Trustmarque throws Novell life raft to NHS trusts

VAR to draw on purchasing power to secure good discounts for trusts left in lurch by axing of central contract

Rescue mission: Trustmarque claims it is incumbent on VARs to help NHS customers

Trustmarque says it is in a unique position to assist NHS trusts struggling with Novell renewals in the wake of the government’s decision to axe the £6m Novell NHS contract.

The centralised purchasing agreement will expire on 30 October after the Department for Health opted not to renew it. Local trusts will then be responsible for ensuring their own compliance.

Trustmarque, which has managed the agreement up until now, said it understood that Novell will issue new pricing for trusts over the next few days, based upon a tiered discount relating to the volume of licences each trust uses.

However, the VAR stressed it is in a position to secure a better deal for trusts.

“Trustmarque intends to drive cost efficiencies in the NHS through maximising our vast footprint across NHS England,” said Gareth Redshaw, Novell specialist at Trustmarque.

“Our intention is to drive every Trustmarque NHS customer towards the highest tier of discount.”

Redshaw added: “These newly revised prices are not where the discount ends for all NHS trusts. As the current contracted partner, Trustmarque is working across the NHS to pool together Novell users via our own regional framework. We are in a unique position to be able to do this, due to the volume of NHS customers that buy through other centrally funded software contracts.”

Angelo Di Ventura, group sales and marketing director at Trustmarque, said: “With the recent shift away from centralised NHS contracts it is imperative that partners such as Trustmarque step up to the plate to ensure NHS customers are maximising their IT investment to become cost and labour efficient.

“Trustmarque is taking a lead with this movement to ensure our customers get the most value from their software investment.”