Government to launch £1.8 billion software procurement framework
The framework covers vertical applications designed for specific industries
The government's procurement wing, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), is preparing to launch a procurement framework for vertical application solutions, with a projected value of up to £1.8 billion.
The CCS has issued a prior information notice to reach out to specialist software suppliers interested in providing software for vertical applications (solutions developed for a specific industry).
All government departments will use the framework, including local authorities, emergency services, hospital and schools, enabling them to procure software under a single agreement.
The framework is divided into five lots, and will specifically address 'the needs of customers in the education, local authority and social care sectors'.
The first lot is aimed at business applications. It will cover revenues and benefits solution, payment processing & cash receipt, and civil enforcement.
Lot 2 is dedicated to Education, Community Health and Social Care Solutions, including learning applications and platforms, academic scheduling and management solutions, social care solutions and enterprise health solutions.
Lot 3 is targeted at Housing, Environmental and Planning Solutions. It will cover software solutions for planning, building control, local land changes, regulatory services, licensing, property or housing management, geographic information systems (GIS), and waste management.
The fourth lot covers museums, libraries, and sports and recreation centres. It may also cover registrar systems, democratic and citizen engagement systems, and burials and crematoria solutions.
Lot 5, dubbed Bluelight Solutions, will include systems likely to be used by the police or intelligence services, such as surveillance and reconnaissance; investigation, intelligence, forensics, case and custody applications; emergency response and crisis management; command and control, integrated command and control systems; fraud detection; recording and audio-visual ; digital asset management and data analytics.
CCS is expected to publish a full contract notice in June 2022, which will formally start the competition among suppliers.
The procurement agency is currently in the midst of a number of large-scale IT procurements.
In September, it announced a procurement framework for big data storage and analytics projects, with a projected value of up to £2 billion over a four-year period. The procurement will run from April 2022 to April 2026 and all public sector bodies, including local authorities, police, health, education, fire and rescue, and devolved administrations, will be able to use the framework.
In October, the CCS launched an 'open future opportunity' for network services, which could result in contracts worth up to £5 billion.