Swansea City Council is set to award Capgemini a £119m
IT services contract to improve its electronic services over the
next 10 years.
Capgemini beat ITNET to the deal after the council shortlisted
the two companies in May 2004. The contract is due to be signed in
April.
The programme will be funded by transferring the money the
council already spends on IT, internet services and customer-facing
services such as reception points, which totals £99m over 10 years,
and new investment of £2m a year over the next decade, the council
said.
Capgemini will also introduce improved customer access through a
new call centre, contact centres, extended opening hours and
improved internet services - known as service@swansea. The
partnership is expected to create new jobs in Swansea with
Capgemini planning to expand its existing office in the city which
already employs 130 people.
The deal was announced at the end of a difficult year for
Swansea's IT department. In October, IT staff returned to work
after an eight-week strike. They alleged the council did not
consult properly over the outsourcing deal or consider the option
of retaining resources in house, but returned to work following
talks with arbitration service Acas.
Ovum senior analyst Georgina O'Toole said the deal was
Capgemini's first major outsourcing contract in local government,
but the company was already providing high-level consulting and
transformational delivery to several leading councils such as
Westminster and Croydon.