Modernising a Local Authorities ICT Estate to Improve Delivery of Services and Support Future Growth
About Leicestershire ICT Partnership
The Leicestershire ICT Partnership (LICTP) is a shared service partnership between Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council (HBBC), Blaby District Council (BDC) and Melton Borough Council (MBC).
The partnership's vision is to work as one in digital strategy to become future-focused organisations that enable communities and councils to make the most of the digital age. It aims to create high-class technology infrastructure for the partnership councils and develop people with strong digital capabilities and mindsets. LICTP is committed to delivering better customer experiences, greater productivity and using data and insight to support informed decision-making.
“The clarity and speed in which Principle Networks can diagnose problems has been critical for us. Their knowledge of our network is a powerful tool, as their engineers see things we might not. They’ve become an extension of our team and add value to the service.”
John Palmer, Strategic Head of ICT Shared Service, Leicestershire ICT Partnership
The Leicestershire ICT Partnership (LICTP) has ambitious growth plans for the future and wants to become a beacon for local governments across the UK in its approach to information and communication technology. However, limitations within its ICT infrastructure and networking equipment, coupled with unsatisfactory support from previous ICT service providers led to the LICTP rethinking its entire ICT strategy. Senior leaders recognised the partnership needed to focus on the basics to ensure its approach underpinned the organisation’s wider digital transformation agenda.
In 2022, senior leaders acknowledged the need to modernise LICTP’s ICT estate to improve service delivery, resilience and security and drive growth within the partnership.
The Challenge
LICTP was under new leadership and identified the need to create a network and infrastructure that enabled growth and provided resilience and a firm foundation to build on. The aim was to be a leader in the local government sector and attract other councils into the partnership by demonstrating best practices and outstanding customer service.
However, the need to modernise systems and processes across the partnership limited its ability to scale. Senior leaders acknowledged that a complex on- and off-boarding process could be deterring other councils from joining LICTP.
The partnership was also at significant risk from endpoint security threats, which led to vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in its network and impacted service delivery to the District's boroughs in the partnership. A change in leadership of the ICT team identified an overburdened data centre, leading to hardware failures and the realisation that previous ICT service providers were failing to meet the standard required by LICTP.
"Principle Networks demonstrated a deep understanding of our business and what we wanted to achieve. They used this information to design and build a network that supports our ambitious growth plans."
John Palmer, Head of ICT Shared Service, Leicestershire ICT Partnership
The Method
Once LICTP identified Principle Networks as its new ICT partner, the team needed to agree on the primary challenges and where Principle Networks could have the most impact. Critical to this process were open and honest conversations between the two parties. Clear communication was a core objective for LICTP following its experiences with previous providers. It was agreed the areas requiring the most attention were modernising existing infrastructure and enhancing border security controls.
An assessment of LICTP’s ICT estate identified multiple network distribution switches that were no longer in use. Principle Networks engineers streamlined network infrastructure by removing redundant switches and replacing others with modern Cisco alternatives. They also implemented dynamic routing across LICTP’s Wide Area Network (WAN), which increased bandwidth and enabled large amounts of data to flow through the network without impacting performance.
From a security perspective, Principle Networks specialist engineers assessed the partnership's existing setup and recommended LICTP install Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) functionalities. ZTNA would improve endpoint security and offer greater flexibility, agility and scalability across LICTP’s ICT estate.
When it became clear a separate vendor could not deliver new firewalls on time, within budget or to the quality needed, LICTP asked Principle Networks to assume control to improve the councils' security posture and implement new council-wide firewalls instead of multiple standalone solutions. Principle Networks conducted a full review of the council’s existing solutions and worked with the LICTP to implement a robust, best-in-class security infrastructure. It was able to turn a failing project around and deliver a consolidated, manageable solution fit for purpose now, and in the future.
Working closely with senior members of the LICTP's ICT team, Principle Networks designed a secure network built on industry best practices. Furthermore, Principle Networks assumed a co-managed role within the partnership and is responsible for the day-to-day monitoring and support of the council's network.
Key results.
Before working with Principle Networks, LICTP had some legacy equipment that did not support Quality of Service (QoS) procedures, meaning it could not optimise network performance or view daily activity and traffic. The infrastructure Principle Networks designed has enabled LICTP to implement consistent QoS policies, and it now has complete visibility of its ICT estate.
Removing redundant network switches has rationalised the partnership's ICT estate by an estimated 25%, which has improved service delivery and enhanced day-to-day operations. The number of firewalls deployed has reduced from 13 to six, all operating as high availability (HA) for one another. This approach enabled LICTP to implement a single set of security rules across all partners, improving resilience, saving time and reducing complexity.
The new infrastructure implemented by Principle Networks has enabled LICTP to deliver services that are fit for the present and future. The partnership can now on, and off-board new partners securely and actively pursue growth opportunities. Furthermore, it has an ICT estate focused on continuous improvement, which establishes ICTP as a forward-thinking local authority partnership that can set the precedent for digital transformation in the public sector.
“We wanted to create a service that would be a beacon within the public sector. We want others to look at us and think that’s how you deliver ICT and digital transformation. Working with Principle Networks will help us achieve that goal.”
“We wanted to create a service that would be a beacon within the public sector. We want others to look at us and think that’s how you deliver ICT and digital transformation. Working with Principle Networks will help us achieve that goal.”
John Palmer, Head of ICT Shared Service, Leicestershire ICT Partnership
Guided by process.
Discover
Our customer journey begins with a deep understanding of your business strategy, challenges and goals. We assess if our value proposition matches your requirements, outlining how we can guide your transformation.
Define
Next, we run interactive Architecture Workshops to explore possibilities. We shape adaptive plans leveraging leading modern architectures like SD-WAN and Zero Trust. Our aim is for you to feel informed and excited by the personalised value we can jointly deliver.
Design
With your feedback, our experts refine detailed solutions using open cloud platforms/tools to meet your needs. Through an iterative, agile design process, we create optimal architectures focused on scalability and security. You'll gain confidence we're building a future-ready platform that drives your success.
Validate
Before finalising, we validate the solution matches your priorities via a Checkpoint review. By aligning on desired business outcomes and target technology state, we ensure your needs are addressed.
Output
The output is your transformed, co-managed open architecture and roadmap, tailored to current and future objectives. With flexibility to adapt as your priorities evolve, you gain an agile infrastructure that empowers your business now and in the future.
