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By Steve Ranger, 15 June 2005 11:10

NEWS The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is looking for an outsourcer to take on the operation, maintenance, modernisation and refreshment of its desktop and supporting IT infrastructure in a deal worth £35m.

And the department is also looking to set up a £30m framework agreement to maintain, modernise and refresh the desktop infrastructure of the Government Offices for the English Regions (GOs).

Services required in the main ODPM outsourcing deal will include provision of telecoms and data networks, front line helpdesk support to all users and a refreshed and updated IT infrastructure, business continuity and disaster recovery, according to the procurement document.

The outsourcer will also be required to separate the ODPM network and infrastructure from its shared environment with the Department for Transport.

The ODPM mainly operates from four offices in central London, and has around 3,000 users.

The department said its "preference" is for a single supplier to provide all the services, and added that the deal could be worth around £35m over five years.

The ODPM also said it may extend the procurement to organisations associated with it such as the Audit Commission, housing trusts and the Standards Board for England.

Prospective bidders will be encouraged to be "flexible, creative and proactive in the way they propose to meet the requirements".

The department is also looking for a single supplier for the GOs IT outsourcing services deal.

The GOs operate in nine regions across England and have 13 offices and 3,800 users.

Each GO brings together the activities of 10 government departments including the ODPM; Department for Education and Skills; Department of Health; Department of Trade and Industry; Department for Transport; Department for Work and Pensions; Home Office.

This deal will also include disaster recovery, application support, development and maintenance services.