Cabinet Office buys asset register system

The Cabinet Office is on the verge of completing the procurement of a new IT asset register system. A spokesman told GGC that the contract is due to be signed within days, and has been awarded to an SME. Although he did not name the company it has been reported as being CDS, which provides the ePIMS property information system. The three year contract has a value of £100,000, with no more than £40,000 available for the first year. This is below the value for which a tender through the Official Journal of the European Union is required, which led the Cabinet Office to use the Contracts Finder website . Its first iteration for central government is due to be available in September, and a second release will be available for all of government in early 2012. The award has stirred up some criticism on the grounds that it has been awarded to a proprietary software firm when the asset register will be used to support the government's policy of encouraging more open source suppliers. In response, the Cabinet Office spokesman said: "Government policy is to procure open source solutions where appropriate and to ensure there is a level playing field for open source. Open source solutions can compete for all relevant contracts; however, the Cabinet Office still must make the best decision for the taxpayer. "The winning bid was assessed as providing value for money. It was comprehensive and scored highest when compared with the other bids on the basis of its ability to fulfil the functional requirements. "Unsuccessful bidders will be given full and frank feedback on their bids." This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates of news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here .