Softcat to supply IT hardware and services to the NHS

Marlow, UK, 9 January 2013 – NOE CPC (North of England NHS Commercial Procurement Collaborative) and NHS Shared Business Services has selected Softcat, along with a small number of other suppliers, to supply IT hardware and services including financing and support options to the NHS and other institutions in the UK public sector via the ‘LINK-IT Hardware and Services’ framework contract.

Softcat, who worked closely with Lenovo within their tender response, were awarded all seven of the lots it competed for, allowing the reseller to supply: desktops, laptops, tablets and slate devices, specialist healthcare related IT hardware, clinical monitors and medical displays, and IT hardware deployment services.

Additionally, Softcat was one of only three suppliers awarded the prestigious ‘IT Hardware One-Stop Shop’ lot – allowing the reseller to supply a greater selection of IT hardware and services across multiple lots.

The contract is set to run for two years. NOE CPC and NHS SBS has reserved the right to extend the contract for a further two years (in one year increments).

Andy Bruen, Softcat’s public sector frameworks manager, said, “This is a real accomplishment for Softcat and our trusted partners. It was a hard-fought tendering process where keen pricing, innovation and a ‘genuine value-add approach’ were key to both the successful suppliers and the NHS.”

Jamie Burke, Softcat’s public sector director, added, “Inclusion on this framework is recognition of the hard work and investment Softcat has made in the healthcare sector over the last three years. It’s no longer enough for a supplier to simply ship a competitively priced piece of hardware from A to B on a next-day basis. IT departments are adopting new, flexible ways of working and embracing initiatives like BYOD (bring your own device), which creates new issues such as device support, management and security. Softcat’s unrivalled experience of complementary technologies allows clients to make informed decisions that maximise budgets and deliver ‘real world’ efficiencies, whilst not losing any of the control needed within a healthcare environment.”

Softcat is one of Microsoft’s fastest-growing public sector large account resellers. Softcat recently won the acclaimed Reseller of the Year award at last year’s CRN Channel Awards, for a record breaking third year in a row, and at last year’s UK IT Industry Awards won the ‘Large Supplier or Major VAR of the year’ Award. Other recent awards in 2012 include the Cisco Commercial Partner of the Year, HP’s Gold Partner of the Year, HP Storage Partner of the Year, HP PSG Partner of the Year, Lenovo Growth Partner 2012, Mimecast Partner of the Year (for the fourth year in a row), Symantec Commercial Partner of the Year, Websense EMEA Triton Partner of the Year, and Sophos Mid-Market Reseller of the Year.

About NOE CPC

NOE CPC provides collaborative procurement and procurement solutions to the public sector.

The organisation comprises an expert team of procurement and commercial professionals from both, the public and private sectors, bringing together a wealth of experience, understanding and knowledge.

NOE CPC is one of the leading players in collaborative procurement within the NHS, within England, and is wholly NHS owned. Since establishment in 2007, a range of procurement and commercial services have been developed to support customers. The primary role is to help our customers to function more efficiently and effectively through cost-effective collaborative procurement that supports the NHS to deliver world class patient care.

About NHS SBS

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) is the market leader in business support services for the NHS, currently working with more than 50% of all NHS Trusts and organisations.

We provide Finance & Accounting, Payroll & HR, Procurement and Family Health Services, delivering operational efficiencies and world class service quality as well as real cost savings of between 20% and 40%.

We employ over 1,500 people who bring a unique mix of NHS and commercial expertise. We process over £43 billion of NHS payments each year, pay 200,000 NHS employees and recover more than £14 billion of NHS debt.  We also work with our clients to transform their systems and processes; driving innovation and delivering real value to the NHS

NHS SBS is a unique public / private sector partnership between the Department of Health and Steria and is on target to deliver £224 million of cost savings to the NHS by 2014.

For more information please contact:

Mary Stringer

Resonates SLM Ltd

Tel: 44 (0) 1635 898 390

softcat@resonates.com

www.resonates.com

About Softcat

Softcat (www.softcat.com) is a leading provider of software licensing, hardware, security and related IT services. Softcat, founded in 1993 by chairman and majority shareholder Peter Kelly, remains privately owned and currently employs more than 500 people. It achieved a turnover in excess of £307 million in its last financial year and has been profitable since inception, resulting in a strong balance sheet and very firm financial foundations.

The company sells and supports products and solutions from all the world's leading IT companies. On all its portfolio products and solutions it offers a full range of services, including advice and guidance, technical design, product sourcing, implementation, support and project management. It enjoys a trading relationship with over 5,000 longstanding customers, predominantly from the UK corporate sector but also including large enterprises, small businesses and public sector organisations.

As an organisation Softcat cares passionately about two things – outstanding employee satisfaction and world class customer service. It believes the former drives the latter.

Tags: