Statisticians add £6m to IT deal

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has extended its contract with IT services company Xansa as it continues to modernise its statistical systems.

The two-year, £6m extension to the deal includes an option to extend for a further year as well as the potential for Xansa to expand into supporting the ONS in modernisation of the General Register Office.

Xansa has been working with the ONS since April 2004 and has developed software for the modernisation of their statistical processes.

The ONS has also used Xansa to help with transforming its IT skills, methods and processes, to help cut costs and improve operational performance, working in joint delivery teams to create the ONS' own methods framework.

ONS CIO Dayantha Joshua said "flexibility and pragmatism" have been the key to the relationship established over the last two years. "This relationship is helping us deal with the multifaceted challenges of modernisation," he said in a statement.