Multi-year partnership signed between UK government and Microsoft to accelerate public sector digitalisation
Microsoft and the UK government have signed a multi-year tech agreement, that will provide access to Redmond’s AI products and services for public sector organisations.
The five-year agreement was announced this week was signed between Microsoft and Crown Commercial Service, on behalf of the UK Government,.
Microsoft has been a recognised provider of services and products to government around the world for over a decade now. The software giant has also been investing heavily in multiple countries, which began with a £2.5 billion investment in the UK in November 2023 – the single largest investment in Redmond’s forty-year history in the UK.
Image credit HM Treasury
Microsoft agreement
That investment was to more than double Microsoft’s data centre footprint in the UK and train more than one million people for the AI economy.
Now the UK government and Microsoft have signed a new agreement, effective from 1 November, to “enable eligible public sector organisations, via their chosen procurement route, to pursue their digital transformation and innovation ambitions,through access to cost savings on Microsoft 365, the Azure cloud platform, Business Applications, and for the first time, Microsoft 365 Copilot.”
Microsoft 365 Copilot, embeds generative AI into Microsoft’s suite of productivity apps, enabling the automation of repetitive tasks and content generation, enhanced collaboration, efficiency gains, and improved public services, said Microsoft.
It comes at a time when the UK Government aims to increase the speed of innovation across the UK public sector, enhance efficiency, improve cross-departmental collaboration, and deliver improved services for UK citizens.
The new partnership provides a platform for Microsoft to maintain its support for the UK Government’s missions to deliver the economic growth needed to help fund public services, ease the cost-of-living crisis, and create employment opportunities for all, both parties stated.
AI potential?
“AI technologies present a unique opportunity to transform public services and fuel the UK’s economic growth,” stated Clare Barclay, CEO of Microsoft UK.
“This exciting new five-year partnership will mean Microsoft can continue to support the UK Government to create a world-class, digital-first public sector infrastructure, that will improve service delivery for citizens across the whole of the UK and create opportunities for all,” said Barclay.
The agreement comes as the UK public sector is under tremendous pressure, grappling with rising demand, stretched resources, and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
