Suffolk County Council puts mobile apps in the G-Cloud with Jadu's Weejot service

Leicester, UK - June 1st 2012. Suffolk County Council has used the Government G-Cloud Cloudstore to select Jadu, a leading web experience management vendor, for delivery of the Council’s mobile app platform.

Suffolk County Council have used the Government's new 'Cloudstore' to purchase a subscription to Jadu's 'Weejot' mobile app publishing network. Weejot enables enterprise organisations in Government, Higher Education and Business to deploy and deliver apps to mobile devices.

With Weejot, Suffolk County Council will be able to develop and deploy mobile apps rapidly and in real-time using basic web development skills or non technical skills. Rather than depending on native application stores, such as Apple's App Store or Google's MarketPlace, Weejot will provide capability for the council to leverage their content and data from their existing systems to publish apps to mobile devices.

We're looking to make a step change in how we service our customers and mobile is fast becoming the defacto standard for accessing services - we want to respond to that, we researched the market for mobile apps extensively, and needed something sustainable, secure and easy to use. Weejot fitted our needs very well. It's easy to create and deploy new apps and connect to content and data systems - above all, it's available for all mobile devices and tablets. Add that to the fact that it's a cloud based service and easy to purchase on the G-Cloud, we think it's a winning platform for modern Government services.

Mark Adams-Wright, CIO at Suffolk County Council


The Government Procurement Service has recently launched its second iteration of the G-Cloud Cloudstore, providing better tools for searching and purchasing cloud products such as Weejot.

Suffolk County Council's purchase of Jadu's Weejot mobile product through the G-Cloud, is a clear indicator of how Cloudstore can demonstrate savings for Government and enable rapid delivery of new and emerging technology, such as mobile.

Denise McDonagh, G-Cloud Programme Director

"It was easy for us to subscribe to the service" says Duncan Farley, IT Project Manager for Suffolk County Council. "Procuring this Software as a Service through the G-Cloud framework has enabled us to significantly reduce procurement costs and will allow us to improve the way in which County Council services can be accessed."

Weejot has been implemented by a number of major Government organisations, more recently by South Lanarkshire Council. However, Suffolk will be first to use the Weejot SDK (Software Development Kit) to experiment with developing custom made apps specifically for the Council's customers.

The Council will develop a number of Weejot 'AppTemplates', which allow non-technical users to use pre-fabricated software templates to build mobile apps. Users simply create icons for their apps, add settings and content and upload them to the network. Mobile apps can be delivered to devices instantly.

"We designed Weejot specifically for both non-technical users to build mobile apps and developers to create their own AppTemplates," says Suraj Kika, CEO of Jadu. "Weejot is a step change in how mobile applications are created. We want to free developers from App Stores and open up the enterprise mobile web to use web standards. We are thrilled that Suffolk County Council will be using Weejot for their mobile channel."

Suffolk County Council plans to research customer needs when deploying mobile apps, ensuring the apps are relevant and change based on current events such as bad weather, school closures as well as providing added value apps for local services.

Jadu will be showcasing the Weejot Mobile app publishing network at the following events. Civil Service Live event at London Olympia on the 3rd to the 5th of July and at the SOCITM Building the Perfect Council Websites event at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on July 12th 2012.

About Suffolk County Council

Suffolk County Council is the largest local authority in the county and is responsible for Suffolk-wide services including: schools and community education, the fire service, trading standards, road maintenance and improvements, support for older people and adults with disabilities, support for vulnerable children (including fostering and adoption), support for local businesses, support for public transport (subsidising rural buses, community transport schemes and park and ride sites); waste disposal and registrars.

Suffolk has a population of around 719,500 (ONS 2010) and is one of three counties which make up East Anglia alongside Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.  The county town of Ipswich is around 70 miles from London and there are regular trains to the capital. Suffolk has no motorways: the A12 and A14 provide access both to London and the north of the country and are major transportation routes for goods routed through Felixstowe port.

Published: 1st June 2012