Cisco signs MOU with Crown Commercial Service to Support Secure, Sustainable Digital Citizen Services
- Agreement will see Cisco deepen its relationship as a key supplier to the UK Government and wider public sector
- Flexible bundles will be made available at standardised prices within a unique purchasing environment
- Wider initiatives will support adoption with free digital skills programmes and business assessments
Cisco announces the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Crown Commercial Service (CCS), through which Cisco will deliver the latest technology solutions to support the continued secure digitisation of the UK Government and wider public sector.
CCS, as an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, is the biggest public procurement organisation in the UK. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2022/23, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £3.8 billion – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
The MOU will help to support the acceleration of secure, digital technology in the UK Government and wider public sector. With a standardised approach to cybersecurity, it aims to help improve the resilience of the public sector, including a dedicated programme to develop digital and cybersecurity skills through the Cisco Networking Academy.
Flexible bundles, standardised prices
Cisco’s new agreement with CCS will put its partners in prime position to provide diverse and flexible bundled offers at standardised prices to all UK Government departments to help achieve its ambitions. Within this unique purchasing environment, these bundles will include those to:
- Secure Government: with a modular end-to-end platform that helps protect users with end point and email security, to defend against breaches with extended detection and response, and to secure the cloud. In addition, Cisco will be offering cybersecurity assessments to help provide organisations with a holistic view of their current status, with recommendations to take forward.
- Power hybrid work: connectivity and collaboration tools, such as state of the art voice and video communications and conferencing solutions to help people engage with each other anywhere, on any device, in this new digital-first, hybrid era.
- Understand and address their sustainability: helping public sector organisations to understand and address their sustainability credentials, with technology assessments and recommendations aligned to their targets.
- De-risk deployments and accelerate adoption: With packed offerings for deployment, adoption and acceleration.
Cisco will work with CCS to evolve the purchase models and parameters to meet the precise needs of its public sector customers, providing even greater value and flexibility to help them reach their shared goal of powering an inclusive, digital UK public sector.
Digital skills at scale
By 2025, the UK government is committed to upskilling over 90% of senior civil servants on digital and data essentials.
To support this ambition, Cisco Networking Academy, which is the world’s longest running learning and digital skills development programme, is committing to help provide digital and cybersecurity skills at scale for the UK Public Sector, with over 2000 hours of free, self-paced digital training.
This follows Cisco’s recent announcement of a dedicated Networking Academy for the NHS to address specific digital skills requirements in the health service.
Philip Orumwense CBE, Commercial Director and Chief Technology Procurement Officer at CCS explains: “The new MoU with Cisco will give the government and the wider public sector access to competitive rates and discounts, allowing them to maximise commercial benefits whilst enabling our cyber security capabilities. Moreover, Cisco’s digital skills acceleration programme will help improve public service capability and expertise.
MoU’s allow all public sector customers to be treated as one customer and to benefit from discounts based on aggregated spend. For example: an NHS Trust or local authority can now access discounts previously reserved for large government departments.”
Adele Every, Managing Director for Public Sector, Cisco UK & Ireland added: “Cisco’s agreement with CCS brings us one step closer to creating a next generation digital infrastructure that supports the citizens of the future,”
Public sector buyers will benefit from the MOU, designed to deliver the highest standards and greatest value for money. Our latest technology solutions paired with digital upskilling opportunities will bring connectivity right to the heart of government and for the benefit of communities within regions across the UK”.
Cisco has provided digital innovation solutions to many major UK government departments and public services over the last 30 years, including securing and optimising critical networking environments and enabling hybrid workplaces from the outset of the pandemic.
For more information on Cisco’s work with the public sector in the UK, read more here.
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About Crown Commercial Service
Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is an Executive Agency of the Cabinet Office, supporting the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services.
To find out more about CCS, visit: www.crowncommercial.gov.uk Follow us on Twitter: @gov_procurement
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/2827044
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in technology that powers the Internet. Cisco inspires new possibilities by reimagining your applications, securing your data, transforming your infrastructure, and empowering your teams for a global and inclusive future. Discover more on The Network and follow us on Twitter at @Cisco.
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