IT consultants team up for public sector bids

Collaborative contracting is no longer only an add-on of the organised and well-connected contractor who can afford to share the fruit of their labour with a potential rival.

In the public sector, contractors and consultants joining a group of other one-person suppliers, ahead of pitching for a contract, is increasingly being pursued as a way to bolster their individual bid prospects.

These collaborative, online hubs of contractors, which boast on-the-spot expertise from a roster of professionals, appear to be growing on the back of the public sector’s cutbacks.

Explaining the trend among its state consultancy contracts, e-marketplace Skillfair said: “Clients are attracted to the flexibility, costs savings on travel and accommodation and general efficiencies offered by this collaborative approach.”

These public sector clients also contractually fit with such smaller suppliers, as central government contracts, particularly those in ICT, have been broken down into component parts.

Taking on a consortium also suits the end-user because if the initial contractor appointed cannot carry out the work, there is a 'bank' of other professionals who can step in, or assist, at short notice.

Such activity among smaller consultancies shows on Skillfair’s database: the number of state contracts worth £150,000 or more fell last year (by 30%), whereas those under that limit but upwards of £5,000 have been rising.

This breaking down of projects into smaller contractual chunks explains why technology market analysts say that even niche IT suppliers might need to promote “best of breed capability in one or more discrete service lines”.

As well as “finding ways to add value,” TechMarketView also believes IT services and software firms should consider “demonstrating the ability to deliver a strong return on investment preferably between 12 and 18 months.”

The firm also told CUK that, when pitching for work, public sector clients like to see proof that their external IT partners can “easily build on existing solutions rather than throwing away previous investment.”