Konsolute act as the Low Level Waste Repository’s Strategy Cloud Partner to achieve a landmark Digital Transformation

LLW Repository Ltd (LLWR) is a nuclear site licence company. The organisation is responsible for the management and operation of the UK’s national facility for permanent disposal of low-level radioactive waste. After a recent transition, the company is now a subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and have subsequently taken on the responsibility of delivering the National Waste Programme. They strive amongst other things to help waste producers find alternative reuse, recycling, treatment and disposal routes. At present, LLWR’s ethos is aligned with the NDA’s mission; to clean up the UK’s Nuclear legacy. 

Konsolute have worked with LLWR to complete a Digital Transformation of the entire business ecosystem, helping to automate business processes, establish an Electronic Documents Records Management System (EDRMS) for the maintenance of their records and the benefit of external ISO Standard adherence and create a zero-trust Microsoft 365 environment on the cloud. Konsolute was thrilled to facilitate this long-term goal for LLWR and encourage the wider Nuclear Industry make that leap towards the cloud- a journey that the NDA estate is now on too. 

LLWR recognised the need to modernise their IT infrastructure and embark on a digital transformation journey aimed at achieving several key objectives, including enhancing collaboration, improving data security, and achieving greater efficiency. To accomplish this ambitious goal, LLWR partnered with Konsolute, a trusted Microsoft Gold Partner renowned for its expertise in digital transformation and cloud solutions.

One of the primary challenges identified by LLWR was the need to modernise their legacy systems and take advantage of the powerful security and toolsets offered by Microsoft cloud platform. The executive team at LLWR recognised that a private cloud was not a sufficient solution for their needs, citing its high costs and lack of flexibility. As a result, LLWR was eager to explore the Microsoft cloud offerings that would enable them to streamline their business processes and align their internal growth with the wider NDA vision and roadmap.

LLWR faced challenges in wider organisational adoption, as the Executive team noted a limited appetite for moving sensitive information into the cloud due to a lack of trust and a traditional thinking favoured on-premise infrastructure. Simon, a key member of the team, noted that the cloud was still a relatively new concept in the sector at the time. To address this challenge, Konsolute identified the need for better channels for communication and collaboration that were easily accessible, as well as providing the correct training to ensure successful adoption.

Konsolute’s approach to the programme was carefully structured in a three-phased methodology, strategically progressing from security foundation and collaboration to data identification and classification with Konsolute’s Kolumbus, and ultimately culminating in a comprehensive data migration plan.

Assessing the cloud readiness of LLWR was a fundamental step in determining the project’s starting point and goals. Our assessments enabled us to provide valuable recommendations, plan essential activities and establish key milestones. Our initial strategy was geared towards securing LLWR’s environment with a zero-trust, mobile-ready platform. This approach laid a robust foundation for the project and provided stakeholders with reassurance of data security in the tightly regulated industry.

A zero trust model was implemented for LLWR to enhance their security posture. This model ensures that network traffic was treated as untrusted, and access to resources were granted based on a user’s identity, device posture, and risk level. We utilised several features, such as conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, privileged identity management, and data loss prevention policies. These features allowed LLWR to restrict access to critical resources, monitor user activity, and prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data. Additionally, we implemented Microsoft Intune for device management to ensure that only authorised and compliant devices were allowed to access corporate resources. By leveraging these features, we were able to establish a highly secure environment that provided LLWR with optimal protection against cyber threats.

Konsolute’s in-house products, such as Reflekt, Intranet, and Virtual Academy, were used to facilitate collaboration within LLWR. The usage of these Konsolute products with Microsoft 365 services enabled LLWR employees to work together more efficiently, improving productivity and increasing security. This integration also ensured compliance with Microsoft governance policies, which is critical for organizations in regulated industries. Overall, the use of Konsolute products was instrumental in improving collaboration and streamlining processes within LLWR.

Konsolute utilised their in-house product, Kolumbus, to aid in the data migration process during the final phase of their strategy. Kolumbus provided data discovery, visualisation, and assisted business leaders in determining which data and documentation should be migrated to the cloud. Konsolute’s data migration strategy involved defining the information architecture first, followed by a pre-migration stage, then a pilot phase, and ultimately a staged delta migration, which minimized risks. By using Kolumbus for data migration, Konsolute experienced several benefits such as increased efficiency, cost savings, customization, control, and data security.

At each stage Konsolute’s strategy was geared to maintain transparency with stakeholders and business managers, conducting regular workshops and playback sessions to keep everyone moving towards the same goal.

LLWR has surpassed the digital transformation curve and emerged as a pioneer in the Nuclear Sector in terms of security and cloud adoption. Konsolute successfully implemented a zero-trust environment for secure collaboration, which was a crucial objective. In Phase Two of the transformation, Konsolute prioritized collaboration by leveraging Microsoft 365 stack, Teams, and their own learning and governance platforms, building on the enterprise-level zero-trust platform.

Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, LLWR and Konsolute achieved significant milestones in their project, with remote implementation being a particular success. Despite being entirely online, the deployment of teams was completed without any issues or negative feedback, representing a major success from a business change perspective. Konsolute provided LLWR with a unified document management platform, ensuring the security and compliance of all data, including the ability to archive and dispose of data according to regulatory requirements. LLWR’s compliance with ISO 9001 and 45001 was also ensured. Additionally, Konsolute streamlined LLWR’s business processes, allowing for automation and improved efficiency and auditing.

In David’s words, “Konsolute come with a vast amount of experience, not only with what they deliver, but in their wider knowledge of the LLWR estate, culture and the people involved which is of a benefit especially as we enter phase three of the project.” He also mentioned that Konsolute’s holistic approach at every stage of the project has provided companywide reassurance. David acknowledged that Konsolute has gone above and beyond in delivering an excellent product for LLWR, driven by their client-centric ethos.