Business process outsourcing (BPO) provider Arvato has collaborated with cloud services company Mobilise to deliver cloud migration to the Department for Transport (DfT), in the first project of a new long-term partnership.
The project will be delivered following the recent extension of Arvato’s transformation contract with the DfT, and will see the department’s two existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems transferred to a cloud-hosted technology platform. The existing data centre operations will transition from traditional physical infrastructure to the public cloud, underpinned by Amazon Web Services.
As well as helping fulfil the government’s ‘Cloud First’ policy, the new infrastructure will deliver significant cost savings to the DfT, reducing ongoing rack management costs by 45 per cent. In addition, the migration has eliminated the need for a ‘technical refresh’ of existing physical infrastructure, creating a multi-million-pound saving over four years.
The long-term partnership will play a central part in the evolution of Arvato’s ERP and business process outsourcing (BPO) offering, enabling it to support clients with digital transformation initiatives and deliver cost savings through technology. It will see Arvato provide enhanced cloud migration and infrastructure transformation services across the public sector, drawing on the expertise of the Mobilise team in transforming legacy estates.
The service will help both new and existing clients to reduce their management estate footprint and simplify their data centre infrastructure through a new, scalable cloud-based system. Once constructed, the solution can be rolled out or upgraded in minutes, vastly reducing downtime.
All outsourced BPO and transition processes are accredited to the same security standards as all central and local UK government departments, and the partnership will predominantly deliver large end-to-end ERP solutions including SAP and Unit4 Business World.
David Morton, Sales and Solutions Director, Arvato CRM Solutions, said: “The UK government is increasingly championing the shift to a digital economy, meaning councils and departments are being challenged to streamline their operations and create efficiencies through technology.
“Our partnership with Mobilise will also be crucial in assisting public sector organisations with this transition. We will continue to support the delivery of key back office services, such as HR, payroll, finance and procurement processes, but underpinned by a more agile, flexible platform.
“Offering this service will be key to helping clients drive efficiencies, being able to be scaled up or down instantly, and eliminating underlying costs for underused physical infrastructure.
“We look forward to developing our relationship with the Mobilise team and helping more clients to achieve their digital transformation goals.”
Justin Lewis, Director at Mobilise, said: “The combination of our skills in cloud migration with Arvato’s own expertise in ERP solutions will help deliver our shared ambition of boosting efficiency and productivity for clients.
“Arvato is committed to pushing the boundaries of its back-office service provision through continued technological innovation, evolving its product offering in line with its deep understanding of the strategic challenges faced by the public sector. We’re excited to collaborate with them to deliver high-performing cloud facilities.”
Arvato announced a multi-agency contract extension with the DfT and its executive agencies in May. Over the next three years, it will support the department in developing and transforming back office cloud solutions from its Swansea site in line with the Government’s Future of Shared Service (FOSS) strategy.
The contract award follows Arvato becoming only the second organisation in the UK to receive a global accreditation from SAP for delivering best practice ICT services. The software vendor provides the certification to give organisations the seal of approval for implementing its ERP platform, which provides clients with assurance on high performance levels and secure service delivery.
Arvato’s Sandringham Park centre in Swansea, which employs more than 200 people, provides HR, payroll, finance and procurement services for 19,000 civil servants across the UK. Over the last six years, it has handled 749,000 customer enquiries from DfT employees, provided 1.3 million payslips and achieved a customer satisfaction rating of 98% per cent.
