Citadel Group, Microsearch take NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office to the cloud with Micro Focus

The NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office has tapped managed services providers Citadel Group and Microsearch to move its systems to the cloud through Micro Focus.

Citadel was brought in to provide managed IT services to the agency and roll out Micro Focus’ enterprise content management platform Content Manager Select, while Microsearch handled the deployment of enterprise search, knowledge discovery and analytics platform IDOL.

The NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office sought a new cloud-based solution as part of its modernisation plans, specifically with one that would give it more control over the information being held on behalf of the NSW government agencies. The COVID-19 restrictions also highlighted the need for maintaining security while staff work remotely.

Content Manager Select was chosen to help meet compliance, regulatory, and privacy obligations while being a cloud-based platform, and also has Information Security Registered Assessor Program (IRAP) protected capability out of the box. The platform uses IDOL for document content search and is also the underlying platform for the InfoSource system used by solicitors for researching reference and legal content used to provide advice to clients.

"Citadel understood immediately that the security of protected level and highly sensitive information was paramount across NSW Crown Solicitor's Office,” Citadel Group public sector lead Stewart Hollingdrake said.

"The team was looking for a fully managed secure cloud solution, which also met its IRAP protected requirements. As the only commercially available IRAP solution on the market, Content Manager Select in the cloud was a natural choice.

"It was an absolute pleasure to partner with the cloud-first innovators at the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office. Together we delivered operational cost savings, a future-proof ECM solution, and significant security uplift for the agency. All of this is a testament to everyone involved."

In addition to deploying IDOL, Microsearch also designed the search aspects of the cloud solution, developing the cloud and security integration components, data migration, QA, and handover. The company also has a separate agreement with the agency for business as usual (BAU) support.

In a statement sent to CRN, a Microsearch spokesperson said the project was largely smooth and exceeded expectations.

“The project demonstrated Microsearch's capability and expertise in the search space and its ability to work in partnership with the customer and other providers to deliver and realise the benefits to the end customer,” the spokesperson told CRN.

“In the end, the goal of providing a cost effective and secure search and research service, which enabled users to work remotely was achieved, making NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office a more modern organisation.”

NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office program manager Michael Antonios said, The NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office was pleased with the rapid roll out, which saw the project delivered within one week and under budget.”

“With Content Manager Select in the cloud, the NSW Crown Solicitor’s Office now has a more secure, faster, more flexible, and more cost-effective content management solution. All staff can now work remotely with confidence and can access Content Manager Select through an encrypted internet link that can be accessed from any device, anywhere.”