The Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to centralise software licence and IT service procurement in a bid to cut costs by consolidating its supplier base, and reinforcing corporate oversight of IT spending.

The plan calls for the Information Systems and Services group, which is part of the MoD’s Defence Equipment and Support Organisation, to introduce “software enteprise” agreements that suppliers will be expected to tender for at discounted rates.

According to Kable, a public sector IT consulting group, MoD ICT spending is expected to break through the £2 billion barrier in 2008/09.

Further reading

Flexible Terms Agile IT is precipitating a crisis in software licensing as organisations reject the old ways of paying and vendors struggle to embrace new models.