Internet Procurement Document

[snagrat]

In working with one of our schools to procure an Internet service for their existing school and new free school being built.

 

Is there a document somewhere, or can someone share something they might have that lays out what we should be looking for?

 

We know the basics and the more details bits but putting it on paper is proving difficult as different people in the school have different ideas.

 

It would be good if there was a document that stated things like the firewall must support X, Y and Z etc.

 

TIA

[SchoolsBroadband]

Northamptonshire cc did a good one in the past.

@GrumbleDook may have a copy?

[snagrat]

Northamptonshire cc did a good one in the past.

@GrumbleDook may have a copy?

 

Thanks.

 

You'll be one of the providers coming in so I hope you conform to it!

[SchoolsBroadband]

 

on top of the doc @GrumbleDook has I also suggest you ask potential suppliers the following

 

Is the service offered Prevent Duty compliant? If so how?

Does it offer SSL filtering?

Does it integrate with Windows AD and other auth sources as standard?

Is the firewall / filtering a single onsite box or is it cloud based and fully resilient?

Do they require an auto failover backup line?

Is the school going to be using cloud based applications a lot rather than on-premise? If so then a leased line with guaranteed bandwidth may be more prevalent than say an FTTC line.

Does the firewall / filtering product offer full easy to use reporting as standard on a per user basis and how are these reports delivered to the e-safety officer at school?

How easy is it to setup reports?

Can the ISP offer full end to end QOS for different applications and can they do full application control?

Does the firewall support / integrate with endpoint protection?

Who manages the software revisions on the firewall / filtering product?

Can you upgrade or downgrade your internet connection mid-contract term? If so what's the cost and does it tie you into a new term?

Is the company providing the Internet connection an actual ISP with their own network they can control or are they just re-selling somebody else's services?

is the company providing the filtering / firewall solution an accredited partner of the vendor and do they have qualified engineers that have passed their training / exams?

 

 

Just a few off the top of my head

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[SWGfL_Official]

Hi

 

This might also be of help SWGfL Magazine - News, Advice, and Tips for Educators

 

Julia

[IanN]

Off the top of my head, other potential things to consider are:

Do you need email filtering / monitoring?

Is cloud application monitoring required?

Do you want a single appliance for everything (e.g. UTM) or a number of appliances and/or cloud services?

Do you want a "one stop shop" or happy to have two/three suppliers?

Is the driver reducing cost or more functionality for the same cost?

Is VPN access required?

What systems do you have that require internet access and are they compatible with the proxy / firewall solution?

What pain points do you currently have?

What workarounds / extra services can be decommissioned once the new service is up and running?

Do you do a like for like or have an in-depth review of existing filters / rules?

[GrumbleDook]

A good guide (dated but a good starting point) is available at http://www.goddardpark.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Schools-Broadband-connectivity-and-servicesv1-0.pdf

 

As the working group no longer exists should EG members decide to take on updating the document (keeping to the CC licence) I shouldn't think it is a problem.