Flowr: Dedicated Plan Installation 

Stringent data requirements and regulatory compliance are becoming a higher priority as we spend more time in the digital world and evolve security standards.

Customers whose data standards and/or regulatory compliance obligations dictate that data must processed within their own infrastructure opt for our Flowr Dedicated Plan, especially our new Dedicated+ and Dedicated OCR plans, which offer unlimited automation for all our actions or our OCR actions, respectively.

The Encodian connector(s) are deployed to our customers own Microsoft Azure Tenant, assuring conformance with data standards and regulatory compliance where required. Our customers also benefit from two free feature updates a year providing access to the same features as all of our other plans which use our shared SaaS platform. 

How do you install Flowr? 

A Dedicated Connector is deployed into your Microsoft Azure tenant which can be achieved in two ways:

1. Manual: Encodian engineers perform an installation by directly accessing your Microsoft Azure Tenant
2. Automated: We provide an installation tool and instructions which allow you the customer to perform the installation negating the need for Encodian to access your Microsoft Azure Tenant.

The manual approach assures that you will receive the latest monthly build of our connector(s), whereas the automated tool is refreshed three time per year, thus at anytime you may be upto 4 months behind the latest release.

Which Azure resources are required?

We never use VMs, and we use the following Azure PaaS services: 

• 1 or 2 x App Service Plan (P1MV3 Recommended)  
• 1 x Azure App Service  
• 5 x Azure Function App  
• 1 x Azure Storage Account 
• 1 x Azure SQL Server 
• 1 x SQL Database (Standard / 20 DTU’s)  
• 1 x App Insights
• 1 x Log Analytics 
• 1 x Key Fault 

Note: The above is a base configuration which may change based on your usage profile. Exceptionally high or low usage profiles and the types of actions you will predominantly use may affect the recommended resources.    

How long does the installation process take?   

Installations typically take 2 to 4 hours to complete.  

Our expected lead time for scheduling a manually installed Dedicated Connector installation is 3-weeks from the confirmed order. If your project is time sensitive, please make us aware. We’ll do our best to accommodate your request. Installations which use the automated installation tool can be progressed upon placing an order. 

What are the steps involved in the manual installation process?  

A typical engagement to install a Dedicated Connector manually would be as follows:   

1. Order is received.  
2. Our operations team will contact you to arrange an initial discussion regarding the installation and confirm pre-requisite information covering Azure access.  
3. We will agree on the required resources profile and deployment plan specific to your requirements.   
4. We will arrange a date for the installation which will be the most suitable and cause the least disruption.  
5. We take responsibility for installing Flowr in your Azure environment (2 to 4 hours). 
6. Once installation and testing are completed, we will notify you, and you can remove Encodian access to your environment.  
7. We will contact you to confirm successful completion and close the project.  

FAQs  

Do you have local resellers who can carry out the installation? 

Please see above. 

Can we purchase more than two updates per year for a manual deployment? 

Yes, you can purchase additional updates above the inclusive x2 per year at £500 / $600 / €575   

Do you do additional updates if there is an IT Security or Infrastructure update? 

Yes, if there is a bug or technical issue, we will provide updates for free.  

Can you share technical design information?  

Take a look at our handy infographic for a breakdown of the technical side of things! 

We hope this provides a basic understanding of the Dedicated Connector installation options.  

Don’t hesitate to contact sales@encodian.com to organise a discovery call with our technical wizards for any specific information regarding your organisation.