AWS in three-year UK government cloud deal to help SMEs win more public sector business
Nov 6, 2020
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UK government to accelerate the adoption of cloud within the public sector, while also providing opportunities for civil servants to bolster their own tech skills, writes Computer Weekly.
In this deal, AWS...
National Counter Terrorism Security Office publishes new cyber security guidelines
Nov 6, 2020
The guidance states that “In order to understand the cyber risk to your business, you should conduct a Cyber Risk Assessment. This will help to ensure that your approach to cyber security is proportionate. Whilst there is no prescribed format for this, it should be based on the Risk Management...
Life-Like Hologram a Sign of the times Regarding AR/VR
Nov 2, 2020
Kim Kardashian West was given the “most thoughtful gift of a lifetime.” Her husband surprised her with a life-like hologram of her late father, Robert Kardashian, giving her a special happy birthday message.
This sentimental production was made possible by Kaledia, a hologram company...
G4S & Serco: Everybody thinks transparency is a great idea; we still don’t have any
Oct 22, 2020
Senior executives from Britain’s four largest public services outsourcing firms, G4S, Atos, Serco and Capita, appeared before the people’s watchdog — Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). G4S and Serco remain under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office; they had...
What bothers suppliers most about public procurement?
Oct 22, 2020
Supply Management highlights the key points of the Public Procurement Review Service (PPRS) Progress Report which found the top areas of complaint about public procurement from suppliers in 2019-20 were late payments and advertising of contracts. The next three biggest areas of complaint were...
UK shipbuilding boosted by warship procurement
Oct 22, 2020
UK Defence Secretary has announced that vital warships providing supplies and technical support to the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers will made by British-led teams.
A competition to build three Fleet Solid Support warships – which will launch in Spring 2021 – will help revitalise British...
UK Government Digital Service launches Digital Buying Guide to support procurement best practice in any country
Oct 22, 2020
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has launched a Digital Buying Guide to support best practice in procurement overseas. The initiative is part of the Global Digital Marketplace Programme, aimed at helping other countries make their digital procurement more open and effective, in collaboration...
Agility is important to take advantage of changing trends in buying behaviour
Oct 16, 2020
Oxfordshire County Council in England talked to procurement analyst firm Spend Matters about how it is getting its ad-hoc spending under control and supporting the local economy. Following his talk at Amazon Business Exchange on driving best practice in indirect spend categories for the public...
UK Gov awards £78m to ferry firms
Oct 16, 2020
The UK government has awarded contracts worth a total of £77.6m to ferry firms to carry freight after Brexit “whatever the outcome of negotiations with the EU.”
The contracts will help to ensure the smooth delivery of vital medical supplies and other critical goods as part of efforts to...
Crown Commercial Service G-Cloud 12 now live
Oct 16, 2020
The latest version of the UK government’s G-Cloud framework has gone live, offering public sector bodies access to more than 38,000 cloud services through the digital marketplace. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) reports a 25% uplift in the number of cloud services featured this time around...
Education supplier merger may be blocked
Oct 16, 2020
UK Competition and Markets Authority has said that the potential Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) and Findel Education Limited (Findel) merger could reduce competition resulting in increased prices or reductions in service levels, quality and the range of products for schools and nurseries....
One Planet Network Sustainable Public Procurement Programme
Oct 16, 2020
The One Planet Network Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) programme is a voluntary global multi-stakeholder partnership in which various parties – governmental, non-governmental, public and private, agree to work together in a systematic way with the aim to promote and accelerate the...
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Perspectives and Insights
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Policies and Regulations
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