London’s Met police plans $1.2B outsourcing deal

LONDON — The London Metropolitan Police Service (the Met) is taking bids for an extensive IT outsourcing contract that could be worth over £650 million ($1.23 billion),  a police spokeswoman said Friday.

The deal will combine three previous outsourcing agreements for IT support, telephony and crime reporting systems that are due to expire, she said.

The contract could be worth over £50 million a year for up to 10 years, with a further option to extend it for 3 years, the spokeswoman said.

Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) holds the contract to run the Met crime reporting system, while SchlumbergerSema (now part of Atos Origin SA) won a five-year contract in 1999 for desktop and network support services. Damovo Group SA has the contract to support the police’s telephony equipment, including mobile phones and pagers.

While the Met spokeswoman would not disclose which companies had already submitted bids for the new deal, she said she’d be “surprised” if EDS, Atos Origin and Damovo didn’t throw their hats in the ring.

Representatives for the three companies would not say Friday whether they were bidding for the new contract.

The outsourcing deal is aimed at streamlining IT operations and ensuring that the agency gets the best value, the Met spokeswoman said. The Met has more than 45,000 employees requiring IT equipment and support.

Vendors have until April 2 to express their interest, and the Met officials plan to negotiate proposals between June and September, the spokeswoman said. Between four and six suppliers will be invited to bid and the winning contract will go into effect after July 2005.