FAQ's

Sales Questions

NETconsent is an on-premise application installed on a Windows IIS Server with a SQL server database 

A fully functional copy of NETconsent is available for you to trial

Yes – you can request a 30 day proof of concept trial from this website.

The pre-sales team will contact you and provide the software, once downloaded please contact the NETconsent Help Desk and they will provide you with all the support and advice you require to install the software and begin your trial.

NETconsent policy management software is exceedingly rich in functionality and the Help Desk will guide you through the process to make sure you understand the wide ranging benefits that NETconsent can bring to your organisation.

NETconsent will assign you an Account Manager to ensure your have everything you need from NETconsent to run a successful trial and a Technical Support Engineer to assist in the actual installation process.

NETconsent is licensed per user, the licences are perpetual and purchased within a banding structure.

The more licences purchased the cheaper they are per unit.

Licences are purchased as a one-off cost and are then owned by the organisation. 

The only ongoing costs are for support and maintenance, which can be purchased in 1,2, 3, 4 or 5 year contracts, the longer the term of support renewal purchased the lower the cost per seat.

The support covers all technical support and usability support for the product, it also includes all upgrade releases.

Licences are charged at the same rate, whether the user associated to the licence is going to be an administrator of the system or just receive content.

NETconsent has been designed and developed to facilitate content deployment in multiple languages. Translation of content is not carried out by NETconsent.

All content may be input into the system in multiple languages. A User’s Regional Settings will determine the language in which to present the document, policy or test.

Users can also select their preferred language on first accessing the Policy Management Centre.

The NETconsent Policy Management Centre is currently available in English, Spanish, Swedish, Arabic, French, German, Welsh and Dutch. Additional translations of the Policy Management Centre can be implemented upon request.

The minimum number of NETconsent licences that can be purchased is 50. 

Additional licences can be purchased as organisations expand, as long as a valid support contract is in place.

Software questions

Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022

The server needs to be a member of the domain if your LDAP is Active Directory, or part of the workgroup if eDirectory

Microsoft .NET 4.5.2 (or later if using the newer Operating Systems)

It is recommended that the server has 4gb of ram,and an additional 1gb or ram added per 1000 concurrent users

IIS8.5 or above with ASP.NET (4.5 or above) installed and set to Allowed (In Windows 2012r2 and above this is done in IIS > ISAPI and CGI Restrictions)

SQL Server 2012r2 or above (including SQL 2019) for the NETconsent database

MS Power BI or Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Server (SSRS) version 2012r2 or above (including 2019) for the NETconsent Reports. This can be separate to the SQL server used for the database (unless using SQL Express) but it is not recommended due to authentication issues.

Windows 10, Windows 11

Member of the Active Directory \ eDirectory

IE10 or above (HTML 5) Native Mode


.NET3.5 SP1, .NET4 (full version) or above is required if using the .NET Kiosk

.NET4.8 or above is required if using the Chromium kiosk (preferred).

NETconsent uses HTTPS for password encryption. You will need to install an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificate on the NETconsent IIS Server, and all communication into the NETconsent Server will be using HTTPS://. This must be a certified certificate (so you do not get any certificate warnings)

MS Power BI or Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Server (SSRS) version 2012r2 or above (including 2019) for the NETconsent Reports. 

This can be separate to the SQL server used for the database (unless using SQL Express) but it is not recommended due to authentication issues.

Product questions

A new policy can be in circulation within 5 minutes

Introducing a new version of a policy is exceptionally easy.  Once the stakeholders have signed off the wording of the latest version of the policy the process to add it into NETconsent usually takes no more than 5 minutes and the next time anyone logs onto the network they will see the new version!

It is essential that the Policy Authors work very closely with the NETconsent System Coordinator to understand the ‘rules’ for publishing policies in NETconsent.   The NETconsent implementation methodology provides a check-list for Policy Authors to use to ensure a smooth introduction of a new policy.

Examiner tests staff’s understanding whereas Assessor ascertains staff’s opinions

NETconsent Examiner asks questions about policies or procedures that the user has read and ‘accepted’, whereas NETconsent Assessor ascertains knowledge or opinions of people on a wide range of issues not just policy details.

NETconsent Examiner

For instance, with NETconsent Examiner you can check that staff understand the details of, say, the “Information Assurance” policy.  The notion of an answer is “right” or “wrong” to enable the system to electronically mark test papers, thus enabling the generation of a comprehensive range of management reports designed to help them take action to further improve the uptake of policies.

NETconsent Assessor

NETconsent Assessor enables your organisation to make considerable savings by bringing “in-house” such things as the annual Staff Survey or the DSE Workstation Assessment. Risk Surveys can also be run as well as Self Certification Programs.  The notion of an Assessor answer is that it is either “acceptable” or ” unacceptable” thus enabling the generation of management reports detailing where problem areas exist within the organisation.

NETconsent integrates with the corporate active directory, you select which Organisational Units and Security Groups containing user accounts you would like to import into NETconsent for use.  

NETconsent synchronises its database with the Active Directory on a user-defined schedule (e.g. constantly, hourly, 4-hours, 8-hours, daily etc.) and dynamically manages the “Movers, Leavers & Joiners” process.

NETconsent distribution lists may contain any combination of Active Directory Organisational Units (OUs), Containers (CN), Groups and/or Individuals for document distribution.    Any content that is loaded into NETconsent can then be targeted to required groups/teams for action.  The synchronisation dynamically maintains the distribution lists using the synchronisation process.

There is no limit to how many administrators of the system you can have, there are permissions that can be set that can control what modules each administrator has access to.

Content Manager is also fully controlled by security, enabling only authorised users to manage certain documents.

NETconsent provides an endpoint agent that can be installed using intune etc to all user laptops / desktops.  When a user logs on to the network a GPO is ran to deploy the kiosk and engage with the users, when a user is home working the endpoint agent monitors for when a  connection has been made between the machine and the network, via direct access, VPN connection etc.  Upon this connection the kiosk is then deployed to the users desktop and engages with the user the same way as if they were in the office.

NETconsent requires users to enter their AD password as an electronic signature, so there is no need for an additional password to be required or signed paper copies to be stored.

Full version control is built into NETconsent. Only one version of a specific document may be “Active” at any point in time.

NETconsent enables organisations to deliver eLearning directly to users through the NETconsent policy Management Centre. The ability to directly present SCORM, HTML5, Video or any other form of electronic media to a user ensures that user training programmes can be easily and quickly facilitated, achieving 100% audited coverage.

NETconsent’s audit database holds information about content and users, their status against each piece of content, the length of time the document was displayed and the full historical activity.
The audit database provides the underlying data for the NETconsent reporting tools.

NETconsent Reporter & Reporter Pro are two comprehensive reporting tools covering all NETconsent modules.

Both reporting tools include extensive filter options to deliver the exact information required, whether by Individual, Group, Department, Site, Policy/Policies, Status etc.

NETconsent Reporter is the onscreen reporting tool enabling quick access to see the status of individuals against specific policies.

NETconsent Reporter Pro delivers professional reports ready to be presented at Management and Board level as well as in the event of a Disciplinary or Tribunal where presentable evidence is required.

 

NETconsent Examiner is a comprehensive testing tool that enables organisations to assess users understanding of Training, Policies and Procedures.

“Exams” relate to enforced documents or eLearning modules and may be presented immediately after a user completes the associated training or policy, or at a pre-defined later dates (i.e. 1 week later). The tests can be set to be Mandatory (i.e. must be completed when presented) or Non-Mandatory (may be completed at the user’s convenience before the Non-Mandatory threshold expires).

NETconsent Alerter enables organisations to target instant broadcast alerts directly to a user’s desktop.  This process simplifies communications, thus delivering improved productivity and awareness whilst reducing cost.

NETconsent can be branded with any organisations corporate logo and 2 of it’s brand colours to give the kiosk a corporate look.

Implementation and support

The NETconsent Implementation Methodology saves time, effort and cost

NETconsent has developed a fully documented Implementation Methodology designed to help clients save time, effort and cost as well as ensuring a successful policy management automation project.

NETconsent has been designed to solve the perennial dilemma facing businesses today – “We know our staff do not actually read the policy documents we send out – how can we change this?”

The Implementation Methodology has been developed over 5 years by our highly experienced project managers and is designed to solve this issue and make sure staff do change their attitude to this very important area.

Installation is a minor part of the introduction of NETconsent. The core activity required for a successful implementation revolves around helping the organisation to address the underlying issues of poor compliance.   

Measure Monitor & Manage

NETconsent works on the principle of “Measure, Monitor & Manage”.  Historically we give our managers no tools to help them ensure policies are effectively distributed and read by staff.   NETconsent reverses this problem and is the market leading management tool for effective policy management automation.   

The NETconsent Implementation Methodology provides the project team with everything it needs to ensure an effective introduction of  the exciting new benefits NETconsent provides. These include:

  • Project Team Organisation
  • Project Plans
  • Milestones and Key Activities
  • Roles & Responsibilities
  • Forms
  • User Acceptance Test
  • Training Courses
  • Communications Program.

Please call NETconsent for further information.

Annual Support & Maintenance is available

If you have a current Support & Maintenance Agreement then you are entitled to upgrade to new versions of the NETconsent modules you have purchased without additional charge.

New versions of NETconsent policy management software are released approximately every six months and are based upon feedback we receive from our customers.

If you would like to add your idea to the “Wish List” please contact the Help Desk and they will log it for you.  We do not promise it will be included, but many customer ideas do end up in one form or another in a subsequent release of NETconsent.

NETconsent reserves the right to charge for new modules that are added to the application. These will be usually licenced separately and you should contact NETconsent for pricing.

Comprehensive range of education programs actively support your implementation

To ensure your organisation delivers the benefits that the NETconsent policy management system brings we provide a comprehensive range of highly professional education programs.

Organisations are free to choose the combination of courses that suit their needs.

Technical Support Workshop

This module is led by one of the technicians that design and build NETconsent and is designed to ensure your technical support staff fully understand how to install the application; integrate it effectively with your network infrastructure; design an appropriate Disaster/Recovery program and to be able to answer operational questions that may arise from time to time.   Attendees : Network Administrators, Directory Support (AD/eDir etc.) DBA, Help Desk.

NETconsent Administration Courses

Our trainers will run for you a series of training courses aimed at helping your NETconsent Administrators to efficiently configure the system to meet your ongoing business requirements.  Attendees : NETconsent System Coordinator.

Policy Author

This module trains your Policy Authors how to load up their new Policy Documents into the NETconsent environment as maintained by the NETconsent System Coordinator.  It will also show how to run NETconsent reports that will demonstrate to their operational colleagues how well the new policy management regime is working and help them to decide where action is required to further improve policy understanding.

End Users

NETconsent has been designed such that it is not necessary to provide a formal training program for End Users – the system should be quite intuitive to use.   However, it is essential that prior to launch an effective communications program is run telling End Users what is happening, when and why.   NETconsent will provide you with a comprehensive range of ideas including the use of NETconsent Informer to help with this process.

The implementation time from purchase to rolling out NETconsent to the business can range from weeks to months.

This depends on the business the product is being introduced to, the customers timescales and the availability of the internal project team members.

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