Debbie Wisdom, Strategic Director, Kent Connects and Matt Hamilton, Technical Director, Netsight Internet Solutions and international board director of the Plone Foundation.
Kent Connects, the lead technology partnership in Kent & Medway, are using Plone Content Management System to provide partners from different public sector organisations with a flexible, virtual online space to collaborate and share information and knowledge via the internet in a secure way. Learn how Kent Connects came to be using Plone and what the benefits, issues and lessons learnt have been in adopting OSS for the partnership. Find out more about Plone, its community of practice and the opportunities it can offer the public sector.
Kent Connects: Harnessing Open Source for Shared Services and Partnership Working
1. Kent Connects
Harnessing Open Source for Shared
Services and Partnership Working
Debbie Wisdom Matt Hamilton
Strategic Director Technical Director
Kent Connects Netsight Internet Solutions
www.kentconnects.gov.uk www.netsight.co.uk
2. Presentation Content
Background to Kent Connects
Our open source journey
Requirements
Initial development
Growing pains
Engaging with Netsight
The Plone community
Current situation
3. Kent Connects
Established in 2002
The lead technology partnership in
Kent and Medway
Achieving transformation through
technology by tackling the barriers to
joining up and sharing services
Removing technology as the excuse for
not transforming
5. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
1
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN 29
6. Start of the journey …
Requirements
easy and
intuitive
self-
publishing
tool
powerful
search tool
7. Internal Development V1
Plone Content Management System
KCC developed
Tonbridge & Malling BC hosted
Live with 1 portal in Feb 07
8. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
1
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN 29
10. Growing pains
Responsibility to portal partners grew
Development requirements grew
Support arrangements grew
Need for formal hosting grew
11. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
5
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN 29
12. Engaging with Netsight
Who are Netsight?
10 person Web Development company
Specialising in Plone content management system
Heavily involved in the Plone Community
Director of the Plone Foundation
Organise development events
Aware of Plone future roadmap
13. Engaging with Netsight
What Netsight offers the public sector
Right ‘fit’ for Kent Connects
Bespoke development
High level of support
Able to handle hosting requirements
Worked with other public sector clients
15. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
15
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN 29
16. Portal V2 Development
By now the number of portals had grown to 15
Original architecture had been exceeded
Needed a way to roll out ever more portals quicker
(lower admin support) and manage across all portals
New version of Plone (version 3) with newer
features, and additional 3rd party add-ons
Better membership management as number of users
grew
17. Bespoke Development
Open Source is extendable in the way you
want, not just in the way the vendor has
envisaged
Often requirements surface long after the
procurement process
e.g. the Software Audit Application to allow the
monitoring of software use throughout the
partnership
18. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
29
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN
19. Current Situation
Portal Partner Costs Kent Connects Costs
Set-up fee: £500-£1000 Income: £500-£1000 per portal
Administrator training: £0 Annual support: £1800
Annual support: £0 Annual hosting: £650
Annual hosting: £0 Support: £75 per hour
Development: £750 per day
29 Portals 1150 Members 458 News Items 545 Events 981 Discussions 3800 Files
20. Current Situation
Spin-off Benefit
Portal of Portals
Bird’s eye of meetings across Kent & Medway
A strategic view of partnership and
collaborative activities for Chief Executives and
senior officers
24. Our Open Source Journey …
Feb 07 July 08
Engage
Current
Internal
•
with External
Go Live
• •
Situation
Dev V1 Netsight
•
•
Dev V2
V1
Nov 06 May 07 Apr 09
29
COLLABORATE SHARE INFORM LEARN
25. Debbie Wisdom Matt Hamilton
Strategic Director Technical Director
Kent Connects Netsight Internet Solutions
01622 221929 0117 909 0901
www.kentconnects.gov.uk www.netsight.co.uk
http://plone.org/
http://plone.org/foundation
http://www.plonegov.org/