TheChildren and Family
Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass)is spending £25m to join atransformational government framework,
which gives it a shared IT service.
Cafcass said the deal would lower the cost of its ICT
ownership.
For £25m Cafcass gets access to the
Flex
Shared Services Programme, run by Fujitsu Services in
conjunction with the Cabinet Office, which offers ICT as a shared
service across the public sector.
Under the terms of the seven-year contract, Cafcass will have
the right to a complete refresh of hardware and software after four
years, after paying £14m of its £25m contract. The refresh extends
to laptops and thin-client devices.
Cafcass will also receive service desk, server management and
disaster recovery services.
Fujitsu will put 2,000 desktops in 100 offices, manage Cafcass's
business applications and offer new office applications.
Managed security services are included in the contract, as the
public sector organisation seeks to improve security for staff
working remotely from family courts, home or other government
offices.
"This Flex framework offers a modern IT infrastructure, with
improved levels of service and support and access to a range of
consultancy skills and experience," said Lamorna Wooderson,
Cafcass's corporate director.
Improved security was a top priority, she said. "As a department
which looks after the interests of children, this is vital. Our
staff will work more effectively when working remotely, in the
confidence that sensitive data will not be compromised."
The transformation project contract starts in October of this
year and is scheduled to finish in June 2009.
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