Logicalis has earmarked public sector shared services as a major push area following the opening of its Welsh regional headquarters.

The integrator opened a complex near Cardiff this week to help it run the £74m Welsh Public Sector Broadband Aggregation (PSBA) project it won in 2007.

Solutions director Chris Gabriel said the facility, which can house up to 60 staff, will double up as an ‘innovation centre’ for public sector organisations across Wales and the rest of the UK.

“What we are doing with PSBA in Wales is incredibly transferable,” he said. “Our experience in building shared services public sector networks is unrivalled in the UK.”

The PSBA deal is worth a minimum of £74m over seven years, and Gabriel said the public sector now accounts for between 20 and 30 per cent of Logicalis' revenues.

The PSBA network has so far connected more than 1,000 NHS sites, 50 higher and further education establishments, and 22 unitary authorities in Wales. Gabriel said many borough councils in England are looking to invest in similar projects.

He also said that many public sector clients prefer shared services to an outsourced approach.

“We have recently won some higher education contracts but these are managed services contracts, not outsourcing. We are working with the IT department and complementing what they are doing internally, and this is an attractive model for them,” he said.