Treasury signs up to shared services

Tom Young, Computing, Friday 25 September 2009 at 13:19:00

The Treasury is the latest department to sign up to Flex, Fujitsu's shared
services network for the public sector

HM Treasury is the latest government department to join
Flex,
the public sector shared services network run by supplier Fujitsu.

The department said its IT systems were at the end of their life and needed
to be upgraded.

Flex offers the option of sharing desktop hardware, software and services
between departments, saving on money and energy use.

Currently 10 Downing St, the Cabinet Office, the Children and Family Court
Advisory Support Service and the Office of National Statistics have signed up.

Fujitsu will also be providing support and maintenance facilities over the
five year contract.

Karen Delafield, chief information officer for the Treasury, said the
contract will benefit the department in many ways.

"The partnership will deliver significant efficiencies while also providing
a level of flexibility and scalability which cannot be achieved by maintaining
services in-house," she said.

"It also enables us to participate in the government shared service in line
with our own operational efficiency programme.?

The Treasury said IT staff affected will be transferred to Fujitsu under
Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment - TUPE) regulations. The
department says it has been in discussions with unions since December 2008.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2250139/treasury-signs-public-sector