Govt names companies for £2bn big data framework

Kin & Carta, CACI, Accenture, Capgemini, PwC and Google are among a group of more than 40 tech companies which have secured a place on the £2bn Government framework to compete for big data and analytics public sector contracts.

The Cabinet Office’s Crown Commercial Service ran the process, designed to support the Whitehall sentiment that big data and analytics technology is “fast becoming recognised as business critical and a core function, with many departments now including chief data officers”.

The procurement notice said the contracted suppliers, which are set to vie for business on framework, could help with the implementation of the Government’s “missions to reinforce the requirement to access and interrogate Government data more effectively to improve public services”.

The framework is divided into two lots. The first includes companies which design, build, and run professional services; the second is for commercial off-the-shelf software.

The move is in part designed to support the National Data Strategy, a set of proposals for post-Brexit legislation which include changes to the remit of the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Launched in December 2020 by then Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, the National Data Strategy commits the Government to develop a clear policy to determine what interventions are needed to unlock the value of data across the economy and help propel in the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time of launch Dowden said: “Our response to the coronavirus has shown just how much we can achieve when we can share high-quality data quickly, efficiently and ethically. I don’t intend to let that lesson go to waste.

“Our new National Data Strategy will maintain the high watermark of data use set during the pandemic – freeing up businesses, government and organisations to innovate, experiment and drive a new era of growth. I am absolutely clear that data and data use are opportunities to be embraced, rather than a threat to be guarded against.

“It aims to make sure British businesses are in a position to make the most of the digital revolution over the years and decades to come, help us use data to improve people’s lives, and position the UK as a global champion of data use.”