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UK’s Network Rail has given out IT outsourcing deals worth £360-million to Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions and three other multinational companies as it prepares to work with a smaller set of technology vendors.
The five ‘framework agreements’ will enable Network Rail, which owns and operates Britain's railway infrastructure, in ‘simplifying its computing relationships’ with over 270 individual IT suppliers, according to a press statement from the London-headquartered company.
“We will still have many suppliers, but we are gradually reducing them, starting here. The previous framework agreement was with 16 suppliers,” Chris Denham, spokesperson for Network Rail, said in a written response to a Business Line query.
Accenture, BAE Systems Detica and CSC are the other IT companies to have got the nod. The five companies will help provide system integration and other broad technology services to Network Rail.
“We run one of the busiest railway networks in the world and rely heavily on IT to keep everything moving. By creating this framework, we will be able to scale more flexibly our resources to meet demand, while retaining our vital assurance role. In this way, we can improve our efficiency while continuing to allow 24,000 trains a day across the rail network,” Network Rail’s Chief Information Officer Susan Cooklin said in the statement.
TCS said that it would design, build and integrate ‘the next generation’ IT solutions for Network Rail. The TCS scrip was up by 0.48 per cent to close at Rs 1,472.4 on the NSE today.
The scope of Cognizant’s partnership ranges from ‘infrastructure to enterprise IT functions’, according to a statement from the Nasdaq-listed company. It will also be responsible for collaboration and management of Network Rail’s supply chain, the company said, without spelling out the financial details of the arrangement.
Earlier this year, Network Rail had unveiled a £37.5-billion plan, which if approved, would provide 1.7 lakh extra commuter seats at peak times by 2019.
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