The Brent, Lewisham and Southwark IT Committee met on Tuesday 19 March 2024 to discuss updates on the Shared Technology Service (STS), including its performance, cybersecurity, and future technology roadmap. The committee was scheduled to review reports on the operational performance of the STS, cyber security status, and planned future meetings.

Shared Technology Service Update Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the performance of the Shared Technology Service (STS) for the period of November 2023 to February 2024. The report indicated progress in reducing the number of open STS operational calls and improving Service Level Agreement (SLA) performance for priority 3 incident calls and priority 4 request calls. It also highlighted the completion of the Wi-Fi upgrade in Laurence House, Lewisham, and the ongoing migration to the O2 mobile tariff across all three boroughs. The report detailed the completion of the Private Cloud Project, which involved migrating servers to a more robust infrastructure, and the ongoing development of next-generation laptops, including a project to migrate laptop management to the Office 365 Intune environment.

The report also provided an update on the STS Technology Roadmap, with a focus on projects such as the upgrade of Wi-Fi networks, the implementation of an AlwaysOn VPN solution to replace Microsoft Direct Access, and network upgrades using Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) technology. Progress on the migration to the O2 mobile contract was noted, as was the ongoing upgrade of Windows 2012 servers across the partner councils. The committee was also to be informed about procurement updates, including the retirement of the STS Procurement and Contracts Manager and the progress on tendering for Microsoft Licences and laptop provisions.

The report included a review of the STS Strategy, which had been presented in January 2020, and noted that a new strategy for 2023-2025 was in draft format. The financial implications for the Shared Technology Service for the 2023/24 financial year were also to be presented, with a forecast outturn expected to be close to the budgeted amount.

Shared Technology Service Cyber Security Update Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the cyber security status, threats, and mitigations related to the Shared Technology Services (STS). This report was intended to provide details on the development of a new STS Cyber Security Strategy for 2021-2024, outlining plans to enhance capabilities in defending against, deterring, developing responses to, and reacting to cyber threats. The report was expected to detail current threats and mitigating actions across these key areas. Future plans for the STS Cyber Security Strategy were also to be outlined.

Date of Future Meetings

The committee was scheduled to note the provisionally scheduled dates for future Joint Committee meetings during the 2024-25 Municipal Year. These included meetings on Tuesday 9 July 2024, Tuesday 26 November 2024, and Tuesday 18 March 2025, with the hosting and chairing responsibilities rotating between the London Borough of Southwark, the London Borough of Lewisham, and the London Borough of Brent respectively.