Contracts & Collaborations Tower Hamlets and Agilisys agree two


year extension to deliver transformation Tower Hamlets Council has signed a two year contract extension with its existing ICT partner


Agilisys will support the council in adopting a hybrid model for the future sourcing of ICT services from April 2019. The approach will feature a mix of insourcing and re-tendering, where appropriate. As one of the leading cloud and digital transformation specialist for the public sector, the company will continue to manage the current infrastructure, executing on the extensive and ongoing IT transformation programme as well as working with the council to reshape the technical services, ahead of recommissioning in 2021. As part of the extension agreement, the council will insource


the ICT applications management, ICT contract management and ICT project management, with these elements returning direct to council control from 1 April 2019. This will involve the TUPE-transfer of 35 Agilisys staff, and circa 160 contracts with 100 suppliers. The important transition from a fully managed ICT outsourced service to the hybrid approach will be guided by a sub-committee of the ICT Strategy and Commissioning Board, with the council and Agilisys working together to implement the new model.


The decision will support the council’s objectives to drive


better outcomes for the borough, which includes digital channel shift for staff and residents, to create a more agile workforce and service delivery ahead of the council’s move to the Town Hall in Whitechapel in 2022. Will Tuckley, chief executive at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, said: “Change is happening at a faster rate than any time in our history. More and more services are moving online and we need the digital infrastructure to support channel shift and provide better outcomes for our residents. “The contract extension with Agilisys will enable us to reconfigure our ICT operation so that we are in the best position to transform our services ahead of the move to our new town hall at the former Royal Hospital Building in Whitechapel in 2022.”


Andrew Mindenhall, chief executive at Agilisys, added:


“We are delighted to extend our partnership with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which will help them to deliver on their ambitious transformation vision, whilst providing an ICT service that aligns with their desire to improve services for the benefit of their staff and residents alike.”


Wales awarded first cyber security centre of excellence


Cardiff University is recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre Cardiff University has joined a prestigious list of academic institutions helping to make the UK the safest place to live and work online. The University has been named as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research by the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), becoming the first institution in Wales to be given this status. The award is in recognition of the internationally excellent research developed at the University over a number of years, and will allow academics to feed directly into the UK Government’s strategy of making the country more resilient to cyber-attacks. Furthermore, as a Centre of Excellence the University will


nurture more young talent and foster a pipeline of the next generation of cyber security professionals. Launched in 2016, the NCSC was set up as part of GCHQ


to help protect the UK’s critical services from cyber-attacks, manage major incidents, and improve the underlying security of the UK Internet through technological improvement and advice to citizens and organisations. Since then it has prevented thousands of attacks, provided


vital support for the UK’s Armed Forces and managed hundreds of incidents. Cardiff joins a prestigious list of academic institutions helping


to support the NCSC’s mission, including the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and University College London.


As part of the scheme, Cardiff University will specifically focus


on how artificial intelligence can be used to monitor, identify and ultimately tackle cyber-attacks. Prof. Pete Burnap, Principal Investigator of the Centre of Excellence and Professor of Data Science & Cybersecurity in the School of Computer Science and Informatics, said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition as it evidences our long track-record of research excellence in cyber security. “Our core identity is the interdisciplinary fusion of artificial


intelligence and cybersecurity, a concept we call Cyber Security Analytics. AI is at the heart of the UK government’s industrial strategy and our aim is to innovate with AI to improve automated cyber threat intelligence and support decision making and policy responses to make the UK more secure for individuals, business and the government. “We are proud to be the first Welsh university to be recognised


by NCSC for our cyber research capability, and we hope to build on the impressive expertise that already exists across the region between academia, government and business.” Cardiff University has a proven track-record of research excellence in cyber security and already has close links with government and industry. The Airbus Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics


was recently launched at Cardiff University to further research into the link-up between artificial intelligence and cyber security, and is the first centre of its kind in Europe. Research in the centre aims to protect corporate IT networks, intellectual property, and critical national infrastructure.


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