The Softcat News Team
Softcat today announced that it has been awarded a position on the Kent County Supplies (KCS) Professional Services (a division of Kent County Council) National Framework for the Supply of Software Products and Associated Services.
Now active on 27 public sector frameworks, the win bolsters Softcat's already strong framework presence, offering customers increased choice via trustworthy procurement routes.
The new national framework, which replaces the PRO5 Software Products and Associated Services agreement, was issued on behalf of the Central Buying Consortium (CBC) and is available to all public bodies, including central and local government, the Police and Fire services, the NHS and its Trusts, academic establishments, and other publicly funded organisations.
KCS is the UK's leading supplier of a wide range of goods and services to publicly funded organisations across the UK. The Professional Services team works with the Central Buying Consortium (CBC) to offer fully OJEU-compliant, simple-to-use frameworks with full, free procurement support, ensuring they can operate with complete peace of mind, and has over 20 years of experience in setting up and managing contracts.
With all public services facing pressure to cut costs and increase productivity, IT has become a priority investment area. Softcat continues to demonstrate its commitment to the sector, investing significant resources into securing places on some of the most high-profile national procurement frameworks. As well as expanding procurement options for customers, the contract will allow Softcat to forge closer relationships with public sector organisations.
The KCS National Software framework has been divided into three lots, with Softcat being one of only 10 suppliers to provide technology and services across all three.
- Lot 1 relates to products licensed and distributed by Microsoft and approved resellers, such as MPSA, Select Plus Agreements, Subscription Agreements and Enterprise License Agreements.
- Lot 2 relates to products used for security purposes, such as antivirus, malware protection, firewalls, access control, and security information management.
- Lot 3 relates to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software – which includes the likes of graphics, web design, reporting tools and virtualisation software.
Jamie Burke, Softcat's public sector sales director said: "The contract underlines our commitment to providing public sector customers with a wide variety of compliant procurement frameworks, in order to better service their software requirements. Softcat has forged a name for itself by providing expert advice to organisations sourcing specialist software, and our customers see it as one of our key strengths and differentiators. We look forward to engaging with KCS Professional Services and CBC members and to continue providing real value for their software requirements."