Telecommunications as a Service (TaaS)
TaaS makes it easier for government agencies to easily and securely connect with each other and their customers. Your agency has a choice of providers and service solutions, giving you the flexibility to meet your business and customer needs and maximising investment in technology services.
Service Description
TaaS delivers a range of cross-government telecommunications and managed security services that work seamlessly regardless of the supplier or agency.
TaaS services cover the majority of government needs for telecommunications and managed security services, including WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, voice (mobile, PABX and public network access), unified communications, and contact centre services.
As Lead Agency, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) negotiates services and contracts with suppliers on the TaaS panel.
The current TaaS agreement has been extended to . This is the third and final two-year renewal available under the TaaS agreement.
The structure of TaaS
The development of TaaS was based on the current trends of increasingly mobile workers, cloud-based applications and the use of a wide range of devices.
TaaS has an internet-like architecture, with suppliers peering or sharing their services for greater connectivity.
In effect, TaaS has created an internet for government called the GNet. The GNet carries traffic classified up to restricted level.
Network-level encryption is not a part of the base GNet service and is the responsibility of the service owner.
Benefits
- Easier collaboration — agencies can merge, separate and co-locate without extra costs or complexity.
- Freedom of choice — you choose which suppliers and services best meet your agency's business needs.
- Greater flexibility — your agency can leave a service agreement after just a month - and no minimum volumes. Buy exactly the type and amount of services you require to meet your agency’s evolving needs.
- Access the best deals without having to go through a full market Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
- Retain your current services while moving to TaaS — there’s no need to move all your services in a category to TaaS. Many vendors will migrate your current services under the TaaS contract first, simplifying migration to the new service.
- Pay as you go — TaaS has no minimum volumes, you pay only for the services used. If one agency drives down the cost of a service from a vendor, the new lower cost immediately applies to all other agencies using the service.
- Security — TaaS allows security controls to be applied where they’re needed and limits access to authorised users only. TaaS ensures agencies can secure data at the appropriate level and that security isn’t a barrier to providing services or working more closely with other agencies.
- Latest technology — TaaS services are flexible, taking advantage of innovative technology as it becomes available. Agencies using TaaS no longer run the risk of owning IT infrastructure that’s out-of-date or unsuitable for their needs.
Eligible Agencies
Almost all government agencies can opt in to TaaS, including Emergency Service Providers (ESP) and non-government agencies, as long as the lead agency and the procurement system leader determine this is appropriate.
Eligible agencies - Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Agencies are not currently required to use TaaS, but are strongly encouraged to do so.
Transitioning to TaaS
DIA have specialists who can assist you with technical, commercial and procurement advice.
Your agency can subscribe to TaaS services as your current agreements expire or sooner.
You may be liable for early termination charges (ETCs) if you change suppliers before your current contract expires.
Early termination charges
If you move to TaaS with the same supplier, in most cases the lead agency agreement will require early termination charges (ETCs) to be waived.
If your current supplier claims that ETCs are still payable, contact us to confirm if this is correct.
If you’re changing suppliers, ETCs will be payable in accordance with your current agreement.
Administration fee
An administration fee will be applicable, similar to other Common Capabilities services. This fee will be 1.75% of TaaS expenditure by agencies and will be invoiced directly to subscribing parties by DIA.
Aggregation Services
The aggregation service in TaaS does not replace the aggregation service in the Information Technology Managed Services (ITMS). TaaS services cover operational management of TaaS service providers only.
TaaS aggregation services could be provided under an ITMS syndicated agreement, although the ITMS agreement is not tailored for telecommunications. Contact us to discuss taas@dia.govt.nz
How to adopt the service
Email us
Email taas@dia.govt.nz and we'll contact you to discuss your needs and send you the Confidentiality Agreement.
Access to the TaaS information portal
We'll send you confirmation about your Confidentiality Agreement and provide you with access to the TaaS information portal.
Choose a supplier
This is called the secondary procurement process. Agencies can select individual or multiple TaaS services as required
Sign a subscription form
Sign a subscription form with your chosen supplier and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DIA. The MoU is available via the TaaS portal or email taas@dia.govt.nz
Agree
Agree to a transition plan and a statement of work with your chosen supplier.
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