ACRO Database Solutions - Procurement Intention Notice
Whilst the PIN has closed, responses are still welcome as they aren't at formal procurement stage yet.
Introduction
This document is intended to provide background information to support interested parties in responding to the ACRO Database Solutions Prior Information Notice (PIN).
Background & Current Platform
The ACRO Criminal Records Office is seeking suitable providers to take a holistic view of ACRO’s database solutions and make suggestions for how to replace and improve outdated areas of our technology. ACRO are hosted by Hampshire Constabulary under the lead force principle and receive IT support from the Joint Hampshire/Thames Valley Police ICT Team (JICT).
ACRO Criminal Records Office is a national police unit working for safer communities. A leader in criminal record exchange, we provide a range of services that deliver operational benefits to law enforcement and public protection organisations. Information on the services ACRO provides can be found on our website, acro.police.uk. ACRO currently employ over 300 staff members. Our aims are to:
- Coordinate a centralised and cost effective national resource that supports the fight against crime and minimises the financial burden on police forces
- Work with international law enforcement partners to further enhance our criminal record exchange capability
- Deliver continual improvement in our expert service to partners, customers and the wider public
ACRO wish to upgrade our existing systems and explore the options available to us. Our existing systems were created by Geoff Smith Associates Ltd and are bespoke versions of their CycFreedom software. Four versions of these service several different departments and product, and ACRO would be looking to expand the use of any database beyond these departments and products. In addition to these, ACRO have available to them a number of existing resources that could be incorporated into or support a new system, such as:
- Microsoft Power Platform including Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI
- Microsoft Office 2016 Desktop suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher) including VBA enabled solutions
- Microsoft Office online (Office suite plus SharePoint, Forms, Teams, OneNote & Visio)
- BluePrism enabling Robotic Process Automation (RPA) provided by the JICT
- Egress encryption software (Encrypted email and potentially online secure workspace and Egress smart web forms)
- Existing Police systems such as the Police National Computer (PNC), Criminal History Scotland (CHS), etc.
- Avaya Communication and Contact solution
- Adobe Acrobat XI Pro and Acrobat DC Reader
- Externally hosted website, built using the Kentico CMS
ACRO expects any participating provider to collaborate on requirements, with suggestions on the best approach to required functionality provided.
Technical Information
ACRO will be migrating on premises servers to the Azure cloud environment at a future date lead by JICT, however we wish to explore all options available. Any cloud based solution allows for an ‘evergreen’ software platform from suppliers, meaning the forces always have the latest version of the provided software and all version updates or patches are fully managed on the cloud platform by the supplier.
Where the supplier cannot provide an end-to-end service in the cloud, and JICT is required to fulfil an element of the service support, then JICT require the service to operate upon Microsoft technologies with guaranteed compatibility on no more than ‘n-1’ of the latest released versions. Any procured service should be fully compatible for ‘working from anywhere’ to support the flexible working approach of the modern workplace. Preferred service access would be via the public internet using modern web browsers. Any procured service must support ‘single sign on’ from Azure Active Directory and align to National Identity Application Management strategies.
ACRO have a strict policy with regards to Information Assurance (IA) and Information Security (IS). Suppliers expecting to work with either ACRO or JICT need to demonstrate compliance with national accreditations and provide evidence of inherently secure design. This security needs to be proven end to end, from the device to the back end storage. JICT operate a series of periodic health check exercises to identify vulnerabilities. Any suppliers would be expected to work with the JICT to remove any potential vulnerabilities.
The supplier will need to be fully security vetted. This may be something that is already be held, but if evidence cannot be provided, a vetting process would need to be undertaken before the commencement of works. Any associated costs with this would need to be covered by the supplier.
Functional Requirements
ACRO wish to explore the options available, so do not have any defined functional requirements at this stage, however the following functionality should be considered:
- Manage and create workflows to support business processes
- Facilitate both single and bulk submissions of data
- Integrate and/ or provide advice on improvements with our website to allow online submissions and payments to be taken and reconciled
- Allow police forces to submit requests via a web portal/website or via API
- Allow connection to existing police systems (PNC, CHS, etc) and be able to extract data from these systems
- Allow connection to partner systems both national and international
- Facilitate the use of the l ‘Master Record’ principle for records management across ACRO
- Allow the editing of records
- Allow the creation of templates (documents, emails) from records
- Integrate with encrypted EGRESS solution such as encrypted emails, secure workspace and smart web forms
- Allow the extrapolation of raw data for analysis purposes as well as integrating with analytic solutions such as Power BI
- Facilitate the creation and management of custom reports and common queries
- Allow all use of the systems to be audited
- Integrate with RPA technology where possible
- Facilitate the use of user groups
Due to the evolving environment that ACRO work within, we have the requirement to make certain administrative changes within any new system. This functionality would enable ACRO to:
- Create and amend fields
- Create and amend lists of values
- Create new templates
- Maintain static data
- Maintain user groups
- Maintain Common Queries
- Create and amend workflow fields and routes
If you have any questions please contact mailto:[email protected] with the subject title: TVP00713 ACRO Database Solutions PIN Query.