NHS approves 19 suppliers for £1bn of ICT hardware and services

Approved vendors can pitch for ICT hardware and services contracts under the Link 3 Framework to support the NHS and the wider public sector organisations

NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) has revealed the names of 19 vendors that can now pitch for ICT hardware and services contracts under the Link 3 Framework to support the NHS and the wider public sector organisations.

The deal is expected to be worth up to £1 billion to the selected suppliers.

According to the contract award notice, the winners include Dell, Academia Ltd, CCS Media, Insight Direct and Ricoh.

Some other names in the list are Softcat, CDW Limited, Insight Systems, MTI Technology, Parity Computers, Punch Technology and Stone Computers.

The deal covers a range of consumer-oriented 'digital workplace' devices and services, such as laptops, desktops, tablets, printers, scanners, mobile phones, and healthcare IT devices (workstations, medical carts, clinical assistant devices, etc), third party warranty and one-stop shop.

The contract started on 1 March 2021, according to award notice, and will end on 28 February 2023.

NHS SBS Is the joint venture between the UK Department of Health and IT consultancy Sopra Steria.

According to NHS SBS, the four year "Link 3: IT Hardware and Services Framework Agreement" provides a very competitive and transparent buying vehicle for all core IT commodity hardware category areas".

Working alongside NHS SBS is the North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC), an NHS buying group which provides "collaborative and bespoke procurement solutions to the NHS and other public sector organisations".

In September last year, the NHS SBS opened bidding for the Link 3 framework for the supply of PCs and other devices. The framework was split into six categories, with the first five categories covering laptops, desktop, tablets, printing and scanning devices and specialist healthcare hardware.

The sixth "one-stop shop" category is for the suppliers that can provide all or most of the devices covered by the previous five categories.

NHS SBS specified that each of the six categories will also include deployment services, warranty and lease options, as well as green [or] sustainable options.

In December 2020, the NHS SBS also approved over 50 building firms for a new NHS construction and minor works framework agreement.

The new framework will initially run from 17th December 2020 until 16th December 2023, with the option to extend to 2027.

The overall value of the deal over the full seven years is estimated at £10.5 billion.