Work undertaken by Registers of Scotland (RoS) supports the Scottish economy. The World Bank has noted that the quality and effectiveness of land registration services has strongly positive effects on economic growth.
We hold and maintain 21 public registers relating to land and property ownership in Scotland.
Technology plays a critical role in our organisation’s ability to evolve and continually increase value. The security, accessibility and integrity of our registers is fundamental to the essential service that we provide.
Provision of our digital services is founded upon our network backbone. This enables us to work remotely, connect to our digital tooling, and communicate across our Edinburgh and Glasgow sites.
The technology which supports our IT network was coming to the end of its useful life. This meant that, while it would still function, it would no longer be supported by our suppliers for things such as security updates or operational issues.
Working in collaboration with our network provider Arista, RoS has successfully replaced that network while continuing to support day-to-day operational service.
The number one priority for RoS is to reduce the age and volume of applications to the land register we receive from customers.
We knew that we had to deliver the project to update our IT network with minimal impact to colleague productivity and maintain services to our customers. It is a complex undertaking – almost like changing the engine when the car is still running.
Delivery of this project has made a vital contribution to RoS’ strategic objectives. We would not be able to deliver the benefits of a completed land register, digital improvements or offer innovative access to land and property data without the foundation which our IT network provides.
Completing this project helps to safeguard our ability to be an effective, efficient, and future focused organisation as it has effectively allowed us to be more responsive to any required network changes or future improvements.
The project has also allowed us to support the further development of our IT colleagues. Working with our network provider Arista (who was appointed following a competitive tender process) our staff have had the opportunity to engage on a project which involves cutting-edge technology.
For example, our network engineers now use Infrastructure as Code (IaC). This modern approach to network management offers increased consistency, reliability, and substantial improvements in recovery time in the event of an issue.
The project has also supported our organisation’s sustainability strategy. Modern equipment, with increased density and optimised power and air conditioning usage, has allowed us to reduce our energy consumption and will make a significant contribution towards meeting our sustainability objectives.
Another indirect project benefit is increased security. This means that we can now offer space in our buildings to other public sector organisations as tenants without any risk to RoS services.
For example, the ability for other public sector bodies to use our hot desking facilities in our Glasgow office. This supports wider Scottish Government objectives and is a better return on investment for public finances.
Another potentially positive outcome of the project has been the releasing of older hardware. What RoS will now look to do is offer that hardware to other Scottish Government organisations who may be able to benefit from it.
We’ll continue to engage with our network provider Arista to ensure we are getting the most out of the product for the benefit of the business, our customers, and the public sector.
Ensuring we have an effective network in place will enable RoS to continue building a strong digital culture across the organisation and enable colleagues to give an even better service to our customers.
Partner Content in association with Registers of Scotland
