The Government Property Agency (GPA) has agreed on a three-year, £9.75 million contract with Cirros Document Solutions for the provision of its planned GovPrint Cloud service.
The agreement, which came into force at the beginning of this month and has options to extend for up another six years, is a significant step towards the GPA – which sits within the Cabinet Office – introducing a cloud version of the GovPrint service that it delivers for other organisations in Whitehall.
According to the contract award notice, the company will provide a single cloud solution that could be connected to printers from different suppliers.
The contract covers the cloud software-as-a-service that will be complemented by another procure, to run through a Crown Commercial Service framework, for devices and associated services.
The tender notice from last May stated that part of the GPA’s objectives is to deploy interoperable technology across the Civic Service office estate, and that GovPrint Cloud will enable civil servants to easily print documents from any building in which it is deployed.
Critical for interoperability
“GovPrint is a critical part of the GPA’s interoperable technology suite of products, along with GovWifi, GovPass, audio visual and shared networks” the notice says.
In September, the GPA said that numerous departments already used GovPrint, including HM Treasury and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, with 172 multi-function devices supporting over 11,000 users across 32 sites.
Its head of technology, Al Gardner, said: “Demand from departments is increasing – the service is currently rolling out over 1,300 devices in the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Department for Education, significantly increasing GovPrint’s reach,
“In addition the service is going into HM Revenue and Customs hubs in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol and Nottingham, and the concept is being explored with other departments including DEFRA and Companies House.”
