§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to update computer(a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Department. [166376]
Mr. Gareth ThomasComputer hardware and software updates are determined and agreed as part of DFID's e-business, ICT and Knowledge Sharing strategic studies.
Hardware refresh cycles are subject to a rolling programme based upon the expected life span of the equipment involved—usually every 4–5 years. Details of the current hardware upgrade plans are at Table 1.
The timing of software updates tends to be driven by the need to deliver additional functionality, to comply with legislative changes (e.g. payroll) and to remain within support matrices for the products. Details of the current software update plans are at Table 2.
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Table 1: Hardware upgrades Hardware type Date purchased Life (years) Upgrade due HP4 L2000 Mini computer 2000 4–5 2004–05 HP AutoRAID Mini computer 2001 4–5 2005–06 HP5 L2000 Mini computer 2001 4–5 2005–06 HP6 L2000 Mini computer 2002 4–5 2006–07 Compaq Storage Area Networks (3) 2001–03 3–4 2004–07 NT Web Servers (45) 2000–02 4–5 2004–07
Table 2: Software Upgrades Software description Installed Upgrade path Upgrade due HP Unix Operating System v11 2001 HPUXv12 2005? Windows 2000 (network os) 2001 Windows 2003 2004 Oracle v8i (corporate database) 2001 Oracle v9i or 1 0g 2004 CODA v7 (Financial) 2001 1n/k n/k Rebus v3.4 (HR) 2003 Rebus v 3.6 2004 Citrix XP (Thin client Access) 2003 Citrix (newer version) 2006? Novell NetWare v 5.1 (network os) 2002 Windows 2003 2005–06 Win98 desktop os (UK) 2002 WinXP 2005–06 Win2000 desktop os (overseas) 2002–04 WinXP 2005–06 Novel GroupWise v5.5 (e-mail) 2002 Microsoft Exchange 2005–06 Microsoft Office 2000 2002 MS Office XP 2005–06 1Will be reviewed as part of the Aries project and may be replaced.