Sep 2, 2014 -- Astun Technology, the UK’s leading supplier of Open Source geospatial solutions to Local Government has announced its appointment to the Local Authority Software Applications(LASA) and G-Cloud procurement frameworks. Both frameworks have been procured by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). They seek to drive savings for the tax payer and to enable local government to secure transformation, better interoperability, open systems and provide opportunities for collaboration.

LASA is a new procurement framework that has been developed with local authority customers and stakeholders including the Local Government Association (LGA) and Pro5. LASA is intended for the supply of software and related services that enable Local Government organisations within the UK to deliver services to their citizens. The framework is complementary to the G-Cloud framework for cloud based solutions. Both form part of the LGA National ICT Strategy for Local Government. Specifically Astun Technology will focus on two of the eleven ‘lots’ published under the framework for which there is already a perfect ‘fit’ with Astun’s widely deployed iShare Enterprise GIS platform.  

• Lot 9: Open Government Systems, Interoperability and Integration Services
• Lot 11: Other Local Authority business systems including GIS

Astun has also announced that iShare is now available as a completely managed cloud hosted service available either through LASA or via the G-Cloud store.

“A key part of the LASA Framework Agreement seeks to accelerate the development of open systems, data sharing and interoperability so that services can be delivered efficiently in direct response to the needs of citizens and businesses,” said Mike Saunt, Managing Director of Astun Technology. “Suppliers will have to open their systems to enable other supplier’s systems to connect with theirs to enable data sharing and digital service delivery. That is something we have been advocating and indeed delivering for a number of years. The framework will also greatly simplify the procurement process for our customers,” continued Saunt.