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United Kingdom : Eversheds advises London Borough of Harrow on ICT partnership
Publish Date : 24-Apr-2015
Eversheds and commercial and financial procurement consultants New Networks have jointly advised the London Borough of Harrow on its procurement of a replacement ICT strategic partner.
Contracts were signed on the cŁ31m project on 14 April 2015, with Sopra Steria being selected as the successful supplier. This is the culmination of a procurement process that began in late 2013 and represents the beginning of an exciting new phase in the Council’s development, forming an integral part of the Council’s wider “Project Minerva” initiative.
The project represents a new hybrid approach to ICT procurement. Although the full range of services are to be delivered under the Sopra Steria umbrella, the contract is unique in that Sopra Steria will be obliged to restructure the current services into a SIAM/tower model, including a service integrator layer, during the contract period. This approach gives the Council the flexibility on contract expiry to re-let the contract as either a full SIAM/tower project or adopt a multi-sourcing approach (as is currently endorsed by the Government). Additionally the contract allows for true incremental change via a ‘new projects’ mechanism that allows the parties to work more closely on further service transformation initiatives during the term of the contract.
The project demonstrates how further substantial savings can be achieved through a second generation outsourcing.
Ash Woodcock, Senior Associate at Eversheds added: “This is a cutting edge project which not only provides great value for money and flexibility for LB Harrow, but also demonstrates an innovative approach to Towers/multi-sourcing for other procuring authorities and private sector organisations to pay close attention to.”
Nick Farrington at New Networks commented: “We are delighted to have assisted LB Harrow to deliver an excellent deal for taxpayers, including a 20% saving from a second-generation externalisation. Clarity of the Council’s requirements and a focus on outcomes has been key to securing these benefits and we believe this contract will be an exemplar for future ICT externalisations within the public sector.”
