Using the right technology
We must ensure that the technology we use is robust, scalable, secure and efficient to meet the needs of our users.
- Develop a core Infrastructure and Technology Roadmap, ensuring systems platforms and frameworks are brought together to avoid duplication
- Maintain and develop the NPT Cyber Security Strategy and action plan, ensuring resilience and a robust security management approach
- Being proactive about privacy and reducing the risks of data theft – improving awareness of privacy issues across the organisation
- Fully map our systems and technologies, allowing us to prioritise improvements and meet common needs more easily, increasing the interoperability of our systems where possible
- Develop a ‘one council’ approach to platforms and systems - review, consolidate, rationalise and refresh back-office systems, helping service areas transition to modern, cloud-based case management platforms that will underpin operational delivery
- Ensure all staff have easy access to the technology and information they need to do their work
- Exploration of emerging technologies (such as Artificial Intelligence) and their potential use cases across the council – whilst considering Governance, Privacy, Security, Safety, Replication of outcomes, Avoidance of bias, Accountability, and Human rights & social responsibility
- Ensuring our technology works for as many users as possible
- Implementing a pipeline of high impact automation projects to reduce cost/increase income
- Design and implement a cross council end to end asset management process, procedure, and program
- Implement a best value contracts management program across all Digital Services contracts
- Ensure the successful operation and continuous improvement of the complex range of NPT digital products and services
- Identify and mitigate risks to introducing technology change to protect the council and our users
- Cultural change to promote cross organisational working and remove silo thinking, joining up internally to agree what we want the technology to achieve to ensure we maximise the benefits and opportunities for our users
- Ensure reliable, cost effective technology that minimises our carbon footprint and increases sustainability – NPT Decarbonisation and Renewable Energy Strategy
- Align commercial and operational needs to deliver value for money and economies of scale, reusing where possible
- Reduce the risk and impact of Cyber threats
- Building trust that systems and solutions have security and privacy at their core and that private information and transactions are safe
- Support our users who experience digital exclusion challenges
- Increase the pace of transformation
- Understanding our users and their needs
- Meeting users’ needs with emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, quantum computing, robotic process automation and the Internet of Things
- Making services accessible and inclusive
- Using open standards
- Consolidating technologies and creating sustainable and open technology products onto a common infrastructure and deliver platform
- Adopt a ‘Cloud First’ principle, managing legacy technology limitations
- Embrace the 6 R's of cloud migration strategy - re-platform, re-host, re-purchase, retain, retire, and re-factor - to determine clear paths for consolidation, cloud adoption and migration
- Deliver the EdTech Strategic Principles set out in the NPT Schools EdTech Support Agreement
- Harness the capabilities within a Security Information Event Monitoring (SIEM) and sentry-based solutions, to ensure the council adopts a pro-active approach to the ongoing, sophisticated cyber threat
- Utilise leading edge technology to ensure the council's critical, sensitive and operational data is backed up, immutably stored and immediately available for restore, in the case of a data loss or disaster recovery scenario
- Adopt a ‘Secure by Design’ approach, working with partners such as National Cyber Security Centre
- Make sure our users rights are protected by integrating privacy as an essential part of our systems
- Making better use of data to inform service delivery
- Foster change management and continuous improvement
Through our Technology Code of Practice, we have set out the standard on the best way for the Council to design, build or buy technology. The technology we use must adapt to future demands and work with existing technologies, processes and infrastructure. Through good integration, we will ensure our new technology works with legacy solutions, without limiting our ability to adapt to future demands.
By capitalising on collaborative opportunities such as the Swansea Bay City Deal Digital Infrastructure programme, we will further explore opportunities around core broadband connectivity and cutting edge technology to provide benefit across the whole authority. This will provide a test-bed to explore how new technologies can be sustainably adopted into our service delivery models, whilst improving our broadband connectivity footprint across the entire county borough.
Through using the right digital technology, we will also support elected member engagement, increase community engagement and collaboration, improving transparency and optimising the democratic decision making.
