WIREDGOV

Ordnance Survey and Land Registry have announced a significant data centre shared service agreement, the first of its type for central government.

Under this agreement Land Registry has leased to Ordnance Survey 219 square metres of serviced and managed space, in its secure data centre in Gloucester. This dedicated “data centre within a data centre” will house a proportion of Ordnance Survey’s production IT infrastructure for the next five years as well as supporting the launch of a new database management system. It will facilitate essential IT Business continuity services in conjunction with Ordnance Survey’s new head office and operations base, being built in Southampton. 

Today’s agreement marks the culmination of months of negotiation and project activity. Ordnance Survey plans to start the migration of their infrastructure early next year and will phase the operational switchover throughout the spring and summer of 2010.

It is a deal that benefits both Land Registry, who are actively pursuing a shared service strategy by marketing extra capacity at their data storage centre, and Ordnance Survey, which will benefit from the existing modern facility.

It is also going to be carbon efficient. A state-of-the-art venting system, which reduces overall energy consumption, has been installed on the site. The amount of energy saved will be monitored as the project progresses. 

John Wright, Director of Information Systems, Land Registry’s senior stakeholder for the project, said: “This is a key milestone for Land Registry.  We’re happy to be the first to have a service agreement like this.  It’s a venture in keeping with two key government initiatives, those of shared services and the green agenda. It’s good for government and good for Land Registry and Ordnance Survey. Looking to the future, it’s also a potential platform for other operations to share services and cut costs.”

Director of Information Systems at Ordnance Survey Bob Goodrich agreed, “We are delighted that this project is going ahead. We are particularly pleased to be working with another government department to manage our data systems. This is a significant move towards major risk mitigation and is an important part of our new head office construction project.  Historically, we have had a close relationship with Land Registry, and this helps cement it.”

Email: rob.andrews@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2265

Senior Communications & PR Officer - Paul Beauchamp

Email: paul.beauchamp@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2568

Press Office fax: (+44) 023 8030 5295