Ordnance Survey Multi-Client Contractor Licence – information for applicants
Establishing the three-way licensing connection between Ordnance Survey, members of
the Pan Government Agreement (PGA), Mapping Services Agreement (MSA) or the One
Scotland Agreement (OSA) and their Contractors
(NOTE – for ease of reference, we will refer to the three Agreements above as the ‘the Agreements’ or ‘the
Collective Purchasing Agreements (CPAs).)
1
Background
1.1
Under the terms of the Pan Government Agreement (PGA), the Mapping Services Agreement
(MSA) and the One Scotland Agreement (OSA), licensees are entitled to onward supply
Ordnance Survey data to Contractors to use on specific projects being delivered to them by a
Contractor. The Contractor’s use is covered by the standard Ordnance Survey Contractor Licence, with
the primary licensee retaining responsibility for the security of the data.
1.2
Geographic information (GI) has developed into a mainstream technology alongside CAD, and
outsourcing of public services has resulted in the Contractor becoming an expert user and innovator of
Ordnance Survey data.
1.3
Licensees under the Agreements and hybrid public bodies are increasingly procuring end to end
services as project sponsors. Such services typically include application development, geo-based
analysis, term-based design and maintenance contracts, and management of planning processes,
including public consultation.
1.4
Ordnance Survey has recognised that the standard licensing arrangements for Contractors under
the three Agreements can result in increasingly inefficient processes for all parties. Typically,
government clients supply Ordnance Survey data to numerous Contractors. Those Contractors can work
on numerous public-sector projects at any given time. As a consequence, it can be common for
Contractors to hold multiple copies of different versions of Ordnance Survey datasets in numerous
locations.
1.5
Following initial supply of data by the client, Ordnance Survey does not routinely supply
Contractors with updates or with subsequent product information. A Contractor’s relationship is with the
licensee and not directly with Ordnance Survey. As a consequence data held by Contractors can be out
of step with supply schedules under the Agreements. Clients’ inability to supply the correct data format is
also a common complaint.
1.6
Some of Ordnance Survey’s recent product withdrawal plans and progress with its Positional
accuracy improvement programme are known examples where the lack of direct contact with
Contractors has been detrimental to the adoption of new products by the Contractor community.
1.7
Contractors recognise the overall benefits of changing from a complex environment of localised
data silos to an enterprise solution of a central data hub with networked distribution. This is seen as
having significant benefits for the company’s own business data – but access to Ordnance Survey data
is usually the common element. Ordnance Survey has therefore responded to this requirement by
introducing the Multi-Client Contractor Licence (MCCL).
2
Key features and principles of the MCCL
An example of the full licence is available on the Ordnance Survey website.
2.1
An MCCL is required for each separate legal entity; that is the MCCL is not a group licence.
2.2
The licence term is 12 months with automatic renewal, subject to continuing to meet the
qualification criteria of five (5) contracts being in place.
2.3
The MCCL is subject to a Relationship Fee of £1 000 + VAT p.a. per Contractor.
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Ordnance Survey Multi-Client Contractor Licence – information for applicants
2.4
Contractors may order any of the data products currently available under the PGA, MSA and
OSA. Unfortunately, address data is not available under the MCCL; if required it must be requested from
the client.
2.5
Ordnance Survey will supply GB coverage of the products requested using the MCCL data
request form (available to view/download from our website).
2.6
Ordnance Survey will supply data updates in line with the delivery schedules for the various
Agreements. We will use in line with the earliest schedule for any single product where the Contractor is
serving members of one or more of the Agreements.
2.7
The Contractor cannot use a data product to fulfil a contract where its client is not licensed for
that data under the Agreements.
2.8
The MCCL includes Archive Rights subject to certain rules.
2.9
The MCCL does not persist if the relevant Agreement is terminated or expires. It is, however,
future-proofed to cover successor agreements.
2.10 The MCCL assumes corporate use by the Contractor. Ordnance Survey does not require to know
the number of terminals on which the data is being used or viewed.
2.11 The MCCL does not alter, in any way, the licensing arrangements for the Collective Purchasing
Agreements.
2.12 The MCCL does not change the process where Ordnance Survey supplies data direct to the
members of the Agreements.
2.13 The MCCL does not change the requirement for members of these Agreements to issue the
standard Contractor Licence as required by those Agreements.
The three way relationship between Ordnance Survey, the CPA member and the Contractor can be
summarised as follows:
CPA Licensee
Standard Contractor
Licence
Collective
licence and data
MCCL
and data
Contractor
Ordnance Survey
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3
Making the case for the MCCL
3.1
The most compelling arguments to support of the case for the MCCL have been identified as
being:
 Reassurance of full compliance with the legal obligation to maintain correct licensing for the use of
Ordnance Survey data.
 Cost benefits from a reduction in administrative overheads.
 Potential for a consequential increase in direct chargeable time.
3.2
Additional strong supporting arguments are the elimination of data duplication and the efficient
management of updates with a consequential reduction in project time.
3.3
Cost benefits are likely to take into account the current cost to the business of man hours loading
data and managing licences, the scale and scope of the proposed enterprise solution, the extent of
potential innovation and the ambition to exploit the opportunity.
3.4
Capital costs should take into account upgrades to database capacity, hardware and software
where required.
4
Technical considerations for the MCCL
4.1
Contractors should consider creating a central spatial data repository to fully exploit the potential
benefits of reduced data management.
4.2
The most common implementation of central data repositories usually involve a spatial database,
such as Oracle® Spatial.
4.3
Storage for all Ordnance Survey products at a national level should also be considered.
OS MasterMap® Topography Layer alone will consume 500 Gb without any form of archiving. Storage
solutions should be scalable if archiving is a requirement.
4.4
A central data store will also impact on network traffic. If the Contractor has a number of offices,
then it is important to consider the network connections as upgrades may be required.
4.5
Contractors may elect to resolve any network traffic issue through database replication by
creating a mirrored infrastructure in those offices. In this circumstance consideration will need to be
given to the data-update regime.
4.6
The Contractor will need to consider some form of licence manager to realise the benefit of
ensuring compliance to Ordnance Survey licensing. This will be important to control access to the stored
Ordnance Survey data and provide an auditing capability.
4.7
Some software applications do not have direct access to a spatial database. In this circumstance
the technical solution would need to provide a data translation function.
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Ordnance Survey Multi-Client Contractor Licence – information for applicants
4.8
A high-level architecture to manage the above considerations might look like this:
Central spatial data store
Database replication
Projects/Client’s database
Licence manager
Project/Client number
Direct
connect
client
5
Direct
connect
client
Direct
connect
client
In summary
The MCCL provides significant benefits for all parties in the three-way licensing connection:
 For licensees of these Agreements, it simplifies the supply of data to the end-user, reduces
overheads and ensures Contractors have access to the best available Ordnance Survey data.
 For the Contractor it enables ready access to the best available Ordnance Survey data, offers
significant efficiencies in the management of data and updates, provides reassurance of correct
licensing and opens a direct relationship with Ordnance Survey.
 For Ordnance Survey it creates a direct channel to Contractors who are major expert users and
innovators of GI.
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