At a glance Country: United Kingdom Industry: Public SectorFounded: 1916Website: gov.uk/government/organisations/ cabinet-office

ChallengeTheUKCabinetOfficewantedtoexploretheabilitytoalertthepublicquicklyincase of emergency, so it commissioned an independentoverviewandassessmentof the technology, including changes since a small-scale mobile alerting trial in 2014.

SolutionAresearch-basedapproachwasusedtoanalysethemobilealertinglandscapeintheUK,andinternationally,todeterminetechnicaloptions,UK readiness and business considerations. Insight wasgainedfromthereviewofhistorictrials,UKmobileprovidercapabilities,internationalalertingcapabilities,andindustryalertingexpertisewithinthe Fujitsu Discovery team.

Benefit■ Thereportwasusedtoinformtheresponsible

Minister of the readiness for mobile alerting in the UK

■ CollaborativeandflexibleengagementapproachthatprovidedtheCabinetOfficewithareportwhichmaximisedtheexpertiseofbothFujitsuandtheCabinetOffice

■ InsightReportdeliveredrapidlywithinthreemonths to meet tight deadlines

■ InsightReportprovidesfoundationforcreatingactualmobilealertingplatform

TheUKCabinetOfficewantedanoverviewofmobilealertingtechnologiestonotifycitizensofseriousthreats.FujitsuproducedanInsightReportassessingthetechnologyinvolved.

Dr Nigel P Brown Lead for Resilient ICT Strategy Civil Contingencies Secretariat

“ TheflexibilityandknowledgeoftheFujitsuteamwassecond-to-none–theywerealwayshappytotakeonboardnewconsiderationsandsuggestions,whichreflectsthe collaborative nature of theproject.”

CUSTOMER CASE STUDY

Partnering with a mobile alerting expertCommunicatingquicklytocitizensatriskduringfastmovingthreats (e.g.severeweather,hazardoussubstances,significantfiresandterrorism)isimportanttotheUKGovernment.

Thepublicareincreasinglyonthemovewithasignificantnumberowningmobilehandsetssomobiletechnologyshouldbeconsideredwhenstrivingforimprovementstopublicemergencyalertingsystems.However,thereissomedebateaboutthemosteffectivemethodsofdoingso.Variousgovernmentsaroundtheworldemployeither location-basedSMSorCellBroadcasttechnologytonotifycitizens. IntheUK,theCivilContingenciesSecretariat(CCS)wantedtoinform theCabinetOfficewhichmethodsmightbestsuititsneeds.

Thisledtoaninitialfeasibilitytrialin2014toascertainwhetheritwasworthinvestingintherequiredinfrastructure.Thissubjectwasrevivedin2018followinganumberofmajorincidentsandextremeweatherevents.TheCabinetOfficewantedtointroduceanindependentthirdpartytoundertaketheresearchandprovideanexpertanddetailed viewoftoday’slandscape.

“WearealwayslookingforinsightfromexpertssothatwhenwebriefMinisterswehaveanindependentapproachtogivetheresearchcredibility,”explainsDrNigelPBrown,LeadforResilientICTStrategy, CivilContingenciesSecretariat.“WeputoutatenderforapartnerthatcouldthoroughlyexploreUKandglobalplatformsandFujitsucame backwiththecorrectresponsesanddepthofexpertiserequired.”

TheCabinetOfficewasimpressedbyFujitsu’sunderstandingofthetechnology,itsappreciationoftheimpactof5Gnetworksandtheamountofresourcesitcouldcommitwithinaverytighttimeframe.Fujitsuoutshonetheotherparticipantswithitsexperience,whichcamelargelyfromrunningthefloodwarningsystemforEnglandandWalesandaprevioustrialFujitsutookpartintonotifyresidentsaboutchemicalfires.

“TheotherapplicantshadnowherenearthelevelofexperiencethatFujitsudemonstrated,”addsDrBrown.“Fujitsualsodisplayedaninnateunderstandingofthetrajectoryofthetechnologyinvolvedthatwouldhelpfutureproofourthinking.”

Detailed research enables clear insightFujitsubeganwithaworkshopfortheCabinetOfficethathelpeddefinethescope,boundariesandobjectives.Italsoreviewedandsummarisedthepreviousmobilealertingtrialfromatechnologyperspectivetoensurekeylearningsweretakenonboard.

Fujitsuthenexploredhowothercountries,includingtheUS,Netherlands,AustraliaandNewZealand,areimplementingalertingsystems.Finally, itassessedtheleadingUKmobileoperators–EE,Vodafone,Threeand O2 – and their ability to deliver both Cell Broadcast and location-based SMSalerts.AllthisresearchwasrelayedbacktotheCabinetOfficeinweeklycallsandfedintotheproductionofanInsightReport.

“Itwasaverycollegiateapproachthathelpedusclarifywhatwewantedtodeliverandhowbesttodoso,”continuesDrBrown.“Thefirstreportfocusedonthetechnicaloptions.Havingcompletedthat,Fujitsucamebackandsaidtherewasstillmoneyavailable,sowecontinuedtolook atcommercialconsiderations.That’sgreatvalueformoney.”

Fujitsucompletedtheinitialphaseofresearchinjustthreemonths,ensuringtheCabinetOfficeCCSwouldquicklyhaveareporttoinform itsthinking.ThisInsightReportnowprovidesthefoundationtocreate anddeliveranewalertingsystem.

A flexible and collaborative approach TheCabinetOfficewashugelyimpressedbythespeedwithwhichthereportwasdelivered,itsdetailandtheaffordablecost.Moreover,theformatofthefinishedreportwasdesignedtocatertoawiderangeofdifferentaudienceswithdifferentrequirements.

“Theflexibility,capabilityandagilityoftheFujitsuteamwassecond-to-none–theywerealwayshappytotakeonboardnewconsiderationsandsuggestions,whichreflectsthecollaborativenatureoftheproject,”remarksDrBrown.“Importantly,whenitcametothefinalpresentationofthefullreport,Fujitsudelivereditinsuchawaythatitcouldbeunderstoodbymanydifferentaudiences,whichwasincrediblyuseful.”

Collaborationhasproventobevitaltothesuccessoftheprocess:Fujitsu’stechnicalexpertisewassupportedbytheCabinetOffice’slegislativeinsight.Thein-houseteamwaswell-placedtoidentifybarrierswhileFujitsuthenproducedsolutions.Furthermore,whenitcametotalkingtotherightpeopleinmobileoperatorsorothergovernments,theCabinetOfficewasabletohelpestablishcontact.

“WehelpedFujitsureachtherightpeopleintherightplacesandthatinturnhelpedFujitsustepupanddeliveracomprehensivereport.Itwasajointeffortfromthebeginning,”concludesDrBrown.“Thenextstepistoidentifythetypesofrisksandthreatsweneedtoflag.Thisreporthashelpedinformthosecriticaldecisions.”

CustomerTheCivilContingenciesSecretariat(CCS)wasformedin2001andisresponsibleforemergencyplanningamongstotherroles.Itsremit istoensuretheUK’sresilienceagainstdisruptionandpotential threatsbywarningaboutactualandimpendingmajorincidents. Itaimstoincreasethecapabilitytorespondtoandrecoverfromcivilemergenciesandprovidesadviceonpreparingforacrisis.

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