CCS £2bn big data and analytics framework goes live

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has launched a big data and analytics framework worth up to £2bn over the course of the agreement.

Some 50 suppliers, 46% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), have been awarded a place on the framework, which will run for an initial two years with the possibility of extending for a further two.

CCS aims for the framework to provide big data and analytics services, as well as software to government departments and the rest of the public sector, including local authorities, health, police, fire and rescue, education, and the devolved administrations. It is the first CCS agreement to be solely dedicated to this.

CCS commercial director and chief technology procurement officer Philip Orumwense said that data has “the potential to transform our public services through enhanced productivity, helping to grow the economy”.

“This new framework will support the requirements of the government and the wider public sector as they continue to use data to innovate,” he said. “It is yet another example of how CCS is helping the public sector to continue on its digital transformation journey.”

The framework is divided into two lots, with lot 1 focusing on “design, build and run” services including advanced analytics and cognitive offerings, dashboards and platforms services. Lot 2 is more focused on commercial off-the-shelf software such as machine learning and artificial intelligence software, big data management, and data mining.

CCS developed the framework in line with the National Data Strategy’s “requirement to access and interrogate government data more effectively to improve public services” as a backdrop to the framework.

The National Data Strategy itself has been long in gestation, with its core strategy document on the Gov.uk website reaching back as far as 2019.

The latest iteration of the data strategy, published on 18 May 2021, reiterated the strategy having four pillars, described as: data foundations, data skills, data availability and responsible data use.

As previously reported by Computer Weekly, CCS aims for the framework to be about more than one-off delivery, with a focus on products and services that can be reused and evolve over time to keep up the pace of innovation.