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OGCbuying.solutions awards Affiniti new Telecom Networks Framework Agreement
Communications integrator Affiniti has been awarded four lots of the new Catalist Telecom Networks Framework Agreement by OGCbuying.solutions, following a round of rigorous evaluation and qualification.
Communications integrator Affiniti has been awarded four lots of the new Catalist Telecom Networks Framework Agreement by OGCbuying.solutions, following a round of rigorous evaluation and qualification. Catalist Framework Agreements are a set of pre-tendered agreements with a range of suppliers from which public sector customers can purchase goods and services with ease.
The Telecom Networks Framework Agreement aims to provide a procurement route for best value telecommunications services. Affiniti has won four lots, which will enable it to provide voice calls and lines, point-to-point circuits, ISP services and Enhanced Government Telephony Preference Services (EGTPS) to any public sector group or service. EGTPS is a particularly interesting and innovative area as it ensures that in the case of an emergency, such as the 2005 London bombings, important public sector calls, such as emergency services calls, are given absolute priority across all telephone networks.
Catalist Telecom Networks will complement the Communications Solutions Lots in the Specialist Solutions Framework Agreements awarded in May 2006, of which Affiniti was one of only seven UK companies listed to deliver voice, data and converged technology. The Telecom Networks Lots will be aimed at public sector organisations with a simple, defined telecommunications need, while the Specialist Solutions satisfy more bespoke communications requirements.
The Catalist Framework Agreements enable OGCbuying.solutions to provide a professional procurement service to the public sector, enabling organisations to deliver improved value for money in their commercial activities and to provide professional support, advising on technical issues, energy saving and environmental improvements. By streamlining the procurement process it is not only significant cost savings that can be achieved. On average it is estimated that the Catalist Framework Agreement reduces the procurement process by 77 days, enabling organisations to by-pass the pre-purchase stages and halve the total purchase time.
As always, competition for the award of the OGCbuying.solutions agreements was intense and Affiniti had to deliver on a number of key points including quality, pricing and environmental procedures. Experience was one area of particular strength for Affiniti, which has an extensive track record in providing comprehensive and innovative solutions across the whole of the public sector. Its customers include:
- Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
- Derby City Council
- The Scottish Parliament
- North Wales Police
- Thames Valley Police
- Humberside Police
- Mid Yorkshire Hospital
- North Staffordshire Hospitals
- Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen Hospitals
- Edinburgh Telford College
- The University of Dundee.
Afshin Attari, Head of Public Sector and Utilities for Affiniti commented: “This win really puts Affiniti on the map as a leading supplier of services and solutions to the public sector and promises to deliver combined contracts worth multi-millions in the first year. The award of these Catalist Telecom Network Framework Agreements complements the Specialist Solutions agreements we won early last year. It means that customers now have the choice of purchasing our products either built into tailor-made solutions or as simple best value telecommunications services.”
