NHS England has announced a new licensing agreement for Microsoft products with a claim this will provide organisations with access to the full suite of productivity apps and other innovative tools.
It involves a five-year contract with Bytes Software Services for the procurement of core licensing. This will replace the need for local organisations to purchase their own licences for Microsoft software.
According to the contract award notice the value is £774 million, and NHS England said it will save millions of pounds and help ensure that all organisations use the same systems.
It includes licensing for Micorosoft security solutions to provide capabilities around threat protection, data governance and compliance.
NHS England referred to an agreement in March 2020 which included licences for the use of the Microsoft Teams app by NHS staff, saying this has saved more than 17 million hours of their time.
Platform for innovation
Its chief information officer John Quinn said: “This new five-year agreement will mean we can create a platform for innovation so that NHS workers always have the latest digital tools to help them focus on frontline care.
“We’ve seen huge benefits following our original agreement with Microsoft in 2020, whether using Microsoft Teams to make it quicker and easier to arrange meetings or other digital tools that mean more time can be spent supporting patients.
“As the NHS turns 75, this deal is part of a long history of the health service adapting to make use of the latest and greatest innovations available to deliver more productive and joined up services for patients, and gives us a strong platform to build on for the future.
“This is a further great example of the NHS using our collective buying power to secure market leading products at a reduced cost for taxpayers, and our contract with Bytes means we can also explore opportunities to introduce new innovative technology over the coming years.”
