• Bechtle awarded framework contract for IT project management and consulting
• Contract to run until early 2022 at least

Following a successful bid, the central IT provider for the state of Lower Saxony, IT.Niedersachsen, has commissioned Bechtle AG with the fulfilment of a new framework service contract. The agreement covers IT project management and strategic consulting on IT processes and is set to run for two years with the option to renew it twice, each time for a further year. Another goal of the partnership is to drive the digitalisation of Lower Saxony’s state administration.

As the central IT service provider for the state, IT.Niedersachsen ensures unified IT processes across its agencies. Over 950 employees manage IT facilities for more than 100,000 users in addition to more than 28,500 desktops. The aim is to create synergies in the procurement of hardware and IT services.The concluded agreement includes an option to source IT services until at least early 2022. “We’re happy to be continuing the very successful relationship of the past four years with the state of Lower Saxony and IT.Niedersachsen as its agent. We are at the heart of the digital revolution that is currently happening in public administration, drawing on the support from numerous experts and specialists across the Bechtle Group,” says Holger Meyer, Managing Director of Bechtle Hannover.

What citizens expect and laws demand

Having submitted the winning bid for the state’s RFP “IT management and consulting”, in the coming years, Bechtle Hannover will coordinate IT consulting, architecture, system development, project management, administration, and other related services. As the principal contractor, Bechtle will also assist with economic feasibility evaluations, success monitoring, operative planning and project management.The tender was issued in response to citizens’ and companies’ expectations of a modern state administration. Lower Saxony’s digitalisation master plans outline many goals, programmes, and projects that have significantly expanded the range of tasks at IT.Niedersachsen in recent times. In late 2019, the state passed a new law (NDIG) to put the ongoing digitalisation and IT security in its administrative bodies on a legally sound basis, and by 2022, it will also have to implement the federal Online Access Act (OZG). In order to realise these goals quickly, flexibly, and economically, Bechtle will act as a liaison between IT.Niedersachsen and other external IT service providers.

Partnership to digitalise public administration

The primary goal of the partnership is to conflate internal expertise and external knowledge to add value and put the state’s administrative organisation on track to the future. “The extension of the successful framework service contract by a further two years shows that the need for expert knowledge in the various projects of Lower Saxony’s state administration continues to be high. Digital services for citizens and companies, modern education, and measures to empower smart cities—these are all things that can only be realised through efficient services and effective service delivery,” says Holger Meyer.

Bechtle has a fast-growing public sector division. Some 70 specialists at the group’s headquarters support over 2,000 people working on public-sector projects across all locations. In the past fiscal year, Bechtle achieved revenues of more than 1.8 billion euros from public sector customers, some 34 per cent of the Bechtle Group’s overall revenues.