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“Computacenter was extremely flexible and gave us access to additional resources to plug our internal gaps”
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The Greater London Authority (GLA) is a unique strategic government organisation made up of a directly elected Mayor and a separately elected Assembly. The Mayor is responsible for preparing plans on a variety of issues such as transport, culture and planning within the capital. These plans are subject to scrutiny
by the Assembly, which can also investigate other issues of importance to Londoners and make proposals to the Mayor.
When the GLA was created in 2000, it was quick to recognise the role its IT systems would play in the future, and was keen to deploy an infrastructure that would act as a building block for the organisation. At its inception, the GLA took control of a number of existing government programmes in London on police, fire, transport and economic development, amounting to some £3.7 billion in 2001/2. The authority, under direction from the Mayor, is also responsible for setting the budgets for Transport for London , the London Development Agency, the Metropolitan Police and London ’s fire services.
When the authority first became operational, its staff were relying on a temporary IT infrastructure, based on a range of legacy technologies, as Manny Lewis, the GLA’s Executive Director of Corporate Services, explains: “The original IT systems were never intended as long-term.
We needed an integrated, highly reliable, interoperable and future-proofed system, and in early 2001 we started devising our IT strategy.”
Window of opportunity
An external review of the authority’s IT infrastructure and applications made a number of recommendations, including replacing the existing systems with a Windows 2000 server and desktop environment. “We knew our existing applications didn’t give us the stable infrastructure needed for the future, so the recommendations came as no surprise,” says Lewis.
The GLA already had a relationship with Computacenter, explains Lewis: “Computacenter had been supplying us with technology equipment through the GCat [the government IT procurement catalogue] system, and based on its performance in this area we had every confidence in its ability to deliver IT services.”
Computacenter began work on the project in September 2001, with one of the prime objectives being to complete the roll-out prior to the GLA’s move to its new headquarters, City Hall, in July 2002. To Lewis, this tight timescale was a key reason for outsourcing the project. “We also didn’t have the technical expertise in-house for such a roll-out,” he adds. “We knew that trying to internally replicate the extensive range of skills and resources available from Computacenter would be impossible for an organisation of our scale.”
A tailored solution
A joint project team was formed, but before design work began in earnest, Computacenter and the GLA made a major change to the original specification of the IT infrastructure. “Since the recommendation for Windows 2000 had been made, Microsoft had launched Windows XP. We were keen to deploy the most recent technology, so we switched to XP for the desktop environment. It has a greater range of functionality, and tools that enable remote support,” comments Lewis.
With all the major technology choices made – Outlook had been selected as the new email system with an Exchange 2000 backend – Computacenter began planning the design of the new infrastructure. This process was carried out in various stages, as Computacenter Project Manager Andy Gough explains: “We began by assessing the functional requirements of the GLA, and really drilling down into what they wanted to use the system for. When this was complete, we were able to begin the high level and detailed design phases, and effectively tailor the solution to meet the Authority’s needs.”
Maximising IT investment
The solution included deploying six new Compaq DL380 servers to underpin the new email system and desktop environment, plus upgrading more than 500 desktops. “Instead of just ripping out all the existing hardware, we looked at whether we could re-use the current equipment and therefore maximise the GLA’s original investment,” comments Andy. “To this end, we developed new builds for existing desktops and upgraded all the users to new flat-screen monitors. On the server side, we were able to consolidate several applications and services onto single machines, freeing up a number of servers and enabling the GLA to make more effective use of its IT infrastructure.” The solution was thoroughly tested in a proof-of-concept lab before being rolled out for a closed pilot in February 2002, then an open pilot in March.
With the pilots successfully completed, it was time to embark on the roll-out. Finding a hassle- and risk-free method to migrate 500 users was essential to the success of the project, as Lewis explains: “The migration was a massive challenge. It was imperative that there was no disruption to the day-to-day operation of the authority, yet we were constrained by a lack of time and internal resources. Computacenter was extremely flexible and gave us access to additional resources to plug our internal gaps.”
The migration took place over three weeks, with groups of staff being sent for training one day, and returning to their upgraded PCs the next. To ensure users could resume work with minimum disruption, Computacenter migrated each individual’s legacy email, contacts and calendar information to the new Outlook system. “Users can now benefit from a range of added functions, and still have access to all their original data,” comments Lewis. “I was extremely impressed with the way Computacenter found a solution to this problem. It is this kind of technical expertise that brings true added value to our relationship with Computacenter – it has certainly proved itself to be a centre of excellence.”
It’s not just Computacenter that has proved its credentials: Lewis also singles out the new infrastructure for praise: “There have been a lot of benefits, many of them hidden to users and the outside world. For example the IT team are finding it much easier to do fixes, the network is more reliable and we expect to see a reduction in our support costs.”
Building for the future
The GLA now has the IT foundations it needs for the future, as Lewis explains: “All the GLA’s services are underpinned by IT; we could not do anything in this organisation if we did not have an effective network that enables us to communicate around the clock. Our IT systems need to be responsive and seamless, and meet a variety of user requirements from web design to data processing. The new infrastructure will enable us to meet these requirements, and other challenges, such as introducing remote working.
“The infrastructure also has the scalability and flexibility to enable us to progress our e-government programme,” continues Lewis.
“We have a variety of initiatives in the pipeline, including developing an extranet to link all the London borough councils and local government bodies, such as Transport for London .”
Computacenter was also responsible for implementing the state-of-the-art data and voice infrastructure now being used in City Hall, which will provide the GLA with faster networking capabilities.
Following the success of both these projects, Lewis is confident that he will be partnering with Computacenter in the future: “In terms of managing a major IT project, I would be confident in working with Computacenter again. We were very pleased with the outcome, and we expect to have an ongoing relationship”. |
