Tiny Brit tech firms win spots on £1.84B public sector contract. Kidding, it's the usual suspects
Collective deal to cover software needs for every rung of government
The UK government has awarded a contract worth up to £1.84 billion for vertical applications relevant to local authorities.
Winners among the 81 companies awarded places on framework agreement include Accenture, Atos IT Services, Capita Business Services, HCL Technologies, IBM, Softcat, and Palantir.
The new framework agreement replaces the Data and Application Solutions agreement, which is set to end May 22. The agreement is set to run until September 2025. Framework agreements pre-negotiate terms and prices with suppliers, but do not guarantee the value of work they will win, although the idea is they ease the procurement process and get better prices for the public purse.
Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the commercial division of the Cabinet Office, has launched the new contract so central government departments and other public sector bodies such as local authorities, health, police, fire and rescue, and educational organizations can make use of it.
The framework is divided into five lots, with not every supplier winning places. These span business application solutions; education, community health and social care solutions; housing, environment and planning solutions; citizen services; and systems designed for emergency services.
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The CCS launched the procurement in January 2022, when it said it was looking for suppliers to provide software for vertical applications such as those "developed to meet the needs of their particular industry."
It is among several mega-deals struck between the UK government and the tech industry in recent years. These include an estimated £1.2 billion for enterprise software, including but not limited to ERP, human capital management, and financial accounting. Other deals include £2 billion to "offer a central route to market for all Big Data & Analytics requirements."
In March last year, the government went out to tender for cloud services in a framework deal which could be worth up to £5 billion. Research later showed the UK government had spent £11.5 billion through its G-cloud service over the last decade. ®