States of Guernsey to axe IT provider

The States of Guernsey is set to axe its contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July - half way through its 10-year tenure.

It follows a critical report of Agilisys' digital services across a range of government departments, published earlier this year.

The move will see IT provided by multiple providers which the States said would improve accountability and the reliability of services for islanders.

Agilisys said it did not want to add comment at this time.

The Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) said the decision to terminate the current contract was unanimous and in the "best interests of the States, and the wider community which relies on the many IT systems we have for the effective delivery of public services".

Boley Smillie, chief executive and head of the public service, said the move would ensure better value for money for taxpayers.

Mr Smillie said switching to a "multi-vendor model" would deliver better specialist services.

He said: "We must keep pace with digital solutions that the community not only expects but deserves, solutions that make our services more efficient, and responsive to the needs of the Bailiwick."

Agilisys signed a £200m contract for the delivery of the majority of States IT services in 2019 but faced major IT outages and concerns over the number of staff with technical expertise to deliver service.

Gé Drossaert, The States' chief digital and information officer, said: "This new model will increase supplier accountability to deliver, unlike the current model where we have been reliant on one provider only, as we will have relationships with a range of providers."

The States said it was currently in discussions behind the scenes with a range of providers to take on the work and this would be announced at a later date.

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