Leeds City Council

Success Story

Novell helps Leeds City Council upgrade its network infrastructure and enable improved access to services and information for both citizens and employees

Overview

Leeds City Council provides a whole range of services for more than 700,000 UK citizens. Approximately 33,000 employees work from over 300 offices spread throughout the metropolitan district.

Challenge

Following British government mandates, Leeds City Council is Web-enabling as many council services as possible by the end of 2005. Providing online access will make it easier for citizens to take advantage of local government services, and will reduce administration costs. To provide such access, the Council needed to update its outdated network infrastructure.

In addition, the Council sought to improve remote access for its employees by allowing them to access applications from home or while traveling. Improving the work/life balance for employees is a key initiative, requiring secure 24/7 access to resources.

Novell solution

"Novell not only has reliable products, but also the foresight to select the technologies that will most benefit our business. Having a reliable partner is paramount. For a council of our size, it is vital to work with the right people and technology."

Anthony Burnham
Programme Manager
Leeds City Council

As a local authority, Leeds City Council evaluated several options to ensure that it would get the best value. The council selected a comprehensive Novell solution including NetWare® 6.5 for network management; Novell® exteNd™ to create a Web portal; and Novell ZENworks® for desktop management. A combination of Novell eDirectory™, Novell Identity Manager and Novell iChain® provides the underlying identity and access management across the enterprise.

"An independent review of the marketplace was undertaken and concluded that the Novell solution was the most appropriate," said Anthony Burnham, Programme Manager for Leeds City Council. "We needed a solution that can interoperate with our diverse environment including NetWare, Windows* and Sun Solaris*."

NetWare 6.5 provides a solid network architecture and reliable service. Running Novell Cluster Services™ in conjunction with an HP* storage area network (SAN) solution has eliminated downtime and provides ample storage to keep pace with rapid growth.

The Council used Novell exteNd to create a portal which will enable employees to have secure remote access to resources from a standard Web browser. In the future, employees will be able to access applications from home in the same way as they can from the office, such as office applications, e-mail, SAP* and Siebel*.

Novell iChain provides authentication to the Council's portal, ensuring that employees view personalized information, based on their roles and responsibilities. Consistent access gives employees greater working flexibility and also reduces the amount of time spent traveling to the city.

Leeds City Council also plans to extend secure remote access to its citizens. Instead of calling or visiting a local office, citizens will be able to electronically book leisure activities, reserve council property, apply for housing, pay local taxes, request a building permit or make other online requests.

"Our goal is to be on the forefront of providing services to our community," Mark Farquhar, Technical Design Architect at Leeds City Council. "Despite being a large organization, Novell helps us to be on the cutting edge and move faster toward our goals."

Novell eDirectory serves as the central source for user identity information across the organization. Novell Identity Manager automatically synchronizes changes in the SAP HR system with eDirectory to create or update a user account. Adding a new employee and providing access to the right resources is now a completely automated process, significantly reducing user administration time and costs.

In the past, users had an average of 7-8 passwords to log on to applications. Novell SecureLogin will help the council significantly reduce this number, as well as the time required to sign on to a computer each day. The Council also anticipates a significant reduction in password-related helpdesk calls.

To manage more then 10,000 desktops, the Council relies on Novell ZENworks to image a PC in a matter of minutes. Instead of spending weeks manually installing applications, the IT staff will use ZENworks to deliver applications enterprise-wide in a day. Novell ZENworks also aids the council in keeping its system patched and updated against viruses.

"With over 10,000 desktops and almost 400 different applications, Novell ZENworks is a major factor in reducing our support costs," said Phil Bevan, Business Impact Manager at Leeds City Council. "We're always looking for ways to reduce the administrative burden on IT and divert resources to more important projects."

Results

A Novell solution provides an updated infrastructure which will enable Leeds City Council to provide more online services to its citizens consistent with corporate and government goals. Improved reliability with NetWare 6.5 allows the organization to make the most of its infrastructure investment, while scaling to accommodate rapid growth. A Novell identity and access management solution reduces user administration costs significantly and greatly improves security and employee productivity.

"Novell not only has reliable products, but also the foresight to select the technologies that will most benefit our business," said Anthony Burnham. "Having a reliable partner is paramount. For a council of our size, it is vital to work with the right people and technology."