The quest for the deal promises to be a real bun-fight, as some of the IT industry's heavy hitters face off to win BBC Technology. The shortlist of bidders, released by the BBC, includes Accenture, Capita Group plc, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) (NYSE: CSC), Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS), Fujitsu Ltd. (OTC: FJTSY; Tokyo: 6702), HP, IBM, and LogicaCMG (London/Amsterdam: LOG). This list will be whittled down to three next month, and the winning bidder will be announced in September.
Given the scale of the BBC's computing needs, HP and IBM could look to exploit their strengths in on-demand computing in the battle to win the deal. However, they will be coming up against stiff competition from EDS, which will be keen to boost its public-sector market share after losing its $5.4 billion, ten-year contract with the U.K.'s Inland Revenue late last year.
The BBC expects the efficiencies offered by the new contract to help deliver some major financial benefits to the tune of nearly $55 million a year. Varney says, "We're predicting cost savings of $36 million to $54 million a year."
But whoever wins will need to convince the BBC that they won't shy away from new services. "The BBC will need an IT infrastructure to deliver content to a range of platforms, including mobile and broadband as well as TV and radio," adds Varney.
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