Issue - meetings

IT Manager

Meeting: 28/09/2015 - Audit and Risk Management Committee (Item 29)

29 IT Update pdf icon PDF 79 KB

Minute 5(2) dated 8 June 2015 refers.

Minutes:

The Chief Information Officer introduced the report of the Strategic Director for Transformation and Resources that detailed the programme of work designed to mitigate and remove risks associated with an underinvestment in IT infrastructure. The report detailed progress thus far and outlined the remaining major steps to be completed to mitigate current risks.

 

The Chief Information Officer informed that the programme of work had delivered or was in the process of delivering its planned objectives, and provided a summary of the individual elements of the programme, namely:

 

  • The upgrade from Window XP to Windows 7 removing the risk of unsupported end user computing software and addressing the issues of workplace business continuity through the use of laptops and enabling alternate site working.

 

  • Storage Area Network (SAN) Refresh – replacing aging treasury building infrastructure and incorporating recovery features that included automated replication.

 

  • Virtualisation of infrastructures to make cost effective use of IT resources to form the cornerstone of an automated IT Services Disaster Recovery Plan.

 

  • High Availability Microsoft SQL Database Platform – replicating databases between two data centres.

 

  • Email Office 365, a project to provide a hybrid cloud based email messaging platform due for roll out in October assuming successful testing has been completed.

 

  • Wide Area Network (WAN) refresh to provide a fault tolerant network, removing single point dependency to many Council buildings; and

 

  • Server Migration, rationalisation and upgrades.

 

Members questioned the Chief Information Officer at length regarding the subjects of email, compatibility with personal IT equipment and security. The Chief Information Officer set out key points of risk assessment, security, location and reliability of IT servers and associated data management platforms.

 

Members were informed that IT Officers were working incredibly hard to address some long standing issues and were working with partners, both public and private, to ensure the risks associated with possible IT failures had been assessed and prioritised.

 

The Chief Information Officer stated his confidence in the work scheduled and already undertaken, expressing the view that the investment to date would improve the efficiency of the Council’s IT networks, and enable the IT department to programme future upgrades as part of a coordinated schedule of works. 

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.