The Softcat News Team
Softcat will continue providing excellent customer service and datacentre solutions to university customers, after a winning bid to be on the most recent iteration of the Servers, Storage and Solutions National Agreement (SSSNA) framework.
Run by the Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium (SUPC), this improved agreement provides a compliant and responsible route for universities to procure solutions that address data storage and management, including hyper-converged infrastructure and end-to-end solutions.
The full range of lots that Softcat are on is as follows:
- *Lot 1 – Servers Only
- *Lot 2 – Storage Only
- *Lot 3 – Solutions: Converged, Hyper-Converged, Hybrid and Other Solutions (excluding High Performance Computing and Data Intensive Computing),
- Lot 5 – Resellers Solutions
*Softcat will be partnering with Dell (Lot 3), NetApp (Lot 2) and Fujitsu (Lot 1, 2 & 3).
Through ‘Lot 5 – Reseller Solutions’, universities will be able to purchase servers, storage and solutions within the scope of lots 1-4, from Softcat’s entire portfolio of partners.
This will range from Tier 1 Original Equipment Manufacturers’ (OEM) technologies to niche and bespoke providers. University customers will be able to take advantage of any new and emerging technology vendors in this space, including associated networking and software, consultancy, and installation.
Furthermore, Softcat are excited to offer full end-to-end solutions for Dell and Fujitsu via Lot 3, for customers who wish to purchase OEM-specific technologies to support a converged, hyper-converged or hybrid approach.
Rachel Clay, Head of Education in the Public Sector team, said: “SSSNA is not just a framework, it is a powerful tool that can help organisations uncover hidden insights and relationships within complex systems, leading to more informed decisions and better outcomes."
“This is particularly helpful in higher education, where customers have struggled to fully adopt cloud-based solutions. For example, they may have used cloud for backup provisions but not for everything else. Most universities therefore have a legacy estate, and this framework will provide an opportunity to support their journey towards a hybrid cloud model.”
Softcat has worked extensively to support the HE sector, attending many industry events to gauge customer feedback on challenges they are experiencing within the sector, so it can consistently put customers first and meet their needs.
Providing universities with solutions for securely, efficiently, and sustainably storing and managing data is an important priority via this framework. Especially within the current climate, with 92% of higher education institutions identifying at least one breach or attack last year - much higher than the average for other UK businesses (39%).*
Launching the framework, Head of SUPC Leigh Kopec, said: “It’s vital we continue to strengthen corporate social responsibility throughout HE procurement. This new SSSNA framework shows our commitment to working with suppliers like Softcat who share these aims.
“Collaborating with Electronics Watch is an important step in the process and provides enhanced monitoring at a framework level. This will help us work closely with suppliers to encourage greater transparency and make continuous improvements to workers’ rights in the supply chain.”
Softcat will also be attending the UCISA Leadership Conference in Liverpool on 21st – 23rd March to talk to customers about the ongoing challenges they experience with managing data and how it can support those challenges via this framework.
* Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022