Spain Fujitsu Signs Multi-Million Euro Deal with Irish Courts Service

The Irish Courts Service has awarded a major ICT support contract to Fujitsu. The contract, which is valued at over €12m, is for the provision of Managed IT infrastructure support Services. As part of this contract, Fujitsu will be the single point of ownership for all aspects of IT infrastructure support within the Courts Service and from an infrastructure perspective will also manage all third party ICT suppliers on their behalf.

In 2002, the Courts Service decided to provide for the support of its IT infrastructure through the vehicle of a Managed Service and following a competitive procurement exercise in 2003 selected Fujitsu to provide its first Managed Service for the period 2003 to 2007. The success of this first Managed Service prompted the Courts Service to not only continue the Managed Service approach to the provision of IT support services but also to extend the scope and duration of the replacement contract. Following a competitive procurement exercise carried out in 2007 the contract for the replacement Managed Service covering the period 2008 to 2013 was also awarded to Fujitsu.

An extensive range of services is provided under the new contract including desktop, network, database, system administration, hardware support and asset management services. IT security, hosting, supplier, service desk and service management services are also provided. Additionally the Courts Service has the option to request further services from Fujitsu on a draw down basis provided such further services are a logical extension of services provided under the terms of the contract.

“The Courts Service is increasingly dependent on its technologies and applications for the effective discharge of its business operations," said PJ Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Courts Service. “This has resulted in significant business benefit for the organisation and has transformed the organisation from a virtual “Greenfield site” to a modern technological organisation using information technology to support the administration of Justice and the provision of ever increasing levels of customer service.”

In such a context the ability of the Courts Service to provide a reliable, secure and responsive IT infrastructure and support service is of paramount importance and this is the primary focus of the new contract. Additionally the Managed Service allows the Courts Service to concentrate on its core activities and benefit from specialist technical skills within Fujitsu.

Commenting on the award of the contract to Fujitsu, Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu said; “The Irish Courts Service was one of the first public sector organisations in Ireland to move to ICT Managed Services. Over the past four years, our team from Fujitsu has worked to deliver a successful, reliable and innovative ICT Managed Service to support the business of the Irish Courts Service. For the team here, the award of this contract following an open procurement process is an excellent endorsement of their work and approach. We’re delighted to continue as part of the Courts Service’s ICT team.”

“In responding to our Invitation to Tender document, Fujitsu met and in some cases exceeded all the requirements specified by the Courts Service," said John Coyle, Director of ICT at the Courts Service. “For us, it was important to award the contract to a supplier that is proactive, innovative and flexible and has the enthusiasm for continuous service improvement and customer service. These characteristics were reflected in the bid from Fujitsu and from our experience of working with them over the past number of years, we are confident that they will deliver.”