MoD launches GEMS Online -- a new cloud service for employee suggestions

LONDON, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched GEMS Online, a new digital Staff Engagement and Innovation system online employee suggestion scheme that is based on K2 blackpearl and hosted on the G-Cloud infrastructure. GEMS Online has been designed to enable MoD and Armed Forces personnel to make suggestions to help the MoD transform and will enable the MoD to rapidly access and act upon the innovation and experience of its own staff.  

Each suggestion is tracked by the system, ensuring that every idea is submitted through a predictable process and evaluated on merit. Identified savings are calculated as part of the evaluation process and measured, allowing the MoD to report and analyse all suggestions submitted.

The GEMS Online application breaks new ground for the MoD. Using G-Cloud, the MoD has worked with Skyscape and K2 to rapidly define, design, accredit, implement and test the GEMS application. From inception to production, the system has been delivered in less than 6 months, laying the foundation for agile delivery of business applications within the MoD.

K2 blackpearl, an award-winning BPM and workflow product, was selected by the MoD in 2006 to deliver enterprise workflow services to the desktop.  Based on the Microsoft platform, K2 blackpearl will deliver core workflow services to the Defence Information Infrastructure and is scheduled for rollout in 2014.

"Extending the use of K2 into G-Cloud-based scenarios is an exciting step for us to take," comments Dennis Parker, Managing Director of K2 in the UK. "It has become abundantly clear to us that entrenched high-cost delivery models inherent to delivering applications with the defence landscape have changed. GEMS showcases that this is a reality. It has been refreshing to work the CIO group within MoD, who have been responsible for guiding this pilot project through the necessary stages to make this project a reality."

For more information on the GEMS project contact Stuart Laws, Transformation — Behaviours & Business Improvement – Ideas Management, MoD Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB. Tel 020 7218 4952. For more information on K2, go to www.k2.com.