Norfolk county council receives full PSN certification

Norfolk county council has achieved full public services network (PSN) certification, becoming one of the first public sector organisations in the country to complete the government's "on-boarding process" for the programme, according to the authority. The council hopes that by connecting to the new 'network of networks' it will be able to take advantage of the efficiencies and innovation anticipated from the PSN. Kurt Frary, ICT architecture manager at Norfolk council, told Guardian Government Computing that completing the accreditation process will open doors and give the council a chance to work more closely with colleagues from other areas. "For example, a basic thing like having a county council PC, an NHS PC and a district council PC means that there are three different systems to learn. PSN presents the opportunity, if we are all on the same network, to work across one system," he said. Efficiencies would come from using other organisations' services where possible, and working more closely with other public sector authorities, according to Frary. He said that the council had a project plan in place and that the next step was to help district councils in the area with their PSN aspirations. "We're all going at different speeds, because obviously every authority has different priorities. Some are like, 'Can we go now?' while others aren't at that stage yet because they haven't had to think about PSN up until now," said Frary. He believes that there is plenty of appetite within local government for PSN, but acknowledges that some authorities may be holding back as they want to take their "own direction of travel". Frary said he was also excited about working with health organisations, despite perceived barriers to sharing services. "I think PSN will make it easier [to collaborate]. It's about unblocking security standards," he added. The PSN certification covers the council's corporate voice and data services, which have been managed by BT since 2003. The converged IP connect broadband network links around 20,000 staff at around 700 sites. The firm also manages Norfolk's cloud storage for schools through a deal signed in October 2010. Speaking about the council's plans for bring your own device (BYOD), which were announced in April , Frary said the plans were picking up pace and that he was currently considering policy on its implementation. A pilot is expected to be in place over the next few months. The BYOD work will be carried out alongside the authority's 'Norfolk Work Style' project which aims to promote new ways of working across the council. "We're hoping to pull all these strands together," he added. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Guardian Government Computing network here .