Education Today Education Today Magazine
Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) technology team helps to manage over £10 billion of spend each year on behalf of public sector customers and in the last 18 months have increased commercial benefits for technology customers from £431 million to £1.2 billion.
In this article, Dr Philip Orumwense – Commercial Director and Chief Procurement Officer for Technology at CCS – explains how the organisation is leveraging its national buying power on behalf of the education sector, making it easier for schools and colleges to get the best deal on cutting-edge technology.
Why buy through CCS?
The UK education sector spends more than £10 billion a year on everyday goods and services. That’s the equivalent of 400 new secondary schools or 270,000 primary school teachers. At CCS we understand that the education sector is under more pressure than ever to make every penny count. As the largest public procurement organisation in the UK, we’re here to help you save time and money on procurement, allowing you to get on with what matters most – running your school. We’ve developed a range of tailored technology solutions specifically for schools and academies.
How does CCS help the education sector procure technology solutions?
From the basics to more advanced solutions, our agreements will make sure your school or college is using the latest technologies in cloud hosting, broadband, interactive products, and a wide range of different hardware and software. We can help you make smart buying decisions to meet your technology needs through specific agreements, offering a comprehensive, end-to-end solution. For example, for requirements ranging from hardware to audio visual, managed services to broadband infrastructure, our Education Technology agreement can help you find the right solution. Or, alternatively if you require more software-led systems, anything from school administration systems to distance learning, then our G-Cloud 13 agreement is the place to go.
How do you ensure best value for schools and colleges through technology agreements?
We recognise that with budget and resources more squeezed than ever, buying school essentials such as IT hardware and software licences is no easy task. That’s why we offer a complimentary aggregation service, also known as collection buying, to help take some of the pressure off. By combining the similar needs of customers from across the public sector, we can increase our national buying power to achieve savings that would not be possible through individual buying. For example, 2 educational establishments recently joined an IT hardware aggregation. The academy trust saved on average 15% whilst the primary school saved just under 30% in comparison to market prices at that time. Our team of experts will take care of the process for you, and make sure we get you the best possible deal. We run dozens of aggregations every year. You can find out about upcoming aggregations on our website. For more information on taking part in aggregation opportunities, contact our customer services team by completing our online form.
How is CCS helping customers to make responsible decisions about sustainability?
We’re continuing our work on providing sustainable technology solutions. Our agreements offer many carbon friendly products and services, whether you are just starting or already underway with your carbon net zero journey. We have a number of solutions that can help you with decarbonisation across your procurement portfolio.
Find out more To discover more about the work we do at CCS to support schools and academies, please visit our website u crowncommercial.gov.uk/technology Or to speak to a member of our expert team, please call us on: u 0345 410 2222.
