North bags £7m contract with City of York Council
The move puts flexible working, safety, security, and connectivity put “at the heart of operations”
Council buildings and schools across York are now to benefit from a £7m digital transformation contract through North that it claims will enable new working models.
The City of York Council has extended its contract with managed services firm North, employing it to provide a fully managed service to 27 local authority schools in addition to the council's corporate estate.
The contract will see flexible working, safety, security, and connectivity put "at the heart of operations," the council said.
Mark Lowe, business development director at North, said: "We are committed to delivering the best transformative technology to the City of York Council and Schools, and our significant contract win with the council is indicative of the partnership we have established over a number of years.
"Digital services have become the essential foundation to deliver enhanced public services across local government with a blended-online approach now commonly adapted in workplaces. Therefore, to ensure businesses are able to operate effectively these structures must be kept up-to-date and secure.
"North will ensure the most advanced infrastructure is established across the City of York's estate and local schools, facilitating a hybrid working approach that fits the needs of the council for years to come, while enhancing the education environment for pupils."
The digital transformation services within the project will oversee the install of a range of security measures across the network, new digital tools to allow both internal and external threats to be monitored, and faster and more flexible Wi-Fi to support a blended working environment.
Councillor Nigel Ayre, executive member for finance and performance at City of York Council, said: "Our digital infrastructure has transformed multiple council services, improving efficiency, effectiveness and informed decision making. It helped us to very quickly adapt to the pandemic, allowing us to continue working in a secure way, as we supported residents and businesses whilst having to work from home.
"York's connectivity is helping to attract investment and jobs to the city, is supporting the city's recovery from the pandemic and helping us to address 21st century city challenges with innovative smart technology. This has seen us use technology to help us tackle challenges in a wide range of areas transport, social care and make the city an even better place to live and work.
"This long-term investment will help to further improve council services and we look forward to continuing our innovative work with North in the months and years ahead."