The BBC is preparing to terminating the ten year, £2bn outsourcing deal with Atos as part of its plans to break up the contract into multiple service towers.
The 10-year Technology Framework Contract, which was initially signed with Siemens in 2004 and later transferred to Atos upon its acquisition of Siemens Business Services in 2011, will end in March 2015.
Implementing the new service tower model to exploit ‘best of breed’, the BBC’s new ‘Aurora Programme initiative’ involves inviting contractors to bid for seven contracts, by which related IT tasks are combined together into individual service deals.
The BBC Technology Framework covers all the major technology projects and in house technology, ranging from telephony, to laptops, technology support, and broadcast technology.
BBC spokesman was cited by the Computerweekly as saying that the BBC’s 10-year Technology Framework Contract, which delivers the BBC’s in-house technology, is due to expire in March 2015, and new arrangements are being made for the key services that fall within its scope.
"We are moving from one monolithic contract covering everything to multiple contracts with a number of specialist companies," spokesman added.
"This allows us to get better value, greater flexibility and access to new technology as it emerges."
Furthermore, the BBC would assign a new panel within the company, including internal and external staff, who would be tasked with a Service Integration and Management (SIAM) function to supervise suppliers and integrate the services.
"This new tower model is the best approach to ensure the services are provided in a way that offers maximum value for licence-fee payers," spokesman added.
The seven towers being proposed for the new framework include: technology service desk, end user compute, connectivity services, hosting platforms & services, business systems, production & broadcast services and distribution services.
The switchover from Atos to multiple sourced approach will be completed by March 2017.
