Products and Services

Frequently Asked Questions about the TaaS Programme

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    Background
    • Who was involved in developing TaaS?

      TaaS was jointly developed by MBIE and DIA. Eight more government agencies were included on a steering group.
      Specialists from most of these agencies were involved in developing the services.

    • What process was followed to develop the TaaS Service?

      A request for information was issued, followed by a request for proposals.

    • Are government agencies required to use TaaS?

      Currently agencies are strongly encouraged but not required to use TaaS.

    • Which is the lead agency for TaaS?

      DIA.

    • What agencies can adopt TaaS?

      The widest possible range of government agencies is eligible to use TaaS services. These include central and local government and SOEs.

      Eligible agencies are:

      Public Service departments as defined in section 27 of the State Sector Act 1988

      The New Zealand Defence Force, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Service

      Crown entities as defined in section 7 of the Crown Entities Act 2004

      Organisations listed in Schedule 4 and 4A of the Public Finance Act 1989

      The Reserve Bank of New Zealand

      The Office of the Controller and Auditor-General, the Office of the Ombudsmen, and the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment

      Corporations listed in Schedule 1 of the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986

      Local authorities, as defined in section 5 of the Local Government Act 2002

      Any other organisation, agency or collection of persons that does not fall within the above categories but which the lead agency (as applicable) and the procurement functional leader determines should be treated as an eligible agency.

    • Can non-government agencies use TaaS?

      Yes, if the lead agency and the procurement functional leader determine this as appropriate. In addition, other TaaS service providers may use TaaS services if they need to in order to deliver their services.

    • Who is categorised as an emergency service provider?

      Emergency Service Providers (ESP), who have access to the Emergency Service Network (ESN). Specific TaaS services are currently New Zealand Police, New Zealand Fire Service and St John New Zealand. The lead agency can appoint other ESPs with the endorsement of New Zealand Police.

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    Services
    • Are all TaaS services available?

      Most services have been available from a variety of vendors from early 2016.

    • How do I access service catalogues and pricing for TaaS?

      Contact the TaaS Programme at taas@dia.govt.nz.

    • What services does TaaS cover?

      TaaS is intended to cover the majority of government needs for telecommunications and managed security services.

    • Can I retain my current services while moving to TaaS?

      Yes. TaaS services can be taken up as required. In addition, many of the vendors will migrate your current services under the TaaS contract first, to simplify the migration to the new services.

    • Does the aggregation service in TaaS replace the aggregation service in the Information Technology Managed Services (ITMS) contract?

      No. The TaaS services cover operational management of TaaS service providers only. You may be able to use ITMS aggregator to perform this function, or have the TaaS aggregator report up to the ITMS aggregator.

    • We need to move buildings. Who do I speak to about what services we need?

      Contact the TaaS programme office at taas@dia.govt.nz.

    • How will DIA ensure its decisions about evolving the TaaS services provide me with what I need to support our business and customers?

      Under the TaaS panel, service providers are required to present regular roadmaps and to provide ongoing innovation. DIA will review these with vendors as well, and will stay informed through its other interactions with the marketplace.

    • My service provider is offering me services that are in the catalogue but they are not on the TaaS panel for that service. What can I do?

      Service providers may offer services in categories for which they are not panel members. However, you should consider the panel members first, as these should provide the best outcome for government in the long term. We suggest discussing this with the TaaS team at taas@dia.govt.nz.

    • What is the overlap with existing common capability services?

      TaaS connectivity services generally replace one.govt and the MVD agreement. TaaS aggregation services could instead be provided under an ITMS syndicated agreement, although the ITMS agreement is not tailored for telecommunications.

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    Transition
    • How do I sign up for TaaS?

      Agencies can select and sign up to individual or multiple TaaS services as required. Additional TaaS services can be added with a new subscription form. Learn more about signing up for TaaS

    • Do I need to select a single provider for all services within a category?

      No, you can select your preferred vendor for any service. All TaaS services are designed to work with each other, with any limitations detailed in the service catalogues.

    • Can I stay on one.govt?

      Yes, although it is likely to be to your advantage to migrate these services across to a TaaS contract as soon as possible.

    • Are there user forums for the TaaS services?

      The TaaS team is exploring this area. Contact taas@dia.govt.nz.

    • If my agency wants TaaS, will I need to undertake a secondary procurement process?

      Yes. Email the TaaS team at taas@dia.govt.nz to request a copy of the secondary procurement advice document.

    • Can DIA assist me with my business case and secondary procurement processes?

      DIA has specialists available to assist agencies with technical, commercial and procurement advice.

    • I'm a one.govt/Mobile Voice and Data (MVD) customer. Can I move to TaaS services? Will I be required to?

      All one.govt/MVD customers are eligible to move to TaaS. This is not compulsory, but over time these older services will be retired. Agencies can subscribe to the TaaS services as their current agreements expire, or sooner. TaaS services can be subscribed to individually as required.

    • What will happen to the one.govt and MVD contracts?

      All one.govt/MVD customers are eligible to move to TaaS. This is not compulsory, but over time these older services will be retired. Agencies can subscribe to the TaaS services as their current agreements expire, or sooner. TaaS services can be subscribed to individually as required.

    • Can I move to TaaS services and consider a different provider before my current contacts are up for renewal?

      Yes, but you may be liable for early termination charges (ETCs) under your current contract if you change suppliers.

    • Will early termination charges (ETCs) still be payable on my current contract if I move to TaaS?

      If you move to TaaS with the same supplier, in most cases the lead agency agreement will require ETCs to be waived. If your current supplier claims that ETCs are still payable, contact the TaaS office to confirm if this is correct. If you are changing suppliers, ETCs will be payable in accordance with your current agreement.

    • How do I consider the use of TaaS services in our agency’s four and 10-year investment plans?

      You should assume you will migrate to TaaS services before your existing contracts expire, or when they expire. Other trigger points to consider are asset reinvestment cycles, building relocation or other business projects that require telecommunications and/or managed security services.

    • Do I need to move all my services in a category to TaaS?

      No, TaaS services are designed to be selected discretely.

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    Technical
    • How secure is the TaaS network (GNet)?

      The GNet is intended to carry traffic classified up to restricted level. However, encryption is the responsibility of the application owner. Network-level encryption is not a part of the base GNet service.

    • Can I use ITMS to manage and aggregate TaaS services?

      TaaS aggregation services can be provided under an ITMS syndicated agreement, although the ITMS agreement is not tailored for telecommunications.

    • What is happening to SEEMail?

      SEEMail will continue for the foreseeable future. Email security services from TaaS will operate with SEEMail.

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    Cost/price
    • Will TaaS lower my agency’s total cost of ownership for ICT technology?

      Each agency’s business case will be different, and the overall costs will be determined by the mix of services and suppliers selected. TaaS is expected to lower the overall cost of telecommunications to government as a whole.

    • What happens if I sign up for a TaaS service and my supplier drops its price for what I've just bought?

      Price drops will apply to all customers.

    • A provider is offering me a good deal outside the TaaS agreement. What do I do?

      Contact the TaaS programme office at taas@dia.govt.nz to discuss. Depending on the scenario, this information may assist in driving prices down for government as a whole, or may identify TaaS providers who are working around their obligation to sell their services via TaaS.

    • We are happy with our current provider but would like to take advantage of some pricing in the service catalogue. Is that possible?

      TaaS services can be taken up as required.

    • Will agencies pay a service management fee to use TaaS services? If so, how much is it and how is it collected?

      Yes, an agency fee will be applicable, similar to other common capability services. This fee will be 1.5% of TaaS expenditure by agencies and will be invoiced directly to subscribing parties by DIA.

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    Commercial
    • Are all supplier agreements identical?

      Terms and conditions for suppliers are all based on a standard common capability agreement. There are some differences - DIA can help identify any material differences.

    • How long does a TaaS contract run for?

      The initial contracts are for five years, with three two-year extensions possible.

    • What type of secondary procurement process is required?

      The agency procurement process must follow the government rules of sourcing- specifically Rule 54.10 (http://www.procurement.govt.nz/procurement/for-agencies/key-guidance-for-agencies/the-new-government-rules-of-sourcing/5-types-of-supplier-lists#rule54).

      While this allows for a number of methods of choosing a supplier, the evaluation process must follow the approach described in the TaaS RFP: “In determining which Service Provider an agency seeks to enter into a Subscription Agreement with, an agency will follow an approved secondary procurement process. Such determination is expected to be made (in the agency's discretion) with reference to the nature, volume, quality and availability of the service offerings and charges, and may be made by a direct approach to a Service Provider, obtaining succinct proposals from some or all Service Providers, or a combination of these approaches.”