Tap into IL3 security with Outsourcery

Cloud services are becoming very much front and centre when it comes to the public services. The Powers That Be in such circles are well aware that utilising cloud services offers the potential of good value for money in running public sector IT services. There still remains a problem for many suppliers, however: obtaining the right security level accreditation in order to sell cloud services into the public sector.

Obtaining that accreditation involves businesses in adopting and fully implementing the ISO 27001 Information Security standard, which is then taken as the basis for delivering services to the required IL1/2 and IL3 standards.

IL1 and IL2 are considered to be the baseline security levels, and are normally accepted as appropriate for the majority of public sector implementations. However, when working with Central Government departments and some of the more security-sensitive agencies, a higher level of security – IL3 – is required.

As this is an enhanced and far more stringent implementation of ISO27001, the task of obtaining accreditation is, unsurprisingly, a good deal more difficult. So the arrival of a cloud-based service that can provide the security levels required, might just prove to be a route that many small cloud applications and services providers find attractive.

This is what Outsourcery is now offering, based on the latest Microsoft cloud technology designs. It is taking part in Microsoft’s initiative to accelerate the offering of IL3 compliant cloud services through its cloud operating systems network. 

Outsourcery’s contribution will be to deploy and manage a new platform to provide secure cloud-based services to UK government and commercial sector organisations, with Microsoft providing direct technology design and implementation support. According to Outsourcery, this is the first initiative of its kind in the UK market.

The public sector opportunity for Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) as the government transitions to cloud-based services is significant.  The UK government has introduced a Public Cloud First Policy mandate, which means that departments are now mandated to consider public cloud first in any IT procurement.  It also wishes to see more flexible contracts and the involvement of UK SMEs in the delivery of services. 

The annual hosting cost is estimated to be worth £2bn and the opportunity for new IL3 based services to address that market and deliver savings is substantial. 

Outsourcery is already a recognised supplier to the Government Procurement Service, an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, through the G-Cloud Framework, alongside a number of its reseller partners, which provides access to 30,000 public sector organisations.  

The company is also already ISO 27001 accredited and is capable of deploying ‘IL2’ accredited solutions, which are typically suitable for local government.  However, UK central government departments need the more stringent ‘IL3’ security level, which requires both additional security and to be hosted within UK borders. 

In order to complement its Public Cloud services, Microsoft is working with Outsourcery to support the introduction of an IL3 accredited platform based on next generation technology and hosted in the UK.  This will be wholly-owned and managed by Outsourcery.

Unique to the UK market, the platform, a physically separated version of Outsourcery’s existing ‘O-Cloud’ platform. The first phase of implementation will provide IaaS resources, applications including Exchange Server, SharePoint, Dynamics CRM and Lync Server-based unified communications with full voice capability. 

The second phase will then include data storage, archiving, backup, followed by services for Big Data analytics. 

The platform is due to be launched in 2014 and Outsourcery will be working closely with its existing and new reseller partners, many of which are well-established suppliers to the UK government, on its go-to-market strategy.  Outsourcery is already working on responses to central government tenders with its larger partners that will require IL3 compliance.