VAR Trustmarque claims to have won big with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after the government department rejigged its IT purchasing strategy.

The software licensing specialist has won a two-year contract to supply the MoD with encrypted and non-encrypted hardware and software. Off the back of the deal, it has also won a £4m contract to supply anti-virus software from security vendor McAfee.

The win follows changes made in the Defence Equipment and Supply (DE&S) framework, which equips and supports the UK's armed forces.

Trustmarque has supplied software to the MoD for the past three years, but previously the DE&S dealt with software and hardware requirements separately. The new consolidated framework of the DE&S ‘IA Contract’ is for all purchases – all hardware and software purchases will now be through the same channel.

This approach has given Trustmarque the opportunity to alter its previous contract to include hardware. It also allows the VAR to now provide security products for classified and top secret information.

Robert Cornish, MoD key account manager at Trustmarque, said: “Under the IA Contract, we will be able to supply the MoD with everything they need, from desktops and laptops, to software and all associated licences.

“This means we can bring the same savings through leveraging our long-established hardware relationships, as we have done historically for their software purchases, using our twenty years of experience establishing ourselves in this market.”

The DE&S consolidation is part of a wider strategy to merge the DE&S with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help Government deliver best value from its spending.

Cornish added: “In enterprises such as the MoD, IT is mission critical and mistakes can result in life and death situations if it falls down. At the same time it has a duty to spend money wisely on behalf of the public and value is essential, which means tenders are always competitive. So we are particularly pleased that we have come out on top once again and are able to extend our offering.”