Honeywell Bull UK, as it then was, last week, as reported briefly (CI No 1,105), created a new Public Authorities Business Unit to develop, install and maintain software and hardware provisions for the growing local government market. Headquartered in Loudwater, Buckinghamshire, the unit will mainly deal with local governmenmt, police and health care, employing around 200; it should attract at least the UKP5m put into software development for local government last year. In addition to meeting the needs of the Community Charge legislation, Honeywell Bull sees lucrative business in housing, education and, with continually increasingly legislation from Brussels, the European dimension. A spokesman for the company also says there is something of an attitudinal change in the public authorities, in particular a growing managerial approach. The company has lured a number of senior staff away from local government positions, including David Thorpe, formerly Head of Computer Services at the London Borough of Havering, as director. Honeywell Bull has also announced orders from Thurrock Borough Council and East Hampshire District Council, worth UKP1.8m and UKP500,000 respectively; the Thurrock deal – won against bids from ICL and McDonnell Douglas – includes a DPS 7000/72 mid-range mainframe, and software applications packages.
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