Groupe Bull SA and EDS Corp have formed a joint venture company to challenge for contracts in the UK’s emerging electronic government sector. Prime Minister Tony Blair has pledged to have all the Labour Party administration’s interaction with the public, from filing tax returns to getting a TV license, available electronically by 2008. The joint venture, Civita, expects to win 25% market share and generate revenue of 3bn pounds ($4.7bn) by 2006.
Paris-based Bull and Plano, Texas EDS are prepared to start projects without business plan approval from the UK Treasury, traditionally part of public/private finance initiatives (PFI), in a bid to save time in tendering and installation. Bull says that the range of skills required for local government projects, combining systems integration, hardware installation and communications networks, means that no one player can win contracts on its own. The two IT services firms are confident that their financial approach, twinned with their early formation of the consortium, will establish the Civita brandname and win mindshare against firms like Capita and ITNet, who have yet to pair off in a similar fashion.
Civita, will be based in Bull’s London headquarters and have a staff of 12 initially, although it will have access to a combined e-government consultancy force numbering 8,000.
