Giants to dominate £4bn government hardware framework

Concerns raised that government is failing to live up to its pro-SMB rhetoric as final e-auction phase of new framework gets under way

Relatively few resellers will make the cut for the new £4bn pan-government IT hardware and solutions framework, ChannelWeb understands.

The government fired the starting gun on the two-year framework, which is designed to boost its purchasing power on a modest number of PC, laptop, tablet, server, storage and printer specifications, in February.

According to sources, a maximum of 23 firms – and perhaps as few as 15 – have made it through to the final e-auction phase of the process, which commenced this week and will conclude on Monday. ChannelWeb understands the shortlist is dominated by the big vendors, raising questions over whether the government's procurement strategy is living up to the pro-SMB rhetoric of its leaders.

In contrast, the last major pan-government hardware framework, CITHS (which also took in software), featured an array of channel players large and small.

One source familiar with the process said the hefty demands of the questionnaire phase and economies of scale needed to compete in the e-auction would weed out all but the manufacturers and the very largest resellers.

"There is a difference between the government narrative and the reality," said the source, who wished to remain anonymous. "If you want to supply the government, it is not for the faint-hearted."

So far, seven of the 12 Lots – thin clients, tablets, storage, desktops, laptops, servers and switches – have been provisionally decided. The results will officially be unveiled on 28 May, following a cooling-off period. Note that two of the 12 Lots, both of which are based around solutions, do not feature an e-auction phase.

Bidders have been told that at least three vendors will be represented on each Lot, whether directly or through a partner. This means most will have four, five or even six winners.

The winners will be determined by a combination of the quality of their initial bids and their e-auction score.