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London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Improved services & support for e-government initiatives.

Introduction

Covering just 8 square miles, you might be forgiven for thinking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets might be slow in its adoption of new technologies; however, the reality couldn't be further removed. This small, multi-cultural borough is one of the first to deploy a sophisticated security infrastructure and adopt a fully managed secure authentication service - thereby supporting not only its own objectives but the mobile working and remote access initiatives (BVPI 157) presented by the government. 

Secure access from anywhere

London Borough of Tower Hamlets recognised the need to replace its existing infrastructure which was beginning to slow down its entire operation. Restricted secure network access such as planning officers and care workers and limited the borough?s choice of suppliers.

A network upgrade project to an IP based switched Ethernet infrastructure gave LBTH the opportunity to introduce Signify's managed RSA SecurID authentication service and consequently provide secure access for all mobile users carrying wireless PC's and PDA's.

Increased productivity in the field

In just 8 months since the solution went live, LBTH have implemented VPN connectivity via corporate ADSL, GPRS, WiFi and the Web. Staff can now securely access all corporate systems via LBTH or public wireless hotspots, where previously they had to return to the office to file reports and update necessary documentation. For field workers in the Borough, secure authentication is providing increased productivity and business efficiency. Planning officers, care workers and councillors have access to their calendar, email and relevant documentation throughout the course of their working day.

Fits home-working initiative

As part of its accommodation strategy, LBTH is now turning its attention to a home working pilot. The pilot is aimed at identifying the technological and HR aspects of home working prior to implementing this on a larger scale.

The intention is to provide a more flexible working environment for staff with care and family commitments whilst reducing the amount of office space required. Trials are currently taking place via ADSL connectivity with user authentication via Signify's managed service.

If successful, the project will reduce the Boroughs' facilities costs and provide working opportunities for the housebound. Furthermore, the home workers will provide the capability for the Borough to provide out of hours support for a number of services.

Secure NHSnet access

For social services and care workers Signify's NHS approved secure authentication has provided immediate benefits. Using their RSA SecurID tokens social workers can now securely access the NHS N3 network, so the Borough can now comply with mental health initiatives and the ESCR (electronics social care record). This compliance has been a huge leap forward and has given the borough the ability to provide social care more closely 'joined up' with NHS services.

Benefits for the IT department too

"The benefits of authentication have not been confined to field workers", explains Colin Short, Technical Project & Network Manager for LBTH. "Our IT department has already reaped the rewards of secure remote access to our network monitoring systems. A recent fault with a corporate internetconnection was identified over a weekend allowing the officer to notify LBTH's ISP and bring the link back online."

"The problem lasted 9 hours but, without the IT team having securely authenticated remote access, the fault would not have been identified until Monday morning and email, web access and public servers would have been unavailable all day." Colin Short concludes "The issue would have also stopped delivery of the borough's frontline housing and social services."

24x7 support for token users

Signify's provision of a fully managed service with self-service helpdesk for token and PIN replacement has offered numerous benefits to LBTH. Outsourcing routine identity management tasks has meant they have had no need to recruit people with skills in this area. TheIT services department has been able to concentrate on core business processes and effectively manage both the resource and revenue costs associated with authentication.

"Signify's managed authentication service has provided a huge window of opportunity for LBTH" comments Colin Short. "Despite being one of the smallest London Boroughs we are now supporting the governments BVPI 157 initiative, offering joined up social care with the NHS and making good progress with our own strategic objectives".