Berkshire NHS Uses G-Cloud For SaaS Solution

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is set to use Microsoft Lync Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution after buying a contract via G-Cloud.

The SaaS product will be delivered via cloud firm Outsourcery’s O-Cloud PGA Official Internet Platform.  

“Using the G-Cloud gave us access to a much broader range of suppliers that we would not have considered had we followed previous procurement approaches outside the framework,” claimed Mark Davison, the Trust’s director of information management and technology.

“Importantly, this meant receiving tenders from a range of smaller providers who were able to be more competitive of price and flexible in the service they offered.

“The new highly resilient Microsoft Lync service will be installed across two datacentres for instant messaging, presence and audio/video conferencing to enable collaboration across the Trust, to increase productivity and to reduce costs,” he added.

The new cloud solution is expected to support the Trust’s 4000 staff across 100 sites.

First Win For Outsourcery

Not only does this contract mark the first use of G-Cloud for Berkshire NHS, it is also the first contract that Outsourcery has won via the procurement framework.

“The G-Cloud framework provides significant benefits to all public sector organisations, whether at a national or local level by enabling them to engage with innovative small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) such as Outsourcery that may not be on existing procurement frameworks,” claimed Piers Linney, the firm’s co-CEO.

Linney, who also appears on BBC show Dragon’s Den, sits on the 2011-established Cabinet Office SME Panel which advices on small and medium business issues.

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