TfL appoints 12 suppliers onto its IT solutions framework including CSC, Infosys, Sopra Steria

Aim of framework is to provide 'more effective services that add value to the operating business', says TfL CIO Steve Townsend

Transport for London (TfL) has appointed 12 suppliers onto its IT solutions framework, which has been designed to give the organisation fast and easy access to the services that it regularly needs.

TfL claimed that the framework also ensures it gets the quality of services for a price that represents "excellent value for money".

"The TfL information management team undertook a major review of how IT services were delivered across the organisation with the aim of providing more effective services that add value to the operating businesses," said TfL CIO Steve Townsend.

"The result is a framework that provides TfL project teams with a pre-approved list of suppliers who can bid for a particular category of work," he added.

The chosen suppliers are: Atos, BAE Systems, Capita, CGI, Cognizant, CSC, Deloitte, HCL, Infosys, Keytree, Lockheed Martin and Sopra Steria.

All the chosen suppliers are larger organisations that have a history of working with government - meaning there is little opportunity for SMEs to bid for work under this framework, although it is unknown how many SMEs TfL even considered in the first place. Keytree, which had a turnover of £17.5m in 2014, is one firm that could be considered an SME.

But one firm out of 12 doesn't suggest that TfL has focused on attempting to work with more SMEs - a target for government in 2011 was to do 25 per cent of its business with SMEs. Instead, it suggests that the organisation, like much of the public sector, is continuing to work with larger suppliers.

The IT solutions framework will cover one or more areas of the strategic planning and project delivery lifecycle. The scope includes: business change, consultancy and advice, cyber security and information assurance, design, implementation, product delivery, and project management services.

Requirement analysis, solution build and configuration, support and maintenance, and testing, are other areas that are covered by the framework.

This year, TfL has awarded IT-related contracts to O2 and Atos.