Version 1 Awarded Key Application Support Contract by Acas

One of the fastest growing IT services companies in Western Europe, Version 1 has been awarded a two-year contract by Acas (The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) to support a range of the public body’s key applications and their wider programme of Digital Transformation.

Acas is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom, within the wider remit of Central Government department BEIS (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy). Acas’ purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice. Headquartered in London, with a 900+ strong workforce spread over a number of regional offices, Acas provides free and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives on:

• Employment rights
• Best practice and policies
• Resolving workplace conflict

In the Autumn of 2019, Acas sent out a tender to replace a long-standing Application Support Contract to eligible suppliers via G-Cloud 11.

This contract covers 18 legacy applications that were recently migrated to Azure, and largely written in .NET. Major applications such as the Acas Online Booking System and the Events Advisory Recording System are included in the 18 applications outlined in this partnership.

The new support service will conform to UK Government and Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The procurement was completed including three shortlisted providers, with Version 1 ultimately being named as the successful party, largely due to a high standard performance in the technical evaluations and a cost-effective proposal.

Conor McColgan, Head of UK Public Sector at Version 1, said: 

We are delighted that Version 1 has been awarded this contract to partner Acas in the provision of an excellent and reliable service to UK employers and employees. This achievement reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in Digital Government excellence and growth across the UK public sector.  We look forward to working closely with Acas to bring our IT skills and experience to the organisation throughout the duration of the project.”

Steve Rush, Head of Strategic Supplier Management, Acas, commented: 

It is crucial for Acas, and our customers, that we provide dependable, consistent, and high-calibre services to the millions of employers and employees we work with every year in improving workplace relationships. The applications that Version 1 will now be supporting are critical to Acas as they absolutely underpin those services. Therefore, this new relationship is very important to us.

As a government body, equally important is ensuring value for money for the taxpayer. Our focus is on providing the right service in a cost-effective manner and we believe this partnership will help us to achieve that. In an ever-changing world of work, ensuring Acas’ Digital Services continually improve and evolve to meet the needs of all of our service users, whilst keeping pace with the rapid developments in IT, is a constant challenge. That is why we are very pleased to be forming this strategic partnership with Version 1 and look forward to collaborating with them as we continue to provide our high-quality services long into the future.”

Steve Rush, Head of Strategic Supplier Management, Acas (left) pictured meeting Tom O’Connor, CEO of Version 1 (right) at a recent visit to the Version 1 offices

About Version 1

As the chosen Digital Services partner of central governmental departments, local government authorities, leading energy companies and major retailers – the impact of Version 1 digital solutions is evident at scale across multiple industries. We are leading the charge in empowering our public and private sector customers to become recognised as digital leaders within their individual verticals. Learn more here.