Getting ready for the PSN - Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask - A Gamma Whitepaper
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A Gamma Whitepaper Getting ready for the PSN Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask www.gamma.co.uk
Getting ready for the Public Services Network
PSN Migration
Everything you wanted to know
but were afraid to ask
This document is aimed at information communications and
technology (ICT) decision makers and managers working in the
public sector in the UK. It provides a basic overview of the UK
Government’s public services network (PSN) programme. More
importantly it argues the case for migrating your organisation
to the PSN gradually and in a non-disruptive way rather than
diving in headlong.
The Government intends the PSN to embrace Contract RM1035. It allows public sector bodies
every public sector organisation in the UK up to to start reaping some of the benefits of PSN
and including central government departments. immediately without the upheaval of wholesale,
It will provide a shared infrastructure for overnight technology change.
government agencies, devolved administrations,
local councils, NHS trusts, schools and
Why the need for change?
universities and third sector charitable
organisations together with housing associations,
Public sector organisations are no different to
the criminal justice service and others.
commercial businesses when it comes to facing
the daily challenges of operating in an uncertain
It has been said that the PSN is one of the
economic climate. They must strive to provide
biggest change management projects in
ever better services while cutting their costs and
Europe if not the world. It will see something
raising their efficiency.
approaching five million users by 2015. To aid
gradual migration the Government has created
a transitional framework agreement known as
2 www.gamma.co.ukGetting ready for the Public Services Network
Improved ICT is being hailed as the key to and costly legacy services, replacing them with
achieving this aim. To deliver these improvements one consolidated, shared solution offering better
in practical terms HM Government’s cabinet office performance, connectivity, security, reliability and
has conceived the Public Services Network (PSN). availability at less cost and with less trouble.
A top tier ‘super’ network run by several providers, For those public sector bodies currently stuck with
the PSN promises new levels of collaboration, legacy offerings that are no longer delivering the
security, reliability and connectivity. At the same value for money, performance and efficiencies that
time, by replacing the multiple go-it-alone systems they once did, the PSN promises to be a breath of
currently in use across the public sector it aims to fresh air.
eliminate costly duplication of effort and introduce
new economies of scale. The PSN is represented as a purchasing
framework agreement. The public sector is no
And duplication of effort is the critical factor here. stranger to the power of group purchasing through
Government estimates suggest that out of the such frameworks. The PSN takes collaborative
more than £2 billion a year spent on public sector buying one stage further. Instead of going to
communications and networking, an astonishing market as several hundred different buying groups
one quarter is wasted on duplicated services. With the public sector can for the first time meet vendors
yet more budget cuts on the way the public sector as one. The potential benefits at the negotiating
has to rein in spending somewhere. The PSN is table will be obvious.
central government’s answer. Estimates for 2014
suggest the PSN has the ability to deliver savings In technical terms the PSN is best thought of
of at least £130 million over the year. as a dedicated, private Internet: more than just
an Intranet but with none of the insecurities and
uncertainties that haunt the Internet itself. To
the user it will look like a single, secure virtual
private network (VPN) spanning the entire public
sector. Behind the scenes it will be formed from
many existing commercial networks from multiple
vendors.
With no need to buy, own and manage physical
What is PSN? network assets, public bodies can make savings
twice over: in the capital costs of hardware and
The PSN is being promoted as the network to end circuits and in the operational costs of running and
all networks: the last network you’ll ever need. maintenance. It’s a win-win all round. Or is it?
At a stroke it promises to sweep away ageing
3 www.gamma.co.ukGetting ready for the Public Services Network
Many organisations in the public sector are not The main benefits in moving to these new services
ready to make the jump to PSN yet. Most public are:
sector ICT people already have their hands full
delivering quality public services in the face • Substantial cash savings in line rentals and
of budget cutbacks, staff reductions and an call charges
unrelenting pressure to keep on performing better • Tighter control over pricing of services
still. The idea of wholesale change on the scale of • Like-for-like replacement services enabling
PSN can be daunting. simple before/after comparisons
• Easier buying of services through eAuctions
Stepping Stone and online catalogues
• Realisation of Government policy through
Recognising this problem, central Government a procurement agenda benefiting SMEs in
is throwing the public sector a lifeline in the particular
shape of Telephony Services Contract RM1035. • Better management of spend
This purchasing framework agreement offers • Driving the adoption of innovative solutions
a convenient stepping stone between costly, through competition and service flexibility
inefficient legacy services and the all-embracing
ideal of the PSN. Something that can deliver better There are 10 suppliers authorised to provide these
performance, efficiency and savings today while services and all can deliver them nationally across
giving the public sector some breathing space to the UK. It should be noted that PSN compliance
prepare for full transition to the PSN tomorrow. at this stage is not mandatory but it is in suppliers’
own interests to offer guidance and an eventual
Covering telephony and data services, Contract pathway to migration.
RM1035 provides a shortlist of pre-approved and
qualified vendors offering the most competitive The need for such migration is enshrined within
prices. Buyers simply choose the organisation they the terms of Contract RM1035. As an umbrella
feel is best qualified to meet their particular needs. framework it is set to run for 18 months only, with
individual contract awards under the framework
Under the umbrella of Contract RM1035 public running for up to a maximum of three 12 month
sector organisations throughout the UK can buy periods. That effectively gives the public sector
traditional telephony services including voice calls, three years to move to PSN.
voice connectivity (lines), broadband services,
data access services and bundles of some or all Clearly it is in the Government’s interest to move
of these. The contract also covers the provision of the public sector away as soon as possible from
inbound voice services, for example those used by costly legacy deals and onto services which are
call centres and call handling bureaus. both better and lower cost. Contract RM1035 is the
vehicle to make that happen.
4 www.gamma.co.ukGetting ready for the Public Services Network
What do you need to do? to stay with the same supplier but negotiate
betters terms and better services. Alternatively
user organisations may engage in short form
Given that eventual migration to the PSN is
competitive tender among selected suppliers or
inevitable public sector organisations cannot
resort to a general tenders/responses format.
delay. They need to do something now, whether
it is simply renegotiating non cost effective
telecommunications contracts or moving to new What should you expect?
providers. These steps may well be on the cards
anyway since existing contracts may be close to Most immediately, expect the business of
running out, requirements of the business may be buying networks and services to become much
changing or it might be time to start thinking about simpler and much quicker. The competitive and
upgrading to new technologies and services. fast moving market created by the PSN and its
transitional framework has resulted in a lively and
Engaging with one of the approved providers on interactive environment for suppliers and end user
Contract RM1035 early on is a crucial starting organisations.
point. Gamma for example can help with auditing
current services provision, flagging those that The very nature of the short list of vendors on
are out of date, identifying lines that are no the transitional framework guarantees that all the
longer in use but still being paid for, or services suppliers are trustworthy and can be relied upon.
that have become out of date and needlessly Equally public sector decision makers can more
expensive. The company can then help with easily justify investments in ICT and will spend less
defining new requirements and mapping out a time on the business of procurement.
telecommunications strategy for the future.
One thing you can certainly expect is change.
Suppliers should also be ready to help project There will be substantive change in the way the
manage any migration onto the new framework. public sector communicates and works. Some of
A case in point, Gamma already has much those changes may be administrative only: all user
experience working with local authorities, NHS organisations will be aware of are improvements in
trusts, universities, housing associations and service and reductions in costs. There may also be
other public sector organisations in moving them access to more flexible account management for
from legacy solutions to more flexible and more example consolidated online billing and a single
economical networks and cloud services. point of contact.
The Government’s own Web portal contains a full In other cases the changes may run deeper.
listing of suppliers and costed services allowing Take the example of legacy ISDN services. Now
decision makers to select those that they prefer. largely regarded as a has-been technology ISDN
In some cases user organisations may be able is nonetheless still widely used thanks in part to
5 www.gamma.co.ukGetting ready for the Public Services Network
market inertia. Yet there are big gains to be made centres. It is one of the country’s largest
from a few relatively simple changes. networks and incorporates diverse routing and
redundancy throughout for maximum availability,
Some suppliers - Gamma for example - can all underpinned with service level agreements.
transfer users onto their own and significantly Gamma’s network now handles 8% of all UK
less costly ISDN services, so bringing immediate telephone traffic amounting to more than 800
savings over legacy vendors. Better yet they can million minutes a month.
offer even more value when transitioning users
to alternative SIP-based services potentially The company is equally strong in data and
uncovering savings of 25% or more on calls and its portfolio includes unified communications,
up to 50% on line rental while offering richer converged Ethernet and super fast broadband.
functionality, for example disaster recovery or more Holding the largest share of the SIP trunk market
flexible inbound calling. in the UK, Gamma is also the country’s leading
provider of cloud based SIP telephony and allied
What happens next? services including business continuity, inbound call
handling and integrated mobile telephony.
Despite the return of some optimism the financial
outlook in the UK remains uncertain. For public
To find out how Gamma can help you embark
sector organisations saving money and raising
on the journey to PSN via transitional
efficiency has never been more important. Getting
framework contract RM1035 please contact us
ready for PSN migration via the contract RM1035
at psn@gamma.co.uk or phone 0800 168 1808.
transitional framework makes more sense than
ever.
Gamma has a long track record of working with
public sector bodies. By taking stock of their
existing telecoms estates, providing advice and
consultancy, then migrating them seamlessly to
new networks and services, Gamma saves them
money, increases collaboration, productivity and
efficiency and offers them a ready-made route to
broader solutions like the PSN.
The company’s solutions are delivered over its
own next generation network which incorporates
more than 3,000km of self-owned fibre spanning
all the UK’s major business and population
6 www.gamma.co.ukYou can also read
