NS&I confirms three-year contract extension with Atos

Contract extension will build on digital capability and continue to deliver value for money for taxpayers.

London, 4 April 2019 – NS&I has today confirmed that it is exercising the option to extend its operational services contract with Atos by an additional three years, following the end of the principal contract period from 2014-2021. The contract extension was signed on 28 March 2019 and means that the relationship between NS&I and Atos will continue until 2024.

Ian Ackerley, NS&I Chief Executive and Adrian Gregory,
Atos Global Senior Executive Vice President and CEO UK&I confirm the contract extension

The contract extension will build on the benefits to NS&I’s customers that have already been delivered by our partnership with Atos. These include a refreshed website, 24/7 contact centre, and the introduction of social media channels and web chat.

The partnership has won several awards for its customer service, including best in the Banking & Financial Sector at the Top 50 companies for customer service awards for the past three years.

NS&I will continue to work with Atos to refine its customer service offer, with improved digital capability and a focus on ensuring the business continues to operate efficiently, using an infrastructure that provides value for money for taxpayers.

The value of the contract extension is estimated to be approximately £305 million for the additional three years, in nominal terms. The contract value from commencement in 2014 to the new extended expiry date of 2024, is approximately £1.1 billion.

The current contract with Atos (2014-2021) will save the taxpayer over £400 million compared to the original contract (1999-2014), which in turn was estimated to have saved over £500 million compared to arrangements before 1999. Over the period of the current contract with Atos from 2014-15 up to 2017-18, total funds invested with NS&I have grown from £106 billion to £157 billion.

Ian Ackerley, NS&I Chief Executive, said:

“The three year extension to the operational services contract means that Atos will continue to deliver customer-facing and back office services to NS&I’s 25 million customers. It will help NS&I to further enhance our customer offer, while at the same time using our insight and expertise to deliver for other parts of government and deliver value for money for taxpayers.”

Adrian Gregory, Atos Global Senior Executive Vice President and CEO UK&I, said:

“In a number of ways, our long-standing collaboration with NS&I is a business transformation exemplar. We are proud to renew this partnership and to continue to build upon the significant successes of the NS&I transformation journey. We will achieve this together by delivering additional enhanced customer-focused services, underpinned by a blend of talent and innovative technology, helping ensure NS&I is well positioned for the future.”

1. NS&I is one of the largest savings organisations in the UK, offering a range of savings and investments to 25 million customers. All products offer 100% capital security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury.

2. The decision to exercise the option to extend the operational services contract with Atos for an additional three years was made by NS&I and was approved by HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office Crown Commercial Service. NS&I worked closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure that this extension of the current contract meets all relevant Cabinet Office guidelines and policy.

3. NS&I first outsourced its operations to Siemens Business Services in 1999 – the company was subsequently acquired by Atos in July 2011. This outsourcing contract is estimated on a ‘like-for-like’ basis, stripping out the impact of growth and inflation, to have reduced NS&I’s core operating costs by 55% – equating to some £530 million in cost savings.

4. Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 120,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over €12 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions through its Digital Transformation Factory, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. In the UK & Ireland around 10,000 employees deliver business technology solutions for some of the country’s largest public and private sector organisations. With its cutting-edge technologies and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across all business sectors. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, Unify and Worldline. Atos is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.