Police switch to Sprint ii agreement for IT procurement

Police forces in England and Wales are to switch IT procurement from the Buying Solutions’ Commodity IT Hardware and Software (CITHS) framework in favour of the SPRINT ii agreement.

This effectively shifts the preferred route for relevant procurements towards the framework agreement set up by HM Revenue & Customs and the government procurement agency Buying Solutions.

The £6 billion CITHS framework came into effect in March 2010, with 20 suppliers offering PCs, IT infrastructure and software.
The new pan government framework Sprint ii also went live in March last year and will run for four years.

Sprint ii is unique in offering a single authorised supplier – independent technology solutions provider SCC – for a wide range of ICT products and services with catalogue-based ordering available. Sprint ii fills a niche not covered by existing Buying Solutions’ ICT frameworks, namely a quick route for ICT purchasing via a one-stop-shop.

The products and services available under Sprint ii fall into four categories – hardware, software, infrastructure (including networks and telecommunications) and services.
The Home Office says the Sprint ii framework is a more appropriate contractual arrangement for the procurement of IT commoditised hardware and commercial off-the-shelf software than the CITHS framework.

The decision was taken after the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) carried out a benchmarking exercise to see which framework would offer forces the best value for money when purchasing commoditised hardware and commercial off-the-shelf software.