BBC puts the brakes on SMB-friendly mega-deal

Atos pockets £285m contract while BBC works out future procurement issues

The BBC has had to dish out another lucrative mega-deal to outsourcing giant Atos while it works out issues which arose with a new contract aimed at spreading business among a wider variety of suppliers.

The BBC has worked with Atos for the past 10 years on its Technology Framework – which provides the corporation with most of its in-house kit – but it is set to come to an end in 2015.

The plan was for the BBC to set up a new framework in order to banish supplier monopoly and welcome in a wider range of providers, including SMBs.

But its master plan hit a number of hitches which meant it has had to hand over an extra £285m to Atos for an interim contract designed to last another two years while it solves the replacement contract's issues.

In the interim contract's award notice, the BBC explained the SMB-friendly deal's delay.

"During the planning phase, several unforeseen circumstances arose. Consequently, for technical and economic reasons, the BBC proposes to reconfigure its procurement and change programme," it said.

"In the interim it is not possible to receive the services from another supplier without major inconvenience."

Procurement for the interim deal will begin in the third quarter of this year and will last until March 2017 when the new deal will finally be ready.

The BBC said it hopes to break down supplier monopolies eventually, and welcome in a wider range of IT providers.

"In the future, instead of having a single supplier, a number of specialist companies will provide these services, overseen by an in-house service integration and management team," it said in a statement.

"This new ... model is the best approach to ensure the services are provided in a way that offers maximum value for licence-fee payers."