NEWS


Prepare now for the Public Sector Network, says report L


eaders in local public services, including heads of ICT and their chief


executives, should be preparing now for the public sector network (PSN), a fresh attempt to join up multiple public organisations through a secure network private to the sector.


Public sector network: case studies of a major shared service explains the PSN as a secure, nationwide network to convey data at security levels up to ‘restricted’ and ‘confidential’ between public sector organisations and their trusted partners.


The PSN infrastructure is critical to delivering the government ICT strategy, says the report, and will enable major savings public service delivery. Crucially, it is a foundation for shared services, provides new ways procuring and delivering ICT solutions, cuts costs and drives service transformation.


PSN can provide fully integrated network services, including data, telephony, video conferencing, file-transfer and messaging, as well as a secure access mechanism to adopt cloud computing when required (eg a future G-Cloud and ‘government applications store’). Looking beyond the immediate connectivity and economic benefits of the PSN, the report says the initiative may change fundamentally the shape of public sector ICT.


The Socitm report says local public service ICT managers should be working now, to identify how they might create or join a regional or sub-regional PSN according to their local circumstances. Partners could include other local authorities, health service bodies, the


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emergency services, universities, and the voluntary sector.


In order to illustrate how shared networks can work, the report provides case studies from public networks already operating in Hampshire and Kent. The Hampshire partnership stems from a long heritage of shared networking in the Hampshire sub-region, while the Kent PSN was the first English shared network to connect to the GCSx, and provides another model for sub-regional PSNs elsewhere.


The report, also mentions emerging PSNs developing in Cambridgeshire, Essex, North Yorkshire, Yorkshire & Humber, London and Dorset. The Welsh public sector broadband aggregation is also described as an important precursor of PSN- compliant networks elsewhere.


These accounts highlight some of the lessons learnt from implementing PSN-ready sub- regional networks, including best practice techniques and pitfalls to avoid. They provide important pointers to handling the politics, both party and organisational, explain the non-technical issues,


and show how they can hinder or help to facilitate the process of designing and delivering a local PSN.


The report sets out what sub-regional constituent organisations need to consider in terms of the business case for establishing a local PSN. Key factors include:


· avoidance of duplicate GCSx connection costs by aggregating multiple organisations’ individual connections into one


· joining connections into one on a single campus, eg where many public sector organisations share a site or are within close proximity


· economies of scale through aggregated purchase of a large network for voice and data, and future unified communication (eg telephony)


· reduced costs through physical network integration - councils, police, fire service, health, universities and others


· a mechanism for the secure exchange of confidential data between public services at any level required


· increased resilience and the opportunity to rationalise data centres


“PSN addresses some of the issues that have inhibited use of the previous, centrally designed, ‘one size fits all’ solutions like the GSCx’ says Socitm president Jos Creese, commenting on the report.


“The PSN concept is a ‘network of networks’ where regions or sub-regions will commission networks designed to meet their local needs.


“It is significant that the cabinet office team working on this includes strong representation by people with a local authority background - not unconnected to lobbying Socitm has done on this topic.


“From this point, no individual network procurements in any local public service should now happen unless they are clearly part of existing or planned PSNs”.


Public sector network: case studies of a major shared service is free to download for Socitm Insight subscribers or can be purchased for £75 (£65 for Socitm members) from www. socitm.net


Nov/Dec 10


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