Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

This report provides an update on the development of the ICT & Digital Strategy, which has been developed to meet the evolving needs of ICT & Digital.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided an update on the development of the ICT and Digital Strategy.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         The ICT and Digital Strategy and technology road map are important in the delivery of council priorities to make sure that investment is prioritised and that infrastructure is robust and secure;

·         How the Strategy would enable delivery of the next phase of the Future Shape of the Council programme such as

o   Delivering an improved service to our residents and businesses through an implementation of a new Customer relationship Management (CRM) system and website through the Resident and Business Digital Experience Programme.

o   The replacement of the council’s main Finance, Procurement and Human Resources system (SAP) which will be at end of life in 2027.

o   Moving away from our current data centres to a hybrid cloud approach

o   Further embedding the systems and processes from the old Northwards Housing organisation into Housing Operations.

·         Feedback from consultation undertaken with service users, Directorates and member panels;

·         The role of the ICT and Digital Design Authority Board in the implementation of the strategy, its membership and terms of reference; and

·         The development of the ICT & Digital Future Operating Model.

The Universal Technology Programme Manager also provided a presentation on the End User Device project at the meeting, which highlighted objectives, outcomes delivered to date, the type of devices deployed and carbon savings.

Key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·         Commending the comprehensive and well-written report;

·         How users are embedded into the project and whether this is stakeholder-led;

·         The Digital and ICT Design Authority Board, and whether the Council had considered a more decentralised structure to reduce risk;

·         Whether the Strategy would be ‘project management-based’ or ‘project-based’;

·         How the Strategy would reduce carbon output; and

·         Device security, and whether increased use of laptops and hybrid working practices would lead to higher risks of data breaches.

The Director of ICT informed members that stakeholder engagement would differ between projects and some would involve consulting with residents. The roll-out of Office 365, which was an internal system, was cited as a positive example of stakeholders with officers and members involved at the earliest opportunity.

The Director of ICT confirmed that the Digital and ICT Design Authority Board was a centralised group and there was no current intention to consider a decentralised approach. It was explained that a centralised approach would help to prioritise and identify areas across the Council service for investment.

In response to whether the projects within the Strategy would be ‘project management-based’ or ‘project-based’, members were advised that large-scale programmes would be run as projects with an established process for undertaking these. Product owners would also be identified to own the entire lifecycle and to manage implementation and assess benefits.

The presentation provided by the Universal Technology Programme Manager highlighted that all equipment rolled out as part of the End User Device project was modern and future-proofed to meet or exceed current requirements.

New computer monitors rolled out as part of the End User Device project would help to reduce carbon output by using detection software to dim or switch off when a user was not present. The new monitors also used half the amount of power compared to previous infrastructure.

The Universal Technology Programme Manager explained that these improvements would save 63 tonnes of CO² per year.

Members were advised that all computers are encrypted and an internet connection is required to access any data and files on the Council’s network, which mitigated the risk of data breaches if the equipment was lost or stolen.

Assurances were also provided that there had not been any increase in incidents of theft or loss of equipment or any increase in risk or threat of data breaches since the increase of home and hybrid working practices. Officers were provided with locks to secure devices to desks and access to lockers in the Council’s offices. Safe bags were also provided to carry equipment to and from the workplace.

Although officers have a personal responsibility to look after Council-owned equipment, it was reiterated that they should surrender the device if they are threatened or at harm.

The Deputy Executive Member for Finance and Resources commented that the Council takes cybersecurity extremely seriously.

Decision:

That the report be noted.