party data via RSS and other

XML feeds. We are proposing to provide the necessary training for




M/D

Response Met

P

system etc. This would be a way of solving the

live air quality information requirement (4.3.18).

In addition to plug-ins we need an environment

that would allow us to host custom websites or

web applications that have the look and feel of

the main site but provide dedicated functionality,

e.g. the Chester What's On:

http://www.chester.gov.uk/WhatsOn/

your staff to implement this type of feature.



6 Implementation Plan



7 Schedule of Prices

Having examined the Invitation to Tender and its accompanying documents and being fully satisfied as to

our abilities and experience in all aspects to satisfy the requirements of the Invitation to Tender and

accompanying documents hereby propose the following amounts for the supply and implementation of the

required services to the Authority.

All fees quoted shall be fixed prices stated exclusive of VAT and inclusive of expenses.

Suppliers will be deemed to have satisfied themselves before submitting their proposal as to the accuracy of

the rates and prices stated in the analysis of costs.

Suppliers should complete the following table summarising the price of their proposal.

Initial Price Ongoing

Maintenance or

Licence

Annual / Quarterly

£ £ £

Intranet Site Infrastructure

Content Management System 44,500 3,000

E-Forms 5,000 1,000

E-Consultation

Website Hosting 33,618

Software development

Installation/Implementation 36,138 3,402

Data migration/integration

Interfaces

Training

Consultancy

Project Management 10,080

Support 5,900

Option 1 – Totals 95,718 13,302

Option 2 – Totals 33,618

Option 3 – Totals

Help desk / support costs (included

in totals above)

13,302



Suppliers should also complete the following table to show the day rates that will apply for any additional

work that is identified in relation to this proposal.

Resource Rate (£ per day)

Project Manager 840

Trainer 840

Consultant 700 – 840

Technical 700 – 840

Other 700 – 840

Signed (1) …………………………………………………………………………………..........................

Name in Capitals ……………………………………….………………………………...........................................

Signed (2)...………………………………………………..……………………………….......................................

Name in Capitals …………………………………………………………………………........................................

Duly authorised for and on behalf of:

Name………………………………………………………………..…Dated ………………………………................



8 Abacus Support

8.1 Help Desk

The Abacus Help Desk is a dedicated 2nd

line service provided between the hours of 8:30am to 5:30 pm and

contactable via an 0845 number and email an address. Extended support can be arranged by negotiation.

The help desk provides help to users who have operational difficulties and would call on two support options

for other reported problems.

Help Desk uses systems for fault reporting, which include alert and escalation processes. All faults are

numbered and logged and the system is monitored to ensure that faults are addressed in a timely manner.

If an issue requires escalation, the help desk will inform the relevant project director, who is always a senior

manager within Abacus.

Abacus has also set up an online client forum, so that clients can discuss their thoughts and issues with

other system users.

8.2 Software Support

Software support is provided by the software department and its 15 programmers. There are 2 specialist

Webstructure product developers and 6 other ASP programmers.

8.3 Service Levels

Abacus is committed to providing a good level of response to any support calls. Abacus will provide qualified

personnel to provide telephone advice, consultation and assistance during the hours of 8.30 am and 6.00 pm

on working days. The following response guarantees have been set.

0/A (Urgent) 1 hour

1/B (High) 1 day

2/C (Medium) 2 days

3/D (Low) 2 weeks

We would establish a full Service Level Agreement to meet each client‟s specific requirements.



9 Abacus Hosting

9.1 Introduction

Abacus provide a virtualised environment based at Telehouse in Docklands, with a disaster recovery facility

at BlueSquare in Maidenhead. Management of the key virtualisation environment will be handled by our

partners ESG, one of the few VMware VIP Gold status partners.

Abacus would propose to install the platform on this 24/7 environment.

The key benefits of this proposal are:

Both centres are secure multi-service data centres with extensive built-resilience in terms of both

power and bandwidth.

Telehouse is at the heart of UK Internet connectivity.

By duplicating resources over the two centres ESG can provide uptime targets of 100%.

The additional cost is more than balanced in the savings made by minimising the requirement for

dedicated standby servers.

A virtualisation approach underpins both the resilience and the cost savings so that a highly robust

environment is available at significantly less cost than would have been possible even two years ago. It is

also scalable to meet organic growth or the demands of new sites.

Finally Abacus, which is already supporting the application software, will provide the front line hosting

support, managing security and software updates, which means that only one organisation is responsible for

keeping the sites in action.

9.2 The Partners

Abacus provides its hosting in a virtualised environment using heavy duty tier 1 data centres run by its

specialist infrastructure partners to provide the underlying infrastructure and 24/7 support services at

Telehouse and Blue Square.

Abacus is the contact point for all clients, although in specific circumstances out of working hours clients

could contact the data centre support staff.

The Abacus hosting support team provides the services which require a good understanding of the

underlying applications and functionality, and which involve communication with our clients, for example:

Security Management and Updates – commonly the dates for planned downtime must be agreed with

Clients and there are often overlaps with Client networks and the underlying application software which have

to be taken into account.

Core software updates – Microsoft and other core software suppliers periodically release new versions of

their operating products, but as these products underpin the Client applications, the timing of upgrades must

be managed by staff with an understanding of the application environment. Abacus would never implement a

major upgrade without first testing its effect on the applications reliant on it.

DNS management – Abacus would manage the domain, IP and mail addressing issues, and is better

equipped to respond to client requirements for user level changes.



Set up of application level monitoring and alarm systems – Abacus can build application specific monitoring

into the hosting environment to ensure that if specific servers or tasks fail, appropriate action can be taken, in

many cases outside of office hours.

Abacus works closely with ESG to quantify and manage virtualised hosting requirements.

9.2.1 ESG

As stated ESG is most importantly a VMware partner with VIP Gold status & VAC, but in addition it is a

Microsoft (Gold Partner Status), Cisco (Premier Partner Status) and works with EMC, Computer Associates,

Network Associates, Hewlett Packard, Lucent, BlueCoat, LSI Logics and Checkpoint. For more information

visit: www.esg-hosting.com.

Telehouse Data Centre

The platform would be located in one of the most sophisticated international telecommunications hubs in the

world, Telehouse Europe. Operating as a Data Centre for over 10 years in London Docklands it is amongst

the safest and most secure place in the world to house your valuable systems and data.

Experienced, track record, high-level security and power resilience combine to create the perfect operational

environment for the kind of continued, trouble-free service your business requires to thrive online.

Key benefits of Telehouse Europe

Multiple external power feeds to each server at Telehouse are supported by an uninterrupted power supply

and generator backup support, as well as an additional power support facility. This is maintained on a regular

basis to deliver seamless performance, whatever the circumstance. Plus, monthly power failure tests are

conducted to ensure the integrity of the backup systems.

Environmental sensors continuously report back to the state-of-the-art management systems, enabling

abnormalities such as fire and water leakages to be detected immediately, thus facilitating instant

rectification.

The two data centres cover a total area of 14,310m2. Raised flooring allows the provision of power and data

cabling between racks and to telecommunications suppliers. The facilities also operate computerised

building management systems that monitor and remotely operate sensors covering electrical, mechanical,

fire detection and water leakage systems.

Telehouse security is extensive, employing fully trained and vetted security guards, sophisticated on-site

intrusion detection equipment and internal and external CCTV surveillance. Plus, it also has an "intelligent"

access control system and full height pedestrian turnstiles.

An advanced FM200 fire detection system is in operation plus the use of dry fill sprinkler systems and

Argonite, between the two sites; and a chilled water system is installed for cooling the Metro data site.

The communications links are supported by a comprehensive support, monitoring and management

package, which enables 24 hour monitoring of all hardware, software and network elements including:

Event reporting and analysis

Response to systems alerts

Customer notification of system alert



9.2.2 BlueSquare

BlueSquare run four tier 1 data centres in Maidenhead. Each data centre is 24/7 365 days per year and each

have the following infrastructure:

2 megawatt on-site substation

Diverse power feeds to substation

FG Wilson 2.2 megawatt generator connected via C&N ATS systems

Two main fibre duct points into building, and ducts to BlueSquare 1

N+1 PowerWave UPS system

N+1 Airedale Air Handling system

~22°C +/- 2°C data floor temperature

Dual 16 Amp feed per equipment rack available

24x7 secure entry via swipe card system, with 6-layer entry

Data centre located inside its own secure compound, with 3-metre fencing and electric entry,

including anti-tailgate systems

NOC engineers available 24x7 for remote hands service

Engineer build rooms

430mm raised heavy duty flooring

20GBit resilient Ethernet ring available to all customers, linking BlueSquare to London

Docklands facilities, with 50ms self-healing capacity

They specialise in providing the underlying infrastructure for disaster recovery platforms and as such are an

ideal partner in this scenario.

9.2.3 Virtualization

Virtualization essentially lets one computer do the job of multiple computers, by sharing the resources of a

single computer across multiple environments. Virtual servers and virtual desktops let you host multiple

operating systems and multiple applications locally and in remote locations, freeing you from physical and

geographical limitations. In addition to energy savings and lower capital expenses due to more efficient use

of your hardware resources, you get high availability of resources, better desktop management, increased

security, and improved disaster recovery processes when you build a virtual infrastructure.

The introduction of virtualization technology presents a number of opportunities for driving capital and

operational efficiency. Using software like Vmware, hosting centres can better manage IT capacity and

provide better service levels. The secret is the virtual infrastructure.

In essence, a virtual infrastructure is a dynamic mapping of physical resources to business needs. While a

virtual machine represents the physical resources of a single computer, a virtual infrastructure represents the

physical resources of the entire IT environment, aggregating x86 computers and their attached network and

storage into a unified pool of IT resources.

Structurally, a virtual infrastructure consists of the following components:



Single-node hypervisors to enable full virtualization of each x86 computer.

A set of virtualization-based distributed system infrastructure services such as resource

management to optimize available resources among virtual machines.

Automation solutions that provide special capabilities to optimize a particular IT process such as

provisioning or disaster recovery.

By decoupling the entire software environment from its underlying hardware infrastructure, virtualization

enables the aggregation of multiple servers, storage infrastructure and networks into shared pools of

resources that can be delivered dynamically, securely and reliably to applications as needed. This pioneering

approach enables hosting organizations to build a computing infrastructure with high levels of utilization,

availability, automation and flexibility using building blocks of inexpensive industry-standard servers.

This means that you only need pay for the amount of resources (CPU, Disk, and Memory) required to

support your application, not the amount that may be provided within each server. It also offers new and less

expensive disaster recovery options.

9.2.4 Hosting Resilience

System resilience is required in a number of areas.

The data centres need to provide:

Duplicated power sources, in addition to on site generators (and in this case on site sub-stations)

Duplicated network capacity, with different ISP sourced bandwidth into every building

Duplicated network equipment, in case of equipment failure

Duplication servers and storage area networks (SAN) in case of system failure

Some form of data backup mechanism to ensure that all data is replicated

Offsite facilities should ideally support:

An equivalent server and SAN infrastructure, to which the Client can move if the main data centre

fails for any reason

Copies of system and application data, available at all times for access from those servers



The diagram overleaf illustrates the resilience model proposed to ensure that in the unlikely occurrence of a

major outage, resources will be available for rapid and effective Disaster Recovery.

It illustrates the infrastructure resilience available across the data centres as also the specific duplication of

data and systems. Our commitment is this.

The virtualisation mechanism ensures that any hardware failure other than of the data storage, i.e. of

the SAN, would be automatically recognised by the VM engine and the functions on that hardware

would be automatically switched to another server. Therefore so long as the Telehouse server farm

remains available, hardware resilience is guaranteed.

The system data is stored on two different SAN‟s at Telehouse, each of which is RAID based and so

resilient, and in the event of a problem on one SAN, the web server will automatically switch to the

second. It is therefore very unlikely that while Telehouse is available, there will ever be a loss of

current data.

However in addition once each day the data is copied from the master Telehouse SAN to a third

SAN at Blue Square in Maidenhead or to Telecity. This data is then available should Telehouse

become totally unavailable, although it could be up to 24 hours out of date.

In addition an identical replica of the hardware and operating and application software is

permanently installed at the standby data centre at Blue Square. If the Telehouse facility is for

whatever reason unavailable (fire, power outage, etc) then the network address of the site is

switched to point to this centre and the system will start running on the standby systems, using the

standby SAN. This switch should take less than one hour.

The DR architecture is illustrated below.

(C4L) 1GB VLAN (Management)

(Murphx)100MB VLAN (client traffic)

20MB IP Transit

(C4L)50MB IP Transit

(Murphx)

(C4L) 20MB VLAN (IP Transit)

Virtual Server Farm Virtual Server Farm

EMC CX300

(Processing SAN)

EMC CX300

(Processing SAN)

EMC CX500

(Replication SAN)

NAS (using VCB & Vranger)

(C4L) 100MB VLAN (SANCOPY & FTP)

TELEHOUSE TELECITY REDBUS MAIDENHEAD

BGP

Routers

Juniper

FirewallsJuniper

Firewalls

BGP

Routers



9.2.5 Costs

The following costs provided are based upon the server and software required for hosting the Webstructure

platform, associated software modules and websites. Note however that the platform is scalable and

additional servers can be added and the SPLA licenses, Disk Space and Server resource can be upgraded

as required.

Webstructure Platform

The platform is made up of three live operational servers one acting as web server, one as database server

and one as a mail server. The assumptions and sizing for these costs are shown in Appendix A. We would

suggest that we discuss the actual configuration further to agree the initial setup for the servers, bearing in

mind that the VM solution is very scalable.

It is expected that the platform proposed could host additional sites but until those sites are specified Abacus

is unable to provide any specific costs.

Webstructure Platform Hosting Costs (£)

One off set up charge 3,546

Annual hosting fee 33,619

The prices above exclude VAT and are valid for 30 days.

Software licensing is based upon Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA)

Annual costs would be billed annually in advance from the date that the hosted server was commissioned

and in place.

The initial period as defined in the hosting contract and SLA documents will be 36 months.



10 Equal Opportunities Statement

Race Relations Policy:

SUBJECT: EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY:

1. It is the Company‟s policy that there shall be no discrimination against employees or applicants for employment with the Company or its subsidiary companies:

a. on ground of colour, race, religion, nationality, ethnic or national origins;

b. on grounds of sex or marital status;

c. on grounds of physical disability

d. on grounds of pay

2. Nor will candidates for selection, promotion or training be disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be relevant to job performance.

3. All employees will be given equal access to suitable training and the Company will encourage employees who wish to develop their individual skills and talents to apply for promotion, training, transfers, provision of benefits, selection for redundancy.

4. It is unlawful under the Race Relations Act 1976 and Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to discriminate on the grounds above and any breach of the Acts‟ provisions can lead to proceedings being taken against individuals, as well as against the Company. The Company will not tolerate any sexual or racial harassment or intimidation by any employee of any other employee(s), unlawful discrimination or breach of Company policy on equal opportunities and will take disciplinary action against offenders.

5. It is the responsibility of all Directors of the Company or its subsidiaries to ensure that the policy above is made known to all employees at all levels within the businesses for which they are responsible. They are also responsible for ensuring that effective measures are established and maintained within their establishment(s) to fulfil that policy

6. Effective measures should ensure that:

a. no employee is treated more or less favourably than another employee on the grounds of his/her sex, marital status, race, colour, creed, nationality, ethnic or national origin or physical disability;

b. supervisors and managers at all levels are made aware of and accept their personal responsibility for ensuring the effective operation of Company policy and act accordingly, particularly in such matters as the recruitment, promotion, training and termination of employees.

c. employees and applicants for employment are made aware of the Company policy and of how and with whom any grievance should be raised if they feel that their treatment has been less favourable than that of other employees as a consequence of their sex, marital status, race, colour, creed, nationality, ethnic or national origin or physical disability;



d. observance of the Company policy is monitored in an appropriate manner and in this regard the Company will take account of the Codes of Practice published by the CRE and EOC.

7. APPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT It is recommended that application forms should be endorsed: “This Company follows a policy of equal opportunity, regardless of sex, marital status, race, colour, creed, nationality, ethnic or national origin or physical disability.”



11 Health and Safety Policy

11.1 GENERAL STATEMENT

Bond International Software Plc recognises that good Health, Safety and Environmental performance is an

integral part of efficient business management. The Company will therefore conduct its activities to protect

the health and safety of its employees, customers and others affected by its operations and to minimise

adverse effects on the environment. To achieve this requires a sustained improvement in performance.

11.2 THE OBJECTIVES OF THE POLICY

In order to implement the Group policy, each Group business shall:

a. Comply with all relevant National Laws and Regulations in each country in which it operates.

b. Adopt good management practices to ensure that in its operations the health and safety of its

employees, persons visiting its sites, the public at large and customers are properly safeguarded.

c. Adopt good management practices to minimise the environmental impact of its operations.

d. Provide suitable information, instructions and training to all relevant persons to ensure compliance

with this policy.

e. Seek to ensure that its products can be manufactured, used, handled, stored, distributed and

disposed of so far as is reasonably practicable, and having regard to the nature of the products, in a

manner which safeguards the health and safety of employees, customers and others affected by its

operations.

f. Adopt procedures for identifying and assessing health, safety and environmental risks posed by its

products and business operations, with the aim of reducing such risks whenever reasonable and

practicable.

g. Adopt similar procedures for identifying and assessing health, safety and environmental risks when

proposing new or altered materials, processes, products and business operations, or when acquiring

or disposing of businesses.

h. Require that all contractors working on Group sites, or under the operational control of a Group

Company comply with the health, safety and environmental aspects of this policy.

i. Cooperate with relevant Statutory Authorities, and whenever appropriate participate with them and

trade associations in the development of new Legislation and standards.

j. Make available to Statutory Authorities, employees, customers and others affected by its operations,

suitable and appropriate company information relevant to health, safety and the environment.

k. Seek to be aware of developments and changes in Health, Safety and Environmental Legislation

and good practice.

l. Review their policies in the light of new knowledge, changing Legislation or changing public

concerns.



11.3 APPLICATION OF THE POLICY

The Policy shall apply to all companies in which the Company has a controlling interest.

11.4 RESPONSIBILITY

The Board of Bond International Software Plc are responsible for determining the Group policy regarding

health, safety and environmental matters.

The Board member with overall responsibility for Bond International Software Plc policy on health, safety and

environmental matters is the Chief Executive.

It is the responsibility of each Group operating unit Managing Director to implement this policy by introducing

suitable appropriate policies, procedures and practices, to communicate those to each employee and to

provide suitable and sufficient resources to achieve implementation.

In addition, each Director, Manager and Supervisor in the Company shall be responsible for the health and

safety of employees reporting to them.

11.5 MONITORING AND REVIEW PROCEDURES

Bond International Software Plc will periodically review this Group Policy. In addition, it will monitor and

review the implementation of this policy at Group Companies by introducing a system to include health,

safety and environmental risk assessments and performance reporting and where appropriate require

suitable remedial measure.



12 Site References

12.1 Lincolnshire County Council

Name Organisation Telephone # Email Address

Peter Barton Lincolnshire County Council 01522 552222 [email protected]

Pegi Martin Isle of Anglesey Council 01248 752097 [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



13 Webstructure Client List

Anglesey

Aventis

Baker Platt

Bank of England

Bond

Bournemouth University

Careline

Chorley

CLT

CMPi (Intranet)

Companyformations.co.uk

Conwy

Crosfields School

Devon CC

DfT

Gwynedd

Health Action

Health Development Agency

ICA / ICT

ICAEW Directory of Firms

Kent Connects

Leicester Disabled

Leicester Intranet

Leigh Day

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire Creative Solutions Initiative

Macmillan

North Kesteven

Notify

Ports PCT

RHN

Rushcliffe

South Ribble Borough Council

Splash

STA

Tall Ships

TES

Transmedia Dynamics (TMD)

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

United Business Media

Waterlow Company Services

West Lindsey

Wilmington



14 Legal Forms

14.1 Certificate as to Collusive Tendering

CERTIFICATE AS TO COLLUSIVE TENDERING

TO: The COUNCIL (Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council)

Contract for the Provision of a Content Management System

I/We declare that this is a bona fide Tender, intended to be competitive and that I have not fixed or adjusted

the amount of the Tender by or under or in accordance with any agreement or arrangement with any person

(„person‟ includes any persons anybody or association, corporate or incorporate) except as disclosed on this

Certificate under 7 below.

I/We declare that the Company is not aware of any connection with a member of the Council‟s staff which

could affect the outcome of the bidding process.

I/We declare that I/We have not done and I undertake that I/We will not do at any time any of the following:

communicate to any person, including the addressee calling for the Tender, the amount or

approximate amount of the proposed Tender;

enter into any agreement or arrangement with any other person or body that he or it shall refrain

from tendering or as to the amount of any Tender to be submitted;

enter into any agreement or arrangement with any other person or body that we will refrain from

tender on a future occasion;

offer or pay or agree to pay any sum of money or valuable consideration directly or indirectly to any

person for doing or causing to be done in relation to any other tender for the said work any act of the

kind described above;

canvass or solicit the Council‟s staff.

I/We understand that any instances of illegal cartels or market sharing arrangements suspected by the

Council will be referred to the Office of Fair Trading for investigation and may be subject to action under the

Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1916.

I/We understand that any misrepresentations may also be subject of criminal investigation or used as a basis

for civil action.

In the Certificate “agreement” or “arrangements” includes any transaction private or open, of collusion, formal

or informal, and whether or not legally binding.

Disclosure: ………………………………………………………………………………………..................................

.………………………………………………………………………………………………........................................

Signed:………………………...........Name: ………………………….............Title: ……………………................

Signed:………………………...........Name: ………………………….............Title: ……………………................



on behalf of: ……………………………………..............Date:..........................................................................

14.2 Certificate as to Canvassing

CERTIFICATE AS TO CANVASSING

TO: The COUNCIL (Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council)

I/We hereby certify that I/We have not canvassed or solicited any Member Officer or employee of The

Council in connection with the award of this Tender or any other or proposed Tender for the Service, and

that no person employed by me/us or acting on my/our behalf has done any such act.

I/We further hereby undertake that I/We will not in the future canvass or solicit any Member, Officer or

Employee of The Council in connection with the award of this Tender or any other tender or proposed

Tender for the Service, and that no person employed by me/us or acting on my/our behalf will do any such

act.

Signed

(1) _________________ Name _________________ Title __________________

(2) __________________ Name _________________ Title __________________

on behalf of __________________________________________________

Date _________________

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