The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a £300 million contract to Shared Services Connected Ltd (SSCL) for personal services for the armed forces.
The company – a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Sopra Steria – said the seven-year contract covers pay, pensions, military HR and administrative services, and will include the delivery of new platforms and modern ways of working for the Defence Business Services shared service.
It has indicated that the contract will cover a move to cloud based services and infrastructure, and an integration layer for new digital applications to be added in an agile manner. SSCL will also look to help the armed forces improve their use of personnel data through an improved management information and data service with cloud analytics.
A number of new digital technologies will also be introduced for service users. This will include an increased emphasis on smartphone accessible web pages and an improved Veterans Gateway portal.
John Neilson, chief executive officer of SSCL, said: “SSCL has a track record of successful large scale transformation and delivering digital technology services to the public sector.
“We look forward to working with the MoD to achieve its vision to transform core payroll, HR and pensions services for active military personnel across the armed forces and veterans.”
The company said the deal is one of the biggest of its type in Europe, and that it comes soon after a three-year contract extension worth over £100 million with Government Shared Services to provide a range of critical business services.
Image from US Army Europe, public domain