Responsible Development
We are increasingly focused on the sustainable aspects of our core software product, and the processes we follow to build it.
Harnessing a sustainable process for our core software
We are committed to adopting and applying the latest technology to ensure that our own and our customers' energy consumption is kept to a minimum. Our efforts in this area are in line with the Sustainable Production and Consumption Sustainable Development Goal.
We recycle or donate as much of our old IT kit as we possibly can, working with dedicated recycling providers who are as focused on sustainability as we are. We recently created a recycling scheme for employees, allowing them to recycle personal electronic items they no longer have a need for.
Sustainable practices within our core software
We take a Software-as-a-Service approach to Alfa Systems implementations because we see real benefits in the speed of implementation for customers, and they in turn see significant benefits in the reliability of the service. Alfa Cloud, our cloud-native hosting service, provides geographical flexibility and rapid deployment while removing the responsibility of application support, monitoring and availability from our customers.
An environmental benefit comes from our use of AWS Cloud Computing for our hosted service and AWS is committed to powering operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
We are committed to ensuring Alfa Systems is accessible as possible and have a dedicated UI/UX Design team where accessibility is part of their core remit. This team recently carried out accessibility audits of the Alfa Systems software, part of a major internal investment initiative which fundamentally improves the overall UI and UX of Alfa Systems. A strand of this work (codenamed Mercury) was informed by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). We have recently introduced a UI framework to the product and all components added to this framework will be WCAG AA-compliant.
Each customer environment is deployed in a dedicated private network, completely isolated from all other customers and following a single-tenant Software-as-a-Service model. In conjunction with our dedicated experts, our Security-as-a-Service partner monitors our customer environments 24 hours a day, with a 15-minute response time for critical incidents.
Alfa is compliant with ISO27001, ISO27018, and the SOC1 and SOC2 controls for availability, integrity and confidentiality. We deploy Alfa Systems in geographical proximity to users while meeting data residency regulations, ensuring that performance and compliance requirements are met in the same solution.
The following are just some of the techniques that we employ to ensure that we remain compliant with ISO27001, ISO27018, SOC1 and SOC2:
- Encryption at rest and in transit
- Cloud authentication of end-user credentials
- Continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities
- Routine penetration and disaster recovery testing
We do not support any form of slavery, human trafficking or child labour, and we work only with suppliers who have been assessed through our internal processes to be ethical providers.
We have an ethical procurement policy and our key procurement personnel have been trained in relation to the relevant requirements and regulations. In EMEA, we aim to ensure that our contractor and subcontractor community pay London Living Wage to those employees based in Greater London and UK Living Wage to those employees based outside Greater London.
We are currently improving our supplier approval process, embedding more ESG factors into supplier selection across Alfa.
