The London Borough of Brent is one of London’s most populated and multicultural areas. Its population currently stands at 337,000, with a projected increase to 360,000 by 2025, and to over 410,000 by 2040. The council provides a wide range of public services, including housing and social care.

Since the launch of Brent’s first digital strategy in 2017, Brent has been working to ensure residents, partners and businesses are able to thrive in the digital future and play active roles in shaping Brent into a digital borough where technology is used to improve the lives and life chances of everyone.

The borough is currently facing unprecedented challenges. From supporting residents through the cost-of-living crisis, creating a fairer and more equal borough, and tackling the climate emergency – Brent’s digital strategy is key to helping improve outcomes for local people.

To help meet the shifting demands of its population, Brent Council partnered with Juniper Networks to provide AI-powered connectivity in its Civic Centre. As one of the most iconic landmarks in Brent, along with Wembley Stadium, the Civic Centre is home to the borough’s public and administrative offices. It also serves as a community hub, with an amphitheatre, coffee shop, wedding facilities, meeting spaces and a garden.

Besides these various uses, the building has also won sustainability and design accolades for its cooling, heating, and power systems. The overarching goal of Brent’s digital strategy aims to guarantee that the borough’s residents are safe, secure, happy, and healthy. In practice, these goals are achieved through a wide range of initiatives to ensure residents are in the best possible environment. One example is the use of controlled street lighting to reduce energy consumption and environmental impact while maintaining safety. Another aspect of Brent’s digital strategy is the reduction of the digital skills gap to support the 18% of adults in the borough who are less confident using technology. This will allow them to access education, healthcare, and other public services online in a time when these services are becoming increasingly hybrid.

To ensure that these offerings are rolled out effectively, Brent Council relies on seamless connectivity solutions throughout its buildings to give its staff the best tools to serve residents, business owners and visitors.

Cllr Mili Patel, deputy leader and cabinet member for Finance, Resources and Reform, said: ‘The Civic Centre was praised for its technological advancements when it was constructed in 2013, and, since then, operational best practice has improved further. In a relatively short space of time, the expectations of connectivity solutions increased, so we set about making all the upgrades necessary to align with this.’

The best digital experiences for residents

Brent’s digital strategy aimed to improve Brent’s online offering through its website, giving residents the option of online and in-person appointments, ultimately to increase inclusivity and reduce time travelling to appointments. Improved networking solutions also make public buildings more useful to members of the community who need to use these spaces for personal, educational, or business purposes. Although hybrid working and more general behaviour shifts following the pandemic have reduced footfall in public buildings, virtual meetings have often led to increased network pressure as video calls rely on the transmission of huge amounts of data. Therefore, Brent Council’s investment in their network is better equipped to support a higher number of video calls as well as the other functions of the building.

One of the most important considerations when constructing solutions for Brent Council was security. Over 150 online systems are used for the multifaceted areas across which the council works. Although this is necessary to facilitate the varied functions of the council body, it can nonetheless create complexity and a security risk. The speed at which AI operates also reduces the amount of time that the council’s network team needs to spend on manual network checks. This frees them up to focus on more high-level strategic tasks, ensuring that Brent’s IT systems are meeting the requirements of its staff and residents.

Juniper technology supports Brent Council as it looks at further innovative ways to support its residents and improve services. For example, the speed of the network facilitates virtual appointments as more residents opt for services online. As the population of the borough grows, the low latency of the network means that staff can work effectively with the huge levels of data that the council handles without experiencing buffering delays. Each resident’s unique needs can be met seamlessly and efficiently.

As Brent continues to build an enhanced digital environment for its residents, the Civic Centre is future-proofed to operate at the centre of activity in all its new and planned initiatives. Advanced networking solutions now offer the level of connectivity required to facilitate remote appointments, host community events, and support the council’s workforce. It’s expected that more of Brent’s residents will rely on online services moving forward, with the council’s network solutions fully capable of dealing with this demand in the years ahead.

This article is sponsored by Juniper Networks