The UK government, through Crown Commercial Service (CCS), and Microsoft are set to embark on a five-year partnership, starting next month, to provide public sector organisations with access to the tech giant’s products and services.
This collaboration, named the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24), replaces the expiring Digital Transformation Arrangement 21 (DTA21) and aims to drive digital transformation and operational efficiency across government departments.
Enhanced access to Microsoft services
SPA24 is intended to offer enhanced value across Microsoft’s portfolio of products and services to eligible public sector organisations, regardless of their size or procurement route.
Public sector bodies will have access to Microsoft 365, Azure cloud platform, Business Applications, and Microsoft 365 Copilot at a reduced cost. Microsoft 365 Copilot incorporates AI into productivity apps to support automation, collaboration, and operational improvements in public service delivery.
“This agreement will support eligible public sector organisations to pursue their digital transformation and innovation ambitions, by enabling them to benefit from leveraging the size and scale of the UK public sector,” said the CCS’ chief commercial officer, Roger Gonourie.
The agreement is intended to support innovation and operational efficiency across the public sector, improving collaboration between government departments. It aligns with UK Government objectives related to economic growth, addressing cost-of-living issues, and creating employment opportunities.
SPA24 supports the UK government’s broader strategic initiatives, such as the National Data Strategy, the Cloud First Policy, and the One Government Cloud Strategy, by providing enhanced access to digital products and services used daily in the delivery of public services. Microsoft will provide its services to government organisations to help meet these objectives.
The partnership aims to address the shortage of digital skills in the UK public sector. Microsoft will introduce certification and skilling programmes for public sector employees and invest in its Enterprise Skills Initiative. The initiative will include events, workshops, self-paced learning, and certifications to improve digital skills across the government workforce and support the adoption of AI technologies.
“AI technologies present a unique opportunity to transform public services and fuel the UK’s economic growth, said Microsoft UK’s CEO Clare Barclay. “This exciting new five-year partnership will mean Microsoft can continue to support the UK Government to create a world-class, digital-first public sector infrastructure, that will improve service delivery for citizens across the whole of the UK and create opportunities for all.”
Meanwhile, the Synergy Programme, a UK government initiative for the next generation of shared services across departments, has selected Oracle Cloud to run its shared services platform. This includes standardising finance, supply chain, and HR processes for approximately 250,000 civil servants. The platform will leverage Oracle Fusion technologies to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve decision-making, and it will be hosted within Oracle Cloud for UK Government & Defence.
Read more: UK CMA approves Microsoft’s partnership with Inflection AI
