Ireland

British government and Microsoft sign licensing deal

The British Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and Microsoft have signed an agreement across all of the public sector on a licensing…

David Roe
Mon Mar 11 2002 - 00:00

The British Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and Microsoft have signed an agreement across all of the public sector on a licensing procurement framework for all Microsoft software products.

Centrally negotiated by the OGC on behalf of the British government, the agreement will allow the public sector to rationalise its Microsoft software licensing procurement costs and processes, and will cut administration and support overheads.

The agreement follows the success of similar arrangements made recently between Microsoft, the National Health Service and Ministry of Defence, and will give all public sector employees access to Microsoft's latest software.

The agreement is available to all areas of the public sector except for regulated industries and utilities, the BBC and the Post Office/Consignia.

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It is not compulsory, however, and public sector organisations are entitled to take advantage of the licensing framework at their own discretion.

The agreement will apply to the following areas in the public sector:

  • central government departments
  • agencies of central government departments
  • the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland local government
  • the NHS Ministry of Defence
  • the Armed Forces Criminal Justice organisations including Police Forces It is not, according to the OGC, an exclusive supplier contract, and does not preclude the use of alternative products by individual government users or organisations where they are preferred.

Commenting on the announcement, Harry Largey, Enterprise Business Manager, Microsoft Ireland said: "The use of Microsoft products within the public sector has grown significantly in the last few years, as users have recognised the improvements in productivity, flexibility, and agility they can achieve.

"This licensing framework delivers a simpler, more cost effective way for public sector organisations to continue taking advantage of Microsoft's products, and will give them immediate access to new, more feature-rich software updates as they become available."