Derby City Council has improved online access to council
services for both the pubilc and its staff by installing a virtual
private network.
The remote connectivity project was developed with suppliers
Capita and Lynx Technology to extend secure access for the Derby
community.
The council provides services to 250,000 citizens and wanted to
provide access through a wider range of channels.
The pilot project involved the deployment of a VPN to cover three
main areas: the provision of remote access for council members by a
standard PC, internet connection for a mobile school library
service, and improved services for internal officers.
The mobile library service now has access to the council's main
library system via a GPRS connection. This enables library requests
to be processed from any location in the city.
The council used Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration
Server and ADSL to connect the public broadband network.
The project has enabled council employees to work more flexibly at
home, out of standard office hours, and has helped the public to
access council services.
The three-month pilot considered longer-term issues around
messaging and future technology. These included security features
such as Outlook Web Access for client access licensing, migration
options and infrastructure requirements, and Microsoft Sharepoint
Portal Server and Exchange.
David Gale, principal ICT consultant for Derby City Council, said,
"We wanted to increase the productivity of remote workers and
reduce travel costs. Any solution would have to be cost-effective
and easy to use and manage."
This meant integrating the system with the council's central Active
Directory services, enabling management from a single point. Remote
access, a specific business requirement from council members,
provided the springboard for the wider connectivity project.
Gale, said the council plans to extend the project to support its
e-government initiatives using remote and mobile access.
"Once the core infrastructure is completed in 2004-2005, we will be
in a position to very quickly ramp up applications development," he
said. "We are always looking towards the bigger picture in terms of
improving service delivery and providing better access to the
public."
