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Ripple appoints Answer Digital as technical custodian

05/07/16

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Enterprise architecture consultancy takes on assurance of open source code for digital care record project

Answer Digital has been appointed as the technical custodian of the open source code for the Ripple integrated digital care platform.

It is the latest step in the development of the reusable integrated platform for health and social care, which has emerged from the development of the Leeds Care Record.

The project team said the company will draw on its experience in enterprise architecture to ensure the integrity of the Ripple platform and work on making it scalable and maintainable.

Its role will involve reviewing the development of new features and functions by the open source community against industry best practice, with the aim of assuring the ‘gold standard’ of the core code.

Andy Williams, managing principal of Answer Digital, said: “We will provide guidance on technology choices and assurance against standards, whilst merging valuable contributions to improve the product for the benefit of the global community.”

Safety and security

A spokesperson for Ripple said: “Code custodian is good practice for a scalable, robust open source initiative and is undertaken across many industries. For Ripple it helps to ensure the platform continues to be safe and secure.”

Last month Ripple signed technology company Lockheed Martin UK to support the development of the platform, which is supported by the NHS Tech Fund.

The team has been pressing for local authorities and NHS organisations to look seriously at using the platform as an alternative to proprietary systems.

Dr Tony Shannon, Ripple’s programme director, said it is open for clinicians, managers and technical teams to get involved in its development.

“We are disrupting how people procure their IT solutions because our blend of open source and open standards provides a solution that allows clinicians to shape the technology to their own requirements,” he said.

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