Video Conferencing Management Controller for HQ/BCU VC

Video Conferencing (VC) units have been used by the Met for some time and have been deployed across the wider estate since the creation of the Basic Command Unit (BCU) model and the usage has increased. Currently there is no centralised management & control function to monitor configuration, connectivity and provide upgrades.

Separately Language Services Video Conferencing (LSVC) services have a number of out of support VC end points and are looking to upgrade their VC infrastructure as the suppliers no longer support the legacy server hardware.

Digital Policing is proposing the implementation of management controllers for each service (LSVC and HQ/BCU), i.e. two separate projects. In summary:

• HQ and BCU Endpoints – Following the implementation of 60 video conferencing units in BCUs. A design has been produced. The design has Technical Design Authority (TDA) approval.

• LSVC Refresh – Following a 2017/18 Business Justification Paper (BJP), MPS Digital Policing (DP) are proposing a software upgrade and move to virtualised hardware (from existing legacy on-premise equipment) for the existing and out of support LSVC Master Control Unit (MCU). The project has been engaging Polycom for a design. The design is held at architectural review – pending the outcome of this paper.

This Project is reviewing the current approach and is setting out the case to have a single Management control for both services.

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve:

1. an award for a Call-Off contract to Cinos via the Softcat, Health Trust Europe (H.T.E) contract.

2. Capital of £1,279k to provide the management control unit and language services video conferencing upgrades, funded from MOPAC approved Digital Policing (DP) funding.

3. Revenue funding of £330k for the first year 20/21, followed by subsequent funding of £241k per annum to cover the business as usual costs of the MCU and LSVC services, funded from within the MOPAC approved Digital Policing Budget.

1. Introduction and background

1.1. VC units have been on the Met estate for some time but a number of legacy units are no longer working, degraded, out of support, and not used.

1.2. New VC units have been implemented on the Met estate through mainly two sources over the last couple of years – firstly, a number of ‘HQ’ sites have had units installed as part of upgrade works (New Scotland Yard, Hendon, Lambeth), and secondly, a number of sites on BCUs have had units installed as part of the Strengthening Local Policing (SLP) Programme. There are estimated to be a total of over 200 VC endpoints across the MET.

1.3. As more and more BCUs are rolled out, there have been increasing demands from HQ teams and BCUs to communicate across all of the End Points. Such views have been put forward by the business at various levels, up to and including the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

1.4. To deliver a solution where all VC End Points in HQ and BCUs can communicate has meant re-looking at the network solution and infrastructure required to support this. The TDA approved design for this involves implementation of a Management Controller (or MCU), which all End Points are connected to in order to facilitate calls, updates and Office365 integration.

1.5. MCU is a set of server hardware and software that delivers a full video conferencing service across multiple conferencing facilities/locations. This would be made up of four servers in total, split across two sites Eagle and Hawk.

1.6. This enhanced requirement for a Management Controller and the support costs for the Management Controller require funding as this is not within the scope of any current project.

Strategic Case for HQ and BCU Endpoints:

1.7. While VC facilities are being modernised, the MPS has recently invested significantly in video conferencing endpoints at HQ and BCU locations. The key benefits of introducing a new MCU VC estate are:

• Fast centralised management of Software/Firmware updates, configuration changes and security patches

• Global directory and phonebook, centrally managed and pushed out when new units are brought online

• Real-time alerts to support any endpoint faults

• Better user experience through one-touch call joining

• Pre-requisite for Outlook / Office 365 integration for booking video calls

• Pre-requisite for MS Exchange Calendar integration for room/VC bookings

1.8. The implementation of the MCU will drive the MPS goal for video conferencing services allowing Officers and staff to be able to participate in meaningful long-distance collaboration, driving down costs principally by reducing travel time and making officers and staff more effective.

 Strategic Case for LSVC

1.9. The LSVC service is delivered on behalf of Operational Support Services. As well as the server technology, the service consists of video conferencing endpoints which are delivered into police stations and support buildings; there are approximately 130 sites on the MPS estate which support this service.

1.10. The business outcome supported is the ability to provide interpreters for interviews of suspects or victims who do not speak English at all, or who do not have sufficient English language to engage in the interview. Instead of delays and costs associated with transporting an interpreter to the relevant police station, the LSVC service enables a timely interview to take place with the interpreter located at their nearest police station. It facilitates a quicker turnaround for the interview, allowing the victim or suspect to be managed without undue delay, plus a quicker release to operational duties for officers involved in the interview process.

1.11. The driver for an infrastructure upgrade is that the suppliers no longer support the server hardware.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. Currently all HQ Endpoints can communicate with each other. Each BCU can only communicate across the units within a BCU, however apart from the existing Polycom LSVC MCU no centralised management infrastructure exists for the entire VC MCU estate.

2.2. At a high level, if the MPS do not implement the Management Controller, patching video conferencing units with security / firmware updates will frequently require engineers to visit endpoints to perform the updates one by one. If DP wanted to connect all VC End Points without a MCU, managing the estate will become more complex over time as each new End Point on the network would require a visit to all existing End Points to update the address book.

2.3. Without a MCU, the MPS will not be able to integrate with Office 365 and not be able to provide user experience improvements such as Outlook integration for booking meetings.

2.4. The LSVC Service is comprised of a number of endpoints spread across multiple London Police Stations / Sites.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. The capital cost of £1.3m for the project to provide the management control unit and language services video conferencing upgrades will be funded from the MOPAC approved Digital Policing (DP) Upgrades Budget.

3.2. The revenue cost of the project is £330k for the first year 20/21 including some dual running, followed by subsequent year costs of £241k per annum. The cost in the subsequent years will be partially funded by the reduction in the old LSVC support costs. The balance to cover the business as usual costs of the MCU and LSVC services will be funded from within the MOPAC approved Digital Policing Budget.

 4. Legal Comments

4.1. The MPS is named on the H.T.E Contract and allows participating authorities to place Call-Off contracts for both services and hardware. This is a recognised compliant route to market.

4.2. There are no other suitable Call-Off contracts/Framework Agreements available which includes the scope of a Management Control Unit (MCU) for Video Conferencing.

4.3. The Mayor's Office for Policing Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations"). All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £181,302 or above will be procured in accordance with the Regulations.

4.4. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 or above.

4.5. Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to award MOPAC contracts with a total value of £500,000 or above.

5. Commercial Issues

5.1. The MPS are requesting approval from the Board to award a Call-Off contract to Cinos via the Softcat, Health Trust Europe (H.T.E) contract.

5.2. The contract is for a period of three years for a total value of £1.5m (this figure covers the Cinos Softcat quote and is also subject to potential increases in the US exchange rate).

5.3. Cinos previously supplied the MPS with video conferencing hardware, installed at the MPS BCUs - this is a separate requirement to provide an MCU managed service for these existing systems.

6. GDPR and Data Privacy

6.1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals.

6.2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects.

6.3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the project meets its compliance requirements.

6.4. A DPIA has been completed for this project. The project will ensure a privacy by design approach, which will allow the MPS to find and fix problems at the early stages of any project, ensuring compliance with GDPR. DPIAs support the accountability principle, as they will ensure the MPS complies with the requirements of GDPR and they demonstrate that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure compliance.

7. Equality Comments

7.1. An Equality Screening Exercise has been carried to assist in the early identification of equality impact against the 9 Protected Characteristics: Age, Disability, Gender, Marriage and Civil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Race, Religion and Belief, Sex, Sexual Orientation and any other socio-economic groups.

7.2. No negative has been identified to impact on the 9 Protected Characteristics (including Contracted and External Staff) due to the Management Controller being key for providing a full, effective Video Conferencing service in the Met. Broadly, the benefits of implementing a management controller for all endpoints across the MET Estate are outlined in Section 2.5 “General Case for a Management Controller” which within itself supports Inclusion, Diversity and Equality.

7.3. The benefits that positively impact the protected characteristics age, disability, pregnancy and maternity are:

• Fast deployment of security patches and configuration changes - able to remotely push updates and security patches to all devices connected to the MCU from one location

• Global directory and phonebook - centrally managed and pushed out when new units are brought online

• Efficient change process - any addition or removal of units across the Met estate can be handled centrally through the management controller central library

Note: this also includes other characteristics: Contracted and External Staff.

7.4. Age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, and race will not be impacted.

7.5. If as a result of the on-going monitoring and review of this proposal, any negative impact is identified, a full Equality Impact Assessment will be carried out.

8. Background/supporting papers

8.1. MPS report.