VARs hail £600m framework win after "rigorous" tender

Suppliers to make the cut on Buying Solutions managed services framework share the secrets of their success

Good times: The 12 suppliers to make the grade will compete for a slice of its £600m purse

Suppliers picked for the Buying Solutions ICT managed services framework have claimed it could represent a sea-change in the way the public sector procures IT.

Earlier this month, the two-year framework went live after finalising a line-up of 12 suppliers: 2e2, Bull Infor­mation Systems, Centerprise, Civica Services, Computa­center, Getronics, Logica, Northgate Information Sol­utions, Servo, SCC, Steria and SunGard Public Sector all made the cut.

The selection process took almost a year, with the initial 73 applicants whittled down to a shortlist of 19, from which 12 were then picked. The tender assessed shortlisted firms in five areas: service delivery, customer serv­ices, sustainability, pricing and contractual.

Servo sales and marketing director Graham Spivey said: “We scored well in all, but particularly in sustainability and pricing. We are all well aware these are key drivers for the public sector today.”

He claimed his firm would compete against larger rivals included on the framework by having a laser focus on potentially successful areas.

“We will be proactively targeting specific public sector organisations where we know we have proven abilities and customer references,” he said.

Nathan Marke, chief technology officer at 2e2, said 20 people from his firm had worked on the bid, with about eight of these committing three days a week to it.

“I would consider it one of the more rigorous processes we have been through,” he said.

Marke said the framework could usher in a new way for the public sector to procure IT. “Services have been seen as a bolt-on to a project.

“What is interesting about this is that customers are not going to procure a project, they will procure a service,” he added.