NHS Connecting for Health announces deal with Nove

张琨

NHS Connecting for Health announces deal with Novell
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<br>NHS Connecting for Health has negotiated a &pound;21.8m agreement with infrastructure and software services supplier Novell which will save the NHS up to &pound;75 million over three years, compared to previous arrangements.
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<br>This arrangement is a further example of how NHS Connecting for Health is gaining benefits for the tax payer through maximising the purchasing power of the NHS. This enterprise wide agreement gives the NHS best value for money and reduces the burden on NHS organisations, who would otherwise have to negotiate terms for their individual organisations.
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<br>Richard Granger, Director General of NHS IT said:
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<br>"NHS Connecting for Health is leading the way in ensuring the NHS is getting the best possible deal for its IT systems and services across the board. We have punched the bottom out of pricing arrangements that have previously been suffered by the NHS and the wider public sector. Local NHS organisations will be able to make local money go further for patient benefit as a result of them directly benefiting from the savings this deal delivers."
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<br>This agreement is one of twelve that have been made by NHS Connecting for Health for the NHS, which enable savings of up to &pound;550 million to be made cumulatively by local NHS organisations and NHS Connecting for Health.
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<br>Richard Granger added:
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<br>"This deal with Novell also reduces the barriers for the NHS in using Open Source, as it secures access to an enterprise class Open Source platform along with, more importantly, affordable support, maintenance and training to help our NHS staff make the transition."
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<br>The agreement with Novell will allow all NHS organisations and suppliers to maximise the value of their solutions, for products that are available either today or in the future. It will also support the current installed Novell user base at the desktop and give NHS IT departments and their suppliers the opportunity to evaluate and use Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), which can reduce the total cost of ownership of running both clinical and non-clinical applications by and for the NHS.
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<br>"This deal, which enhances Novell's strategic partnership with NHS Connecting for Health, will give the NHS a platform with unparalleled reliability and performance” said Jack Messman, Chief Executive Officer of Novell. “The agreement will allow the NHS to reduce management costs while increasing security for the sensitive data in their systems, as well as leverage open source for yet further savings and flexibility. All this adds up to a more efficient NHS and a better deal for the tax payer."
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<br>Novell’s desktop software distribution products have been licensed enterprise wide in this deal, enabling the move to a pervasive managed desktop environment with a lower total cost of ownership throughout the NHS. Novell will create ‘appliance-like’ solutions using their ZenWorks technology that can be deployed across an NHS organisation in as little as two days.
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<br>Novell consultants will work with NHS Connecting for Health to provide training for trusts to increase the skills and capabilities to support Novell solutions and products.
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