Cast your mind back to 2013. Beyoncé sent the internet into a frenzy by dropping a surprise album, a single Bitcoin cost just $13, and Clumsy Ninja was the most addictive app on the market. It was into this rapidly changing digital landscape that the Common Web Platform (CWP) was introduced for New Zealand’s government agencies.
What was the Common Web Platform?
The CWP was a comprehensive service designed to standardise the government's online presence. It bundled the Silverstripe CMS with website hosting, security services like firewalls and patching, and software updates. A support desk and optional development services were also included.
Essentially, the CWP brought together infrastructure-as-a-service (hosting), platform-as-a-service (the CMS and support), and security under the governance of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), leveraging the services of Silverstripe, Rivera, and Imperva. As a diagram, it looks like this:
The Golden Age
The digital space has transformed markedly in the past 10 years. Slick experiences with Netflix and Uber set the user experience benchmark super-high. Users are savvier, less forgiving, and more demanding.
Government services have had to keep up with this. The digitalisation of central and local government services has come a long way. Submitting a tax return, ordering a copy of a birth certificate, and paying for rates are now online. Self-service is the norm.
Behind all of the amazing innovation at the front end is the CWP. It has been providing government entities with a robust technical foundation for their assets based on qualities like high security, availability, and scalability.
Or should we say it was, because it's…
The End of an Era for the CWP
After September 2021 the NZ Government Common Web Platform as we know it will ride off into the sunset.
The CWP was an initiative championed by Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). It provided standardisation, shared templates, and helped agencies to focus on digital communications not grappling with CMSs, feature development, security and hosting.
But the solution over time became a behemoth. Some agencies have simple website and hosting needs, others have more complex ones. To adapt to this, multiple versions, support options, and pricing models followed. It got messy. For some, the solution was too standardised.
Separating the Platform from the CMS
It's important to note that the end of the CWP is not the end of Silverstripe, which remains an excellent CMS. Rather, it's the end of the bundled, all-in-one government contract for hosting, development, managed support, and application security.The CWP government website describes the end of the CWP as:
[An] opportunity to review your agency’s digital assets and develop plans to scale, rebuild, or consolidate services
CWP government website: '‘How can my agency on CWP prepare for post-2021?'
Agencies and councils will be supported by something called the ‘All of Government Digital Experience Services Strategic Framework’. This sets a vision for delivering good web experiences, but the technical decisions are now your own to make.
And with the expectations from users so high, the increasing demands to meet the Common Web Standards for accessibility, and the desire to deliver exceptional user experiences, the last thing councils and other government agencies want to worry about is the underlying infrastructure.
Engaging with approved service providers can help with all of these items. The broadening of supplier options gives you choice and greater flexibility to find services and providers that work best for you.
Where do I Find Approved Providers?
The Pae Hokohoko | Marketplace, another DIA initiative, is prefered for offering services and products to New Zealand government agencies. This is because the open Marketplace model is designed to give agencies access to more choices and innovation through pre-vetted and approved suppliers.
P.S. - Dynamo6 was approved on the Marketplace as a Digital Experience Services provider and a Cloud Transition Services provider in Oct 2020 and Jan 2021 respectively.
What You Need to Do and When
Before the Lead Agency Agreement officially ends, you must prepare to make key decisions around your hosting, security, and development needs.
For agencies using version 4.x of the Silverstripe CMS, a continuation of critical bug and security fixes will continue into 2023. Your primary decision is whether to continue your hosting and support services with Silverstripe or move to another Marketplace provider.
For those not using version 4.x, you have two options:
Upgrade to a supported version.
Decide if you’d like to continue your services with Silverstripe or another Marketplace provider.
What to Look For in a New Partner
There are three key areas to consider when deciding on your next move:
Website Development and Digital Experience: You'll want a partner who knows and uses Silverstripe. Look at their work, review their case studies, and see if they are already working with other councils and agencies.
Website Hosting: Your hosting solution must remain robust and scalable. High security, resilience, and availability are non-negotiable, even if your provider is changing.
Ongoing Support and Security: Look for a partner who can offer a flexible support model tailored to your specific needs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
How We Can Help
At Dynamo6, we provide expert Silverstripe development and provide tailored hosting and support for government agencies. We offer a range of services designed to meet your specific requirements, including:
Hosting solutions from shared, auto-scaling environments to dedicated multi-site hosting.
Automated deployment and setup of staging environments for secure testing.
Right-sized resources to meet demand and optimise costs.
Customised managed services tailored to your commercial and development goals.
Proactive and reactive support, including hosting recovery, database backup options, OS and security patching, and application patching.
If you would like more detail about our architecture, security posture, or how we can help you navigate this transition, let's chat.