One of Scotland’s leading cloud services suppliers has welcomed a five-year technology deal between Microsoft and the UK Government as a “huge opportunity” to transform public services.
Brightsolid, the Dundee-headquartered managed hybrid cloud service provider, says the agreement between the Crown Commercial Service and the US tech giant will pave the way for a digital transformation revolution for public sector bodies in Scotland and right across the UK.
Under the terms of the agreement, eligible public sector organisations, via their chosen procurement route, will be able to pursue their digital transformation and innovation ambitions, through access to cost savings on Microsoft 365, the Azure cloud platform, Business Applications, and for the first time, Microsoft 365 Copilot.
It is access to a more cost-effective framework contract with Microsoft where public sector bodies will be able to drive potentially huge efficiency and cost savings. As a Microsoft certified partner, Brightsolid will be able to add even more value, through its ability to help organisations consolidate their licensing arrangements with the technology giant.
Alan Gardiner, chief commercial executive of Brightsolid, pictured below, said: “We believe the deal announced by the Crown Commercial Service in November between the UK Government and Microsoft is a huge opportunity to start really digitally transforming public services.
“The agreement is a vital stepping stone to support the ambitions of the recent announcements by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to start to use digital tools – especially AI – more effectively so that the public sector can spend less time doing admin and more time delivering the services working people rely on.
“As a leading managed hybrid and cloud services supplier, Brightsolid stands ready to help our public sector partners capitalise on this commitment to innovation, enabling government departments to really leverage the power of their data to join up services and improve the experience of the citizens who use them.”
The new partnership, which was signed in November, provides a platform for Microsoft to maintain its support for the UK Government’s missions to deliver the economic growth needed to help fund public services, ease the cost-of-living crisis, and create employment opportunities for all.
Recent research from Public First – the policy, research, opinion and strategy consultancy – found that accelerating the adoption of digital technologies could add £550 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2035.
In line with UK Government ambitions for data sovereignty, and with a global AI race now being led by the US, Brightsolid announced last year its new Brightsolid Cloud service, with Tier III-designed data centres in Aberdeen and Dundee providing data security, compliance and UK sovereignty requirements.
The company is also working with Futurescot to help organisations get the best out of their Microsoft licensing arrangements.
According to the firm’s head of cloud solutions, Nick Riley, there are 541 Microsoft licenses, and many organisations suffer because they do not know how to configure them.If addressed, organisations can save potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds on their annual IT estate costs, as well as improve compliance and efficiency.
Partner Content in association with Brightsolid.