The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has opened the new version of the Digital Outcomes and Specialists procurement framework, highlighting the number of SMEs involved.
It said that 2,953 suppliers on DOS3 are small and medium sized companies, amounting to 94% of the total, providing a range of software applications for public sector buyers.
Niall Quinn, director of the technology strategy category at CCS, said: “DOS3 enables hundreds of new suppliers to be able to provide services to the public sector and further underpins the Government’s work to level the playing field for small and medium sized businesses.
“The success of DOS2 was built on creating a community of practice to help share best practice to clearly define problems and we will continue to build on this with DOS3.”
CCS said that around £500 million has been spent through the framework since its inception in April 2016, with £198 million going to SMEs.
DOS3 is focused on suppliers that can research, design, build, test and deliver software applications and digital services.
The organisation has championed the role of SMEs in supplying government, having earlier this year designed a new contract to make it easier for them to apply for government business.
Image adapted from work by Neurosurgeon23, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
