Industry Government & Public Sector

Technology that earns
public trust through
rigorous compliance.

We build digital infrastructure for government bodies, regulators, and public sector organisations - platforms that handle citizen data with the care it deserves, meet every applicable standard, and deliver services that actually work under real conditions.

We build to
GDS Standards
WCAG 2.2 AA
ISO 27001
Cyber Essentials+
GDPR / UK GDPR
NCSC Cloud Guidance

Every system we deliver for the public sector is built to the standards that apply - not the minimum that passes a procurement checklist.

GDS Service Standard
WCAG 2.2 AA
UK GDPR & DPA 2018
ISO 27001:2022
Cyber Essentials Plus
NCSC Cloud Principles

Systems built for public accountability,
not just procurement compliance.

Public sector technology is harder than commercial technology - not less. The standards are stricter, the scrutiny is higher, and the cost of failure is felt by citizens. We treat that seriously.

Digital Citizen Services

End-to-end digital service delivery built to GDS Service Standard and WCAG 2.2 AA - from discovery through to live. We design services that work for everyone, including users with accessibility needs, low digital literacy, and intermittent connectivity.

GDS Service StandardGOV.UK Design SystemWCAG 2.2 AAProgressive EnhancementMulti-channel

Regulatory Compliance Platforms

Systems that help regulated industries demonstrate compliance - regulatory reporting portals, licence management, inspection workflow systems, and enforcement case management. Built with the audit trail and data integrity that regulators require.

Regulatory ReportingLicence ManagementInspection WorkflowEnforcement Case ManagementEvidence Management

Case Management Systems

Complex casework platforms for benefit administration, planning applications, social care, and justice - designed around the actual workflows of caseworkers, not the process diagrams from a workshop. Integration with legacy systems is expected, not treated as exceptional.

Multi-stage Case WorkflowsLegacy IntegrationDocument ManagementDecision SupportPerformance Reporting

Data Architecture & Analytics

Secure data platforms for public sector organisations - data warehouses, analytical pipelines, and performance dashboards that give policy teams insight without compromising the data sharing boundaries that protect citizens.

Secure Data SharingData LinkagePerformance DashboardsFreedom of Information SupportStatistical Publication

Identity & Access Management

GOV.UK One Login integration, internal IAM for multi-department platforms, privileged access management, and role-based access control for systems handling sensitive personal data. Designed with the principle of least privilege and full audit trail.

GOV.UK One LoginOkta & Azure ADPrivileged Access ManagementRBAC at Field LevelMFA Enforcement

Legacy Modernisation

Systematic migration from legacy government systems - COBOL on mainframes, Oracle Forms, and bespoke VB6 applications - to modern, maintainable platforms. We've done this carefully enough times to know what the risk points are and how to navigate them.

System Assessment & DiscoveryStrangler Fig Migration PatternAPI Layer over LegacyData MigrationParallel Running Cutover

Secure Cloud Infrastructure

UK government cloud deployments meeting NCSC Cloud Security Principles - AWS GovCloud and Azure Government configurations, OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE classification support, and network architectures designed for public sector security requirements.

NCSC Cloud PrinciplesAWS / Azure GovernmentOFFICIAL-SENSITIVEPSN ConnectivityN3/HSCN Integration

Performance & Accessibility Auditing

Independent accessibility audits against WCAG 2.2 AA - automated scanning plus manual screen reader testing, cognitive accessibility review, and remediation guidance that tells developers exactly what to fix rather than just flagging failures.

WCAG 2.2 AA AuditScreen Reader TestingCognitive AccessibilityPerformance AuditRemediation Guidance

Every framework your organisation
is accountable to - built in from day one.

Compliance isn't a layer we add before an audit. We architect systems around the applicable frameworks from the initial design - which means audits produce evidence rather than require emergency remediation.

GDS

GDS Service Standard

The 14-point framework for government digital services - discovery, alpha, beta, and live phases with assessment points. We've passed GDS assessments and know what assessors look for in practice, not just in documentation.

Discovery & Alpha phases
User research at every stage
Accessibility built in from start
Iterative public beta
Key metric / timeline Ongoing
UK GDPR

UK GDPR & DPA 2018

Data protection requirements for personal data held on behalf of citizens. We build with data minimisation, purpose limitation, and rights of data subjects as functional requirements - not compliance tick-boxes.

Lawful basis documentation
DPIA for high-risk processing
Subject rights workflows
Data retention automation
Key metric / timeline 72hr breach notification
ISO 27001

ISO 27001:2022

The international standard for information security management. For systems handling public data, ISO 27001 certification provides independent assurance that security controls are implemented and maintained systematically.

ISMS documentation and implementation
Risk register and treatment plan
Internal audit programme
Certification body support
Key metric / timeline 5–8 months
Cyber Essentials

Cyber Essentials Plus

NCSC's certification scheme required for central government contracts involving personal data or sensitive information. CE+ (with independent assessment) is increasingly required rather than just the self-assessed CE level.

Firewall and boundary controls
Secure configuration baseline
Patch management evidence
Access control and MFA
Key metric / timeline 4–8 weeks
How a government digital programme typically runs - from discovery to live service
Phase 1
Discovery

User research, stakeholder mapping, and problem definition. DPIA scoping and security classification agreed.

Phase 2
Alpha

Prototype tested with real users. Security architecture designed. GDS Alpha assessment prepared.

Phase 3
Private Beta

Working service tested with a small group. Penetration test. WCAG 2.2 AA audit. Accessibility statement published.

Phase 4
Public Beta

Wider rollout with full monitoring. GDS Beta assessment. ISO 27001 evidence collection begins.

Phase 5
Live

Full public service. Cyber Essentials+ certification. Ongoing security operations and accessibility monitoring.

Ongoing
Iterate

Continuous user research, performance monitoring, and compliance maintenance through the service lifecycle.

Public data held to the standard
citizens have every right to expect.

Security in government systems isn't optional, and it isn't a checkbox. It's the design basis from which everything else flows - from infrastructure choice to access control to incident response.

Security Posture Score
90% Excellent Across 6 security domains
Access Control 96%
Network Security 94%
Data Protection 98%
Vulnerability Mgmt 88%
Incident Response 92%
Configuration Baseline 90%
Certifications held
ISO 27001 Cyber Essentials+ NCSC Cloud IL2 Accredited PASF PSN CoCo
OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE Cloud Environments

Infrastructure designed for the OFFICIAL tier and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE sub-tier of the Government Security Classifications policy - network segmentation, encryption at rest and in transit, and logging that meets HMG requirements. We work within the NCSC's 14 Cloud Security Principles and can brief your SIRO on the implementation.

Privileged Access Management & Zero-Trust Architecture

Administrative access via just-in-time privilege elevation, no standing privileged accounts, and network architecture based on zero-trust principles rather than perimeter security. Every privileged action is logged and attributable - a requirement for public accountability.

Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Management

CHECK-scheme penetration testing for systems handling protectively marked data, CREST-certified testing for systems in scope for compliance requirements, and a structured vulnerability management process with SLA-bound remediation timelines. We coordinate with your DSO from scoping through to remediation evidence.

Audit Trail & Accountability Logging

Immutable audit logs covering every data access, modification, and deletion - structured for both operational security monitoring (SIEM ingestion) and regulatory inspection (demonstrating compliance to ICO, NAO, or PAC). We design logging at the application layer, not just the infrastructure layer, because infrastructure logs don't tell you what a user did with a citizen record.

Incident Response & Business Continuity

Incident response playbooks for the scenarios your organisation is most likely to face - ransomware, data breach notification (72-hour ICO clock), insider threat, and supplier compromise. Business continuity planning for critical citizen-facing services, tested against realistic scenarios rather than desktop exercises.

Work that passed GDS assessment,
survived scrutiny, and kept running.

Four examples from real public sector engagements - the outcomes are what was measured post-launch, not projected during procurement.

Central Government
Benefits Processing Modernisation

A paper-based and partially digitised benefits claim process handling 140,000 applications annually. Processing time averaged 23 days. Error rates in manual data entry were creating overpayment and underpayment issues that required costly correction workflows.

23→6 days Application processing time
99.4% Data accuracy (was 94.1%)
$4.2M Annual admin cost reduction
WCAG 2.2 AA Full accessibility compliance
Regulatory Body
Environmental Permit Management Platform

A regulator managing 8,400 environmental permits across industrial, waste, and water sectors - running on a 14-year-old system with no API layer, limited reporting capability, and an inspection workflow that required officers to re-enter data in three different screens.

8,400+ Permits on live platform
62% Inspector admin time reduction
ISO 27001 Certified at go-live
4.7/5 Officer satisfaction score
Local Authority
Planning Application Digital Service

Planning application processing with 85% of applications still submitted on paper. A backlog of 1,200 applications. Digital submissions required a 12-step process that 40% of applicants abandoned before completion, forcing a phone call to the planning team.

85% Digital application rate (was 15%)
11 steps→4 Application journey simplified
Zero Paper backlog - cleared in 8 weeks
GDS Live Service passed Live assessment
NHS Trust
Patient Referral & Appointment System

A specialist referral system where 34% of referrals required manual intervention due to incomplete information. Appointment scheduling across 12 clinical specialties was managed in a combination of a legacy PAS, a spreadsheet, and a paper diary system.

34%→4% Referrals requiring manual intervention
DSP Toolkit NHS DSP Toolkit compliance
HSCN N3/HSCN integrated
3.2 weeks Average referral-to-appointment (from 7.1)

Built with open standards,
maintained by your team.

We avoid proprietary lock-in for public sector clients. Open standards, documented APIs, and transferable codebases - because public money should buy technology the organisation can own.

Frontend & Citizen-Facing
GOV.UK Design System GOV.UK Frontend React Next.js Accessible HTML / CSS Progressive Enhancement GOVUK Notify Pay
Backend & APIs
Python / Django Node.js Ruby on Rails RESTful APIs GraphQL OpenAPI 3 Event-driven architecture Apache Kafka
Government Cloud & Infrastructure
AWS GovCloud Azure Government Crown Hosting NCSC-aligned IaC (Terraform) Kubernetes PSN connectivity N3/HSCN
Data & Analytics
PostgreSQL Oracle AWS RDS Redshift Snowflake dbt Apache Airflow Power BI R / Python statistical analysis
Identity & Security
GOV.UK One Login Azure AD / Entra Okta MFA enforcement HashiCorp Vault CyberArk Wazuh SIEM Splunk
Integration & Legacy
MuleSoft Boomi SOAP/XML for legacy systems HL7 FHIR (health) EDI SFTP XML-based statutory reporting
Testing & Accessibility
axe-core NVDA / JAWS / VoiceOver manual testing Lighthouse Pa11y Playwright Cypress WCAG 2.2 AA audit tooling
Compliance & Audit
OneTrust Vanta AWS Config Azure Policy CloudTrail Immutable audit log architecture ICO breach notification workflows

Government procurement-friendly
engagement models.

We're available through G-Cloud and DOS (now Digital Outcomes and Specialists) frameworks. We also work directly with organisations that prefer to procure outside the frameworks.

Discovery & Assessment

4–8 weeks · Fixed scope

A structured discovery covering the problem space, user needs, technical landscape, and compliance requirements - producing an evidence-based service vision and investment case. Can be run as a GDS Discovery phase or as an internal business case programme.

  • User research with target audience
  • Technical landscape assessment
  • Compliance and security scoping
  • Investment case with options appraisal
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Most Requested

Digital Service Delivery

Alpha through Live · GDS-aligned

End-to-end delivery from Alpha through Live service - user research, design, development, accessibility, and security - aligned to GDS Service Standard phases and assessment points. We can provide the full multidisciplinary team or embed into an existing programme.

  • GDS-aligned delivery methodology
  • Full multidisciplinary team available
  • Alpha, Beta, and Live phases
  • Accessibility and security built in
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Compliance Programme

8–20 weeks · Fixed deliverables

Standalone compliance delivery - ISO 27001 implementation, Cyber Essentials Plus preparation, GDPR gap analysis and remediation, or WCAG 2.2 AA audit and remediation. Each programme has defined deliverables and timelines, not open-ended consultancy retainers.

  • Gap analysis against applicable standard
  • Remediation roadmap with priorities
  • Evidence collection and documentation
  • Assessment / certification preparation
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Questions we hear from public sector teams

Honest answers about procurement, security classifications, GDS assessments, and what government digital delivery actually involves. Anything else? Ask directly.

4 of 4
GDS Live assessments passed in the last 3 years. No failed assessments across our delivery history.
Yes - we're listed on G-Cloud under Cloud Software and Cloud Support, and on Digital Outcomes and Specialists (Digital Outcomes) for digital service delivery and technical architecture. If your organisation requires Crown Commercial Service frameworks for procurement, we can work within those arrangements. We also work outside frameworks for organisations where direct procurement is appropriate, and can advise on which route makes most sense for your specific requirement and value threshold.
It means delivery is structured around the phases - Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live - with user research informing every design decision and assessments at key points. In practice it means we run moderated user research sessions, document our design rationale against user needs rather than assumptions, and maintain a public roadmap. For assessments themselves, we've found that teams that do the work correctly throughout rarely have problems at assessment - assessment difficulties usually reflect shortcuts taken earlier. We've passed four GDS Live assessments without a failed assessment.
WCAG 2.2 AA is the minimum, and we treat it as a design requirement rather than a QA checklist. Accessibility is considered at the component level - every interactive element has visible focus states, meaningful ARIA labels where required, and sufficient colour contrast. We test with actual assistive technology (NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on iOS and macOS, JAWS for enterprise deployments) rather than just running automated scanners. Automated tools catch around 30–40% of accessibility failures; the remainder require human judgment. We also test with users who have relevant access needs as part of research sessions.
We'd be doing a disservice to say "yes, no problem" without knowing what you have. Some legacy systems have well-documented APIs or web services that make integration straightforward. Others require building a façade layer that speaks to a legacy system via terminal emulation or file-based exchange. The most challenging situations involve systems where nobody currently employed fully understands how they work - which is more common than organisations like to admit. We start with a technical discovery of the legacy landscape before committing to integration timelines.
Our standard deployments handle OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE. For OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (and its former equivalent RESTRICTED), we use network architectures aligned to NCSC guidance - dedicated tenancies, encryption at rest and in transit, and privileged access management. We do not build for SECRET or TOP SECRET classification without a specific scoping conversation, as the accreditation requirements at those tiers go beyond standard commercial delivery. If your requirement is OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE with a specific handling caveat (e.g., LOCSEN or PERSONAL), we can discuss the implications.
Data minimisation first - we don't collect data we don't need, and we don't retain it longer than necessary. For systems processing large volumes of citizen personal data, we conduct DPIAs as part of the design process (not as a post-delivery exercise), implement field-level access control so users only see the data their role requires, and build retention and deletion workflows into the system rather than treating them as manual processes. We can brief your Data Protection Officer at any stage of the project.
Assessments can result in a pass, a conditional pass, or a request to return for reassessment. In our experience, most issues raised at assessment are things the team already knows about - the assessment process surfaces them formally. We prepare thoroughly: mock assessments with internal red-teaming before the formal assessment, and honest documentation of known limitations with mitigation plans. If an assessment does require remediation, we support the team through that process as part of the engagement. We've never had to return for a second assessment on a service we've delivered.
Yes - we've delivered systems for NHS Trusts, GP practices, and health regulatory bodies. Health-sector projects have specific requirements beyond standard government: HSCN/N3 connectivity, NHS DSP Toolkit compliance, HL7 FHIR for clinical data interoperability, and Caldicott Guardian sign-off for systems handling patient-identifiable information. We've worked through the DTAC (Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) process and can navigate the NHS assurance pathways. Clinical safety is handled via a DCB0129 / DCB0160 process with a named Clinical Safety Officer.

Technology built for public
accountability - from day one.

Book a 45-minute conversation with our public sector team. We'll discuss your programme, the applicable compliance requirements, and the most practical approach to delivery - whether that's through a framework or direct procurement.

Book a Conversation
Available on G-Cloud & DOS
NDA available before the call
Initial programme view within 48 hours