Objective Corporation today announced the launch of Objective Connect in the UK. A hybrid platform engineered to meet the stringent data sovereignty and security requirements of the public sector, Objective Connect delivers secure information sharing between government departments, private enterprise and citizens beyond traditional organisational boundaries. Objective Connect is hosted locally by FCO Services Government Secure Applications Environment (GSAE), providing an accredited and secure information sharing platform for government.
Sharing information with colleagues and external stakeholders as well as the ability to share information securely enables public sector organisations to build collaborative programmes with multiple stakeholders. However, concerns around privacy and increasingly strict information management policies in security-conscious public sector organisations have created an information sharing challenge. A recently commissioned survey by Objective found that almost 70 per cent of UK public organisations restrict employees’ file sharing due to security concerns, yet 88 per cent of civil servants need to regularly share files with external agencies and stakeholders.
Objective Connect resolves these challenges by providing a secure alternative to insecure or non-compliant methods of information sharing such as email, FTP and consumer grade file-sharing tools. This secure information-sharing platform allows government and other security-conscious organisations to simply and safely share information, through a browser or directly from their own information management repository.
Objective Connect also integrates with information management systems such as Objective ECM, HP Trim and Microsoft Sharepoint. This ensures that information being shared externally is managed using the same processes and privileges as information managed internally.
Public bodies are now able to build collaborative programmes and streamline business processes that stretch beyond their organisation. In the past these programs have been held back by network limitations, variations in document handling protocols and different security capabilities.
Objective’s UK general manager, Simon Etherington, said: “The UK Government and its partners are struggling to share information easily and securely in a way that enhances collaboration between organisations while driving business efficiencies. Objective Connect addresses this long-term challenge by delivering secure information sharing between organisations while maintaining the high levels of security that government organisations expect.”
David Williams, Operations Director from FCO Services, said: “As a leading provider of secure ICT services to public sector, we are well positioned to enable organisations like Objective to access a secure private cloud service. This will help to meet the Government agenda to reduce costs, improve communication and encourage collaboration. Government Cloud applications use the highest common denominator of security when their data is hosted on UK government-secure sites. Our data centres are based in secure UK government owned sites and are monitored continuously by security cleared staff.”
In addition, Objective Connect addresses the need for legislative compliance by enabling public sector organisations to build resilient information governance processes and provide auditability and traceability of information that has been shared.
Objective Connect is available immediately at www.objectiveconnect.co.uk and also under the Government’s G-Cloud II framework.