Cabinet Office flexes £32m contract muscle

The Cabinet Office has signed a £32m, five-year shared services deal with Fujitsu.

The service, called Public Sector Flex, will enable the Cabinet Office to act as a purchasing authority and offer a shared service to multiple public sector organisations.

The Cabinet Office claims the deal will save £2.5m per year and more than 300 tonnes of carbon emissions compared with its existing contract.

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UK government CIO John Suffolk said the deal is "win-win-win" for the environment, staff and taxpayers.

The contract includes a series of green IT principles. For example, the Flex service will allow staff to adopt more flexible working hours and work from home.

As part of the deal, staff will also start using thin client devices, which consume less energy than a traditional PC.

The Cabinet Office estimates the thin client factor alone will reduce carbon emissions by more than 300 tonnes each year.