IBM, Oracle and PwC win ?325m NHS contract

The NHS has awarded a contract worth ?325m to a consortium of technology and consultancy companies including IBM and Oracle.
The deal is for the implementation of an integrated HR and payroll system to be implemented throughout the NHS in England and Wales to help with staff management, recruitment and absenteeism.
It forms part of the Shared Services Initiative, which kicked off in 1999 with the aim of improving NHS resources.
The consortium that scooped the deal comprises IBM, NHS IT supplier McKesson, Oracle and PwC. It is estimated the new system will save the NHS ?400m over the 10-year period of the deal.
After a seven-month test phase there will be a pilot phase lasting six months during which time the system will be implemented throughout 16 NHS trusts before rollout begins. The consortium's system will replace 29 payroll and 38 HR systems.
Oracle's web-enabled HR and pay applications will be combined with IBM's eserver p690 and M80 servers running at McKesson's data centres.