Suppliers named for PSN Connectivity Framework

Capita Business Services, BT and Cable & Wireless Worldwide are among the 12 successful suppliers named in the Public Services Network (PSN) Connectivity Framework.

Cabinet minister Francis Maude said the PSN will change the way public sector organisations work and interact, making it possible for government to operate in a much more flexible way, regardless of workers’ usual department or office.

“Work in the 21st century needs to be about what you do, not where you do it and the longer the public sector lags behind, the more this costs the taxpayer and constrains innovation,” said Mr Maude.

The minister said the PSN was a fundamental building block of the Government’s ICT strategy and the announcement of suppliers to the framework was a huge step forward in providing the infrastructure to deliver services to citizens more efficiently and cheaply.

“We are confident that the PSN programme will substantially reduce the cost of communication services across government,” he added. “The 12 successful suppliers named in the PSN Connectivity Framework include small and medium-sized enterprises as well as major industry names, underlining our commitment to establish a more open and competitive ICT marketplace at the heart of the UK public sector.”

Neil Rogers, president, Global Government, BT Global Services, said this latest milestone in the PSN journey will make it easier for public sector organisations to buy and connect ICT networks and services.

“It will also create a new and competitive market which will open up opportunities that didn’t exist before. We’re committed to helping central government, defence, health, blue light and local government customers prepare for PSN and the transformational benefits it will enable.”

The full list of suppliers on the PSN Connectivity Framework is: Virgin Media Business, Logicalis UK, BT, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Level 3 (formerly Global Crossing), Capita Business Services, Updata Infrastructure UK, Fujitsu, MDNX Enterprise Services, eircom UK, KCOM Group and Thales UK.

The PSN will substantially reduce the cost of communication services across government and enable new, joined-up and shared public services by creating one logical network, based on industry standards, and a more open and competitive ICT marketplace.

Meanwhile, one month after its launch, the Government Procurement Service (GPS) says CloudStore – the online app store for the G-Cloud framework – is providing a cheaper, quicker and more transparent way to procure cloud-based ICT services, including email, word processing, system hosting, enterprise resource planning, electronic records management, customer relationship management and office productivity applications.

In the first tranche of the G-Cloud service catalogue, around 1,700 ‘off-the-shelf’ IT services are available on a ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis. This model means customers can use what they want, when they want it, saving money by avoiding duplication of services that cannot be shared.

Mr Maude said the launch of CloudStore will help deliver savings and an IT system fit for the 21st century.

“Simply stated, purchasing services from CloudStore will be quicker, easier, cheaper and more transparent for the public sector and suppliers alike,” he said. “CloudStore offers public sector bodies a range of the best industry IT services and solutions off-the-shelf. It provides the flexibility to change service provider easily without lengthy procurement and implementation cycles or being locked into long contracts; and the freedom to quickly adopt solutions that are better value and more up to date.”