ESFRS Taps Telent to Transform Operations

A major IT infrastructure refresh for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (ESFRS) will continue thanks to the extension of a contract with critical communications specialist Telent.

The new three-year contract extension running from 2023-2026 builds on Telent’s initial seven-year fully-managed ICT service that included supporting a roadmap to migrate business applications to Microsoft best practices, converting servers from physical to virtual, and building an Enterprise-class virtual infrastructure. Telent delivers a range of more than 130 ICT services from a defined service catalogue to 850 users across the fire service.

“East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service provides protection, prevention and response services for more than 800,000 people and we are delighted to continue our working relationship with the organisation as its strategic partner to modernise and manage its ICT infrastructure, enabling the digital transformation of key processes,” said Barry Zielinski, Operations and Service Director at Telent.

Together, a Target Operating Model was established that mapped out how ESFRS could exploit new technologies, enable organisational efficiency and encourage interoperability with other systems and public sector partners. Telent implemented virtual infrastructure for ESFRS to deliver a dedicated, scalable, private cloud computing and storage service, and this provided the foundation for the organisation to undergo its technology transformation and expansion. As part of the evolving IT strategy at ESFRS, Telent will support the future planned migration of key line of business applications from dedicated virtual infrastructure into the Azure cloud.

“After Telent was engaged to undertake the maintenance and support of our technology estate, and after a period of stabilisation, we have seen a significant reduction in IT incidents logged and a pleasing increase in reliability, with Telent continuing to successfully deliver against its SLAs,” said Dawn Whittaker, Chief Fire Officer and Chief Executive at ESFRS. “ESFRS is investing in a major IT infrastructure refresh and new capabilities to support the business needs of our service and Telent continues to provide critical support to ensure we deliver efficiently, effectively and maximise digital and technological opportunities.”

Supporting ESFRS with its move from a dedicated control room in Haywards Heath to the joint control room with Surrey and West Sussex Fire Services located in Surrey, Telent also conducted the secure de-commissioning of its legacy control room.

One key area of focus was the automation of paper-based processes relating to site specific risk information. A best-of-breed, configurable solution, built on one common platform utilising Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, is being implemented as three modules. The first is for site-specific risk information with information available to the crews on their Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) when attending incidents. The two other modules manage fire inspections at business premises and undertake home safety visits, with information directly entered by firefighters using tablet devices.