Statistics New Zealand and Spark have partnered to deliver one of the first telecommunications-as-a-Service (TaaS) government connectivity networks, helping a number of government agencies return to Christchurch CBD.
The firm announced that from this week 380 public servants from 9 agencies will work from the new BNZ Centre between Cashel and Hereford Street.
In 2017, a further 200 staff will join them in the building officially opened by Prime Minister John Key and Minister supporting Christchurch Regeneration Gerry Brownlee.
Bringing hundreds of government workers back in the heart of the city is an important step in Christchurch CBD’s recovery as the city rebuilds following the earthquakes in 2011.
Statistics New Zealand signed the first TaaS network connectivity agreement with Spark and is the lead agency responsible for coordinating all the agencies working in the BNZ Centre.
TaaS has a vital role in helping the nine agencies, each with different communications and security requirements, share the building and resources.
TaaS was developed as a flexible way of delivering telecommunications and data services that removes the traditional complexity of owning, managing and maintaining networks and will enable government agencies to focus on their core services.
In the BNZ Centre the nine government agencies will be able to collaborate securely with each other and with their customers. Public servants will have a modern, flexible working environment that is geared towards accommodating staff mobility, and sharing common meeting rooms and networks. It not only meets today’s requirements but also the future needs of agencies.
Chris Buxton, Statistics NZ CTO said, “From the outset, we were encouraged to explore innovative solutions to support a more integrated colocation of agencies, enabling interoperability and cross agency efficiencies.”
“Spark has provided exactly that through TaaS – a modern, collaborative working environment, providing the flexibility to support broader government building use in the future for the benefit of all New Zealanders,” the executive further said.