Fujitsu has been awarded a new seven-year shared services contract by Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire County Councils to deliver a pioneering shared service.
Under the new contract, Fujitsu will provide shared application hosting, support, and development services to Local Government Shared Services (LGSS) enabling them to leverage efficiency and cost saving benefits by streamlining internal business functions and IT infrastructure.
The two Councils are the founding partners of LGSS, the shared service venture set up to provide business support services to the Councils and potentially other public sector organisations.
Through LGSS, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire County Councils share services including finance, human resources, and procurement, supported by the ERP shared services platform.
Fujitsu was originally appointed four years ago to deliver an ERP shared services platform based on Oracle e-Business Suite.
In March 2011, this contract was scheduled to finish and the Councils began to procure its replacement in June 2010, in which Fujitsu subsequently re-bid and was re-appointed; both Councils have agreed a new seven-year contract, projected to save the Councils approximately £7m.
Fujitsu UK & Ireland UK government division business unit director Chris Garside said the shared services platform was one of the first of its kind when it began four years ago.
"The maturity of this project means that as a collective group Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire County Councils, supported by Fujitsu, can now offer this framework to the wider market as a viable option," Garside said.
