Xansa, Fujitsu Services land public sector outsourcing wins

Fujitsu Services and Xansa - both major providers of outsourced IT services to the UK public sector - have announced major contract wins today.

Xansa has sealed a five-year, £27m deal to provide an internet services platform for three government departments. It will be used for Directgov, the public's one-stop shop for public services information and now part of the COI; the Department of Health's corporate web service; and several services for the Department of Education and Skills.

The platform will allow departments - known as The Club - to pool resources for development of new functionality and for system maintenance, with the hope of reducing both development time and costs.

It should also be easy for new government departments to join in and share the platform should they so desire.

Kevin McLean, head of strategy and performance unit, technology group, Department for Education and Skills, said in a statement: "Our aim is cost-effective, high-quality public sector online services so that people can quickly connect with what they need. This innovative partnership across government will deliver cost efficiencies and improved quality of e-government services."

Separately, Fujitsu Services has won a business process outsourcing contract with Northern Ireland's Department of Finance and Personnel.

Under the deal, worth £185m over 15 years, Fujitsu will provide an electronic Human Resource system for 28,000 civil servants.

A service centre staffed with 200 private sector employees will be responsible for delivering personnel services, a move intended to boost efficiency and allow civil servants to focus on other duties.