Southwark council signs £26m infrastructure deal with Serco
Five-year contract includes roll-out of thin-client technology
By Tash Shifrin | Published 14:42, 16 March 07
The London borough of Southwark has signed a £26m five-year contract with Serco to provide and manage its IT infrastructure.
The deal will see Serco will overhaul the council’s desktops, servers and applications, introducing thin-client technology across the organisation. The IT services provider will manage the council’s IT estate remotely.
The contract extends the relationship between Southwark council and Serco, which has provided the authority with IT and project management services for more than six years.
Southwark expects the IT overhaul to contribute savings of £3m towards its Gershon efficiency targets across the duration of the contract, with savings of another £230,000 a year in energy costs from implementing energy efficient IT equipment and systems.
The council’s corporate and customer services director Bill Murphy, said: “We were thoroughly impressed with Serco’s commitment in supporting our ambitions. The proposals for the renewed contract are extremely innovative and the agreement will enable us to empower the community and generate wider investment into the borough.”
The agreement will also see Serco set aside £250,000 of its profits to fund an IT accreditation and training academy for young people in the borough, which includes some of the most deprived areas of the country. The contractor will also work with local suppliers.
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