BAE Systems Applied Intelligence has signed a £35m deal to manage IT services for the Skills and Funding Agency.
The defence contractor’s IT services division has signed a contract to provide service management and integration (SMI) services for the government quango’s national infrastructure as it moves from a single IT provider to a multi-supplier model.
BAE’s deal with the agency, which invests in further education training across the UK, is set to go live in autumn – though the length of the contract has not yet been specified (CBR has asked for details).
Paul McGuire, COO of the Skills Funding Agency, said: "The agency is currently re-configuring the service and supply arrangements of its ICT services into a number of separate contracts.
"BAE Systems will, in its role as SMI provider, act as the coordinating partner for all of these ICT Services, which will enable the Agency to work in an agile way and react to rapid changes within the FE and skills sector."
BAE Systems Applied Intelligence UK services MD, Julian Cracknell, added: "We are delighted that we have been chosen by the Skills Funding Agency to provide the essential SMI role that will drive all of its IT services, providing the Agency with essential business continuity through a period of extensive change. The contract win reinforces the position of BAE Systems Applied Intelligence as a leading provider of SMI services."
BAE’s contract is one in a series of public sector agreements it has signed as it underpins Government departments’ move to adopt cheaper, multi-supplier IT models.
It penned a three-year deal worth £7.5m with Highways Agency last month to integrate and manage services from new suppliers as the department moves from a one IT supplier model.
It also won an SMI contract with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office last year worth £40m over five years.
