So Much For The Paperless Office: UK Government Inks £900M Deal For Printers Etc.

The UK government has awarded 12 suppliers places on a framework deal that could see it spend up to £900 million on printers, photocopiers, and other multifunctional devices.

In a sign that the dream of a paperless office is receding ever further into the distance, the Crown Commercial Service – the buying unit under the umbrella of the Cabinet Office – has put together the agreement for four years, giving public sector bodies access to discounts based on nominal volume commitments to suppliers.

The agreement will give schools, hospitals, councils, police forces, and central government access to multifunctional devices, managed print services, technical resources, digital workflow, cloud solutions for digital transition, and print consultancy services, according to a contract award notice.

The framework is split into five lots. Canon won the deal for a single supplier to provide multifunctional print devices (MFDs) and print management software through a website hosted by the supplier. An earlier contract notice said the deal would be worth up to £180 million. The second lot provides a range of new and remanufactured digital equipment along with a range of software and cloud services for up to £350 million (see box for contract winners).

The next lot is for services advising on digitization of business processes and is worth around £150 million. Lot 4 promises to supply hardware, accessories, and operational services to support the Government Property Agency's GovPrint service and is worth £200 million. The last lot is for print consultancy services and is worth up to £20 million.

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The framework will replace an earlier arrangement, which went to market in January 2021 and also committed up to £900 million over four years for a set of similar services. That competition led to the creation of a framework which ends in September 2025.

But for government bodies that like to have a choice, there are options when it comes to buying printers. The framework Technology Products & Associated Services 2 also offers a range of hardware devices and is worth up to £12 billion. ®