back to article Becta agrees £400m ICT framework

More than 20 suppliers have been included in a services framework agreement set up by the soon to be abolished education ICT agency. Becta has divided the framework into two lots. The first covers network technologies, which will incorporate infrastructure services and mobile connectivity services, and the second covers ICT …

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  1. Tron Silver badge

    Erm...

    One of the most basic ways to cut costs is to centralise purchasing. Bulk discounts for buyers and fewer overheads for those touting for business.

    So they axed Becta and fragmented the market 'to save money'.

    You have to be a politician for that to make sense.

    1. Ian Stephenson
      FAIL

      That only works...

      where you dont add a huge expensive layer of bureacracy (sp?) that makes no effort to cut the costs and ties the purchasers into buying overpriced name brand kit.

      There used to be a reason to buy RM - back in the days of the 380z but the nimbus was just an overpriced generic pc.

      Just how the hell did Crapita make it on to that list?

  2. Danny 14
    Stop

    except

    It has never worked! I caould still find cheaper alternatives from the likes of europc etc. It was still jobs for the boys and contracts that probably were worth the money but not what you wanted. The hardest part was convincing the head but he trusted me so that was ok.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    I see a couple of names on that list

    Who are usually the most expensive.

    Anon because I personally know them and the way they deal.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As an ex School Techie Type....

    I can't believe that people are still willing to throw money at Capita. The fact that they can't make SIMS work properly even though they wrote the thing themselves is enough to make me want to do unmentionable things to them.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Oh FFS

    By definition, it's failed, it involves Capita.

    Recently, my local school went and re-equipped. The people from BECTA told them "it was a bad thing" to ignore their recommendations and do it themselves, but we're still waiting for them to explain how "one half the cost for systems that a) work, b) have all the software we need and c) can be supported by an external geek for at a tenth the cost" is "a bad thing".

    The sooner BECTA is canned, the better.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

      Will be interesting to see how they deal with the warranty when stuff starts going wrong.

      Working for one of the above companies I can tell you how strict BECTA are on specs and prices.

      If they specify a laptop to say have 3 hours battery life, this isn't the battery life in sleep mode, it is the battery life running a specific benchmark etc.

      1. Danny 14
        Thumb Up

        easy

        Warranty? I phone dell tech or rather simply get the dell error code, take a photo on my phone, email it to my dell representative for the school and an engineer is arranged. The tech is here the next day. Need a hdd? its mailed then onto PXE to grab the image from the unified line from our clonezilla server. Ive never had an issue with the latitude laptops either - at least they have proper pre domain network connection wireless drivers unlike the stupid RM ones that are forced on you (a little sleuthing on the chipset will get you generic ones that WILL work)

        Easy. All grabbed from a dell reseller for a fraction of the cost of a becta contract. Software? Phoenix does that for me, nice cheap school agreement licences.

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