Cores’ last blog on N365 looked at the options that existed for NHS customers in the run up to the deadline to register to join the scheme in July.
To recap, customers in the NHS have been presented with a new opportunity by NHS Digital to make financial savings when consuming core Microsoft 365 services. An NHS specific version of Microsoft 365, called N365, provides significant discounts to qualifying NHS organisations consuming Microsoft 365 core services.
NHS organisations that have registered for one of the two N365 options - shared tenant or own tenant - now have a series of activities that they need to undertake as part of the transition from their current model of operation (CMO) to their future mode of operation (FMO).
The following activities now need to be completed by the deadline listed below;
All N365 Options
Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
Organisations wishing to consume N365 services have to take steps to secure their devices in line with the programme requirements, which means deploying Windows Defender ATP to client devices and servers that interface with the N365 platform.
In years gone by, dictating that an organisation had to use Microsoft security products would have been a worrying development, Microsoft has historically not be renowned for its prowess in this field. However, that was in the past.
Microsoft have made huge strides in the security marketplace over the last two years, and they are now gaining rightful recognition as a major player in cyber security. (Read about Microsoft's recognition as a security leader in the Forrester Wave Q1 2020 report here).
The other major benefit here, is that there is an opportunity for N365 consumers to make structural cost savings on end user device security; the Windows Defender ATP for client devices is included in the free Windows 10 E5 licences that NHS users have access to under the existing Enterprise Wide Agreement, which is operated by Bytes.
N365 customers must have Windows Defender ATP deployed to all client devices by the end of October 2020, and to all relevant servers by the end of December 2020.
For customers that have had no prior experience of this product, or that have resourcing challenges in meeting this deadline, Core can help you.
Own Tenant Option Only
Migration from NHS Mail to N365
Customers that are pursuing the Own Tenant model of N365 need to have migrated their mail services from NHS Mail by the end of June 2021.
The advantage of the Own Tenant model is that for both the migration, and your ongoing N365/M365 services, you are very much the captain of your own ship. You get to control when and how everything happens.
The disadvantage is that you have got to get your migration completed ahead of the users that are going with the shared tenant model - and we are left with 10 full months to complete this transition.
Our next blog in this series will go into this in more depth, but the important takeaway for now is to recognise that this change needs to happen, and needs to be planned for.
N365 consumers are advised to think about if whether you have the skills and resources available internally to manage this migration, which may also involve the configuration and securing of an Office 365 tenancy if you don’t already have one.
This is another area where Core can help. We have a two-day strategy workshop offering that is designed to help customers navigate this process and build a picture of what is achievable internally versus what might need external assistance. The output of this can be used by N365 customers to build a specification that will allow you to compete your requirements via a procurement process.
Shared Tenant Only
Migration from NHS Mail to N365
For customers that are taking the shared tenant option, the good news is that you have until October 2021 for the migration to happen, and it is likely that the migration will be taken care of for you.
However, the key word here is likely.
Customers who went through the migration from NHSMail to NHSMail2 will still remember the process vividly, and it should be noted that the goalposts moved a few times both in terms of what the NHSMail consumer had to do to support the migration process, and the timescale over which they were migrated.
Accenture are providing both NHSMail2 and the N365 shared tenant option, so in theory any delays or challenges are solely within their gift to manage and mitigate.
This will be a developing story, and we will come back to this element in a future blog post. But for now, N365 Shared Tenant users need to be aware of the deadline and start planning for the potential impacts of the migration process, which given the number of current users, are likely to cover several months of 2021 leading up to the deadline.
Next steps
There are still a number of areas of the journey to N365 that require clarification, but N365 consumers are able to start making plans immediately. If you want to discuss any of the elements of N365 in more detail, please reach out to the N365 team at Core, hello@core.co.uk and we will do our best to help you!
