UK Public Services Networks (PSN) | Local Government

Product at a glance

Save money on communication services
A common infrastructure for effective collaboration
Better value services for taxpayers
Provides a platform for future growth

The Public Services Network (PSN) is a ‘network of networks’ for the public sector. Kcom is partnering with local government and regional bodies to create some of the first regional PSNs in the UK. We’re leading the way in helping government agencies to work better together.

How can you plan for tomorrow's Public Services Network today?

The creation of a single network infrastructure for all public sector bodies promises to be a long but important journey. That journey has many different starting points and parts of the route ahead are not yet clear.

However, the cost saving benefits of a shared network infrastructure are compelling so every public sector ICT function should be preparing for the journey.

That’s where Kcom comes in. We can provide invaluable help and support on the PSN journey and our path-finding skills and experience are available in equal measure to help public sector bodies plan their route.

How do we do it?

We are working with the Cabinet Office PSN Programme to help develop the standards that will underpin the PSN. Kcom is represented on all of the work-streams responsible for recommending standards and is also part of the PSN Governing Body. As a result way we can provide the most up to date and accurate advice to our customers.
Using our experience of working with public sector organisations. Our knowledge and experience is based on delivering managed communications services in challenging, service and security critical environments such as police forces and hospitals. We are now applying this experience to multi-tenanted shared service networks in the PSN style.
Employing our service management and commercial skills to help ensure that each organisation in a shared service environment not only gets the service level they need but is also part of an equitable commercial framework that guarantees best value.
Working closely with our technology partners not only to ensure that PSN standards are built into their products but also to choose the right technology and telecoms services with which to build a PSN infrastructure.
Using our ‘telco’ experience and partnerships with leading service providers to understand the regulatory and compliance environment being developed around the PSN and ensuring that the solutions we design for regional PSNs meet the required standards and can therefore be considered truly PSN Ready.

Wide Area Networks (WANs) provide the underlying infrastructure for the PSNs. Kcom builds on its years of experience in this area to deliver cost-effective WAN solutions that are designed specifically for Public Sector. We offer a wide variety of access options into a core infrastructure that uses local exchanges as aggregation points, removing the reliance on customer locations for core services and improving the availability of the service.

PSNs also include a wide range of complementary services including:

Local Area Networks (LANs)
Fixed line and mobile telephony
Unified communications
Contact centres
Gateways to other services
Service management

The end result?

Confidence that you can start the journey now – creating sensible, regional shared service networks that will deliver cost savings and improved services for your customers, and reassurance that networks created today, with PSN in mind, will conform to the appropriate standards.