Inverclyde Council joins Scottish Wide Area Network
Inverclyde Council has joined the Scottish Wide Area Network, a single public services network for the use of all public service organisations within Scotland.
SWAN is being delivered through a framework contract with Capita IT Enterprise Services.
Since the contract was signed in February 2014, over 3,200 sites and 3,500 circuits have been connected, a core network and operations centre has been constructed. The team has also received Public Service Network accreditation and has achieved ISO27001, recognising international information security best practice.
Inverclyde Council is the latest public sector body to join SWAN, and it joins over 50 other organisations that are benefiting from infrastructure and service sharing, which is lowering costs and improving connectivity across the whole public sector in Scotland.
Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said: “We are very pleased to be joining the Scottish Wide Area Network, which will improve the quality and speed of our network – as well as reducing costs through SWAN’s significant economies of scale.
“Residents will benefit from a better connected council and from more funding being available for front line services. Improved connectivity will also mean we can work more efficiently with other public sector bodies in Scotland.”
Peter Hands, executive director for Capita IT Enterprise Services said: “As increasing numbers of organisations join SWAN, more and more people across the country are experiencing the benefits of a better public sector network. For the residents of Inverclyde, this means more effective council services, at a lower cost – directly benefiting all those that use council services.”
The Scottish Wide Area Network (SWAN) is one of the most significant single public sector ICT initiatives ever undertaken in Scotland. The programme aims to establish a single shared network and common ICT infrastructure across Scotland’s entire public sector. More than 4,600 sites will be connected to the initial network including schools, hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacists and local council offices. Key benefits include reduced costs, improved service and the ability to share data across organisations, fostering co-operative working. The programme is being delivered by Capita IT Services.
Capita IT Enterprise Services is a leading provider of ICT solutions, outsourced or managed IT and value-added reseller services. Working in partnership with over 3,800 customers across public and private sectors the solutions bring people, processes and technology together to transform business. The portfolio covers applications, cloud & enterprise, end user services, managed network services, communications and Technology Solutions. Updata Infrastructure, Capita Managed IT Solutions, Secure Managed Services, Network Technology Solutions and Solid State Solutions are part of Capita IT Enterprise Services. Part of Capita plc, over 4,500 professionals are employed at more than 50 sites across the UK, Ireland and India. www.capita-ites.co.uk
Capita plc is the UK’s leading provider of BPO and integrated professional support service solutions. With 64,000 people at over 400 sites, including 73 business centres across the UK, Europe, India and South Africa, the Group uses its expertise, infrastructure and scale benefits to transform its clients’ services, driving down costs and adding value. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 with 2014 revenue of £4.3 billion. Further information on Capita plc can be found at: www.capita.co.uk