Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee considered a report of the Chamberlain detailing the recent developments in the implementation of the transformation programme, as well as the first draft of the IT Strategy. In 2016 an audit of all sites and equipment had been undertaken and an investigation had been carried out on how infrastructure could better support the user experience. This audit had informed the development of designs for the new desktop service and network replacement, the implementation of which was on track. The Strategy had been developed to support this work, and an equivalent police strategy was currently being drafted.In response to a query from a Member it was confirmed that both strategies would be finalised by March 2017.

It was reported that the ways of working pilot had been delayed to allow time for the transformation programme to be completed, and resilience had been built into the system to support the changes that would be required. The introduction of Office 365 would support the ways of working pilot and improve the user experience, which was still often slow and frustrating despite recent service level improvements.

A Member queried the inclusion of Microsoft in the strategy, given that the following Item sought options on the procurement of licenses for a new suite of products and it was agreed that the strategy should not be provider specific.

A Member further queried the cost neutrality of the desktop upgrade and introduction of Office 365. It was reported that fewer servers, and a reduction in complexity of products for example by removing the enterprise vault from outlook, would balance the additional hosting cost and cost of implementation.

RESOLVED – That Members endorse the draft strategy, and that the report be noted.