Tech suppliers get ID card lowdown

Companies interested in becoming suppliers to the government's controversial ID card scheme have been given the lowdown on what to expect if they are successful.

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) staged a bidders' conference last week for companies to learn how the procurement process for the National Identity Scheme (NIS) will work and what kinds of projects they could be involved in.

The conference took place in London last Friday with around fifty potential suppliers attending.

silicon.com Public Sector

Get the latest public sector news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the PS newsletter today!

Bill Crothers, the IPS commercial director, said the aim of the conference was to explain the procurement process and how the IPS wants to do business to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

He added that the conference was well attended and marked the successful conclusion of the latest stage of the procurement process.

Following the conference potential suppliers have two weeks to complete a prequalification questionnaire to express their interest in bidding for a contract.

The NIS procurement framework was unveiled in August and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, inviting potential suppliers to register their interest.

Successful bidders will build, deploy and maintain the various IT systems needed to complete the NIS project as well as provide business process and IT outsourcing services.