Biggart Baillie LLP advises on major ICT services contract for The Highland Council
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Biggart Baillie LLP has advised The Highland Council on the award of a significant ICT services contract to Fujitsu Services Limited. The contract has a value in the region of £66m over five years.
The contract, one of only a few to be awarded under the new EU Competitive Dialogue Procedure in Scotland to date, will involve the provision of information and communications technology services to all aspects of the Council’s operations, including corporate services and curriculum ICT support in primary and secondary schools. The contract includes a substantial investment by the Council in a service transformation programme which will refresh and update the Council’s existing ICT infrastructure.
Biggart Baillie advised the Council during all stages of the procurement process, including procurement strategy, advertisement of the contract opportunity, conduct of the Competitive Dialogue Procedure and contract finalisation.
This was a complex procurement involving a second-generation outsourcing of the Council’s core corporate ICT services, the provision of new curriculum ICT support services for the Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Service and a number of significant transformation projects. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to assist the Council in delivering this new strategic partnership for the delivery of ICT services in the Highlands.
Councillor Carolyn Wilson, Chairman of the Council’s Resources Committee, said: “This new contract will offer the Council and staff a number of exciting opportunities for new, improved and flexible ways of working in the future and allow significant investment in new ICT systems and infrastructure for both corporate and school curriculum ICT. It will deliver significant efficiency savings - £6.76 million over the next five years – and cut the carbon footprint of the Council through reduced carbon emissions and energy consumption.”
The Biggart Baillie team was led by Wayne Lawrence and Douglas Jefferies.