The Sheffield city region is home to a pioneering initiative that assesses the standard of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provision in business premises. ict active is a scheme that helps businesses ensure they locate in a building that can meet their ICT needs both now and in the future.
ict active audits workspaces using a detailed survey that assesses the different elements of ICT provision in a building. The survey recognises that there are two different market offerings: one for "easy in, easy out" tenants who want comprehensive ICT services to be provided and one for tenants who want a "blank canvas" that is ready for them to make their own arrangements.
There are also two levels of accreditation: ict active and leading edge. ict active recognises that a building has ICT capabilities which would meet the needs of most organisations. Leading edge is reserved for those buildings which offer additional value-added features which could benefit a business with advanced ICT needs.
To date, more than 40 buildings around the region have achieved the ict active accreditation. A further 3 have been designated leading edge.
ict active has been supported by Business Link Yorkshire and Yorkshire Forward. It is also endorsed by Creativesheffield.
Following a successful pilot in South Yorkshire, ict active is being rolled out across the region during 2009. As part of the expansion of the scheme, ict active is working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to create a Publicly Available Specification (PAS). This will mean that the ict active scheme is backed up by a nationally approved process and has credibility and longevity.
In this first phase of the roll out, there are substantial discounts available on the normal assessment fees. To take advantage of these discounts, or find out more about how ict active can help promote your commercial property offering, please contact Richard Vaughan on 0845 111 4122 or visit the website at http://www.ictactive.net/