RM seals Somerset BSF contract

Deal to deliver services is worth £8.1m over the next five years

Future education: RM's contract includes four secondary schools

RMhas won a lucrative contract to provide ICT services for Somerset County Council's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

In a deal worth £8.1m to RM over five years, the VAR/system builder will deliver services in partnership with BAM, the selected bidder for the project.

The initial phase of the contract covers four secondary schools and six other education establishments in Bridgewater.

RM's remit is to supply include software, hardware, integration, implementation and day-to-day systems management. This includes its CC4 Anywhere, RM EasyMail, identity management and Fuse software, along with its Asus miniBook, thin client computing from HP and learning space products from Isis.

Terry Sweeney, chief executive of RM, said: " The Somerset BSF team has a bold vision for improving education for citizens in the County. We are proud that they have selected us and our colleagues in the BAM consortium to join them in delivering this vision. We look forward to working with educators and students in Somerset to make a difference to teaching and learning.

"This is the third BSF project we've been selected for in FY 2010, and our 16th project overall. With 45 schools now up and running, RM is reinforcing its position as the BSF ICT leader," Sweeney claimed.

Julia Ridge, Somerset BSF programme director, said of the partnership with BAM: "We are delighted to have a partner of such calibre to create first class, state-of-the-art schools for Bridgwater and help take the Somerset BSF programme forward in the future."