TCS bags 5-yr contract from UK govt

Company will manage technology needs and support of the newly-formed Disclosure and Barring Service of UK Home Office

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services company, on Wednesday said that it has bagged a multi-year contract from UK government’s Home Office Department to manage the technology requirements of its newly-formed Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

The company did not divulge the value of the contract. However, sources in the know said the contract which has an initial tenure of 5-year is worth about £145 million (about $232 million or Rs 1,285 crore). This may well make it as one of the largest deals the company has bagged in the European region in the recent years.

Media reports had earlier said that UK based back-office services provider Capita which was in the fray for this contract, but had eventually lost out in the bidding process.

As a part of the contract, TCS would enable transformation of DBS by introducing applications and online services which will help in enhancing user experience. TCS will also build new integrated case management system to support seamless integration and information gathering between disclosure and barring services.

"Our proposed IT solution supports the UK government's ‘Digital by Default’ initiative and fully meets the business objectives of DBS to modernise and transform its business," Shankar Narayanan, country head, UK & Ireland, TCS, said in a statement.

TCS which derives over 26% of its revenues from Europe, has been fairly successful in the region in terms of winning large contracts.

In November last year, the company had bagged a $2.2 billion (abut Rs 11,037 crore) outsourcing contract from UK-based pension provider Friends Life. That was said to be the second biggest contract for the company after the $2.8 billion (Rs 12,542 crore) order it had bagged from the Citigroup in 2008.

In 2010, the company had bagged a 10-year IT outsourcing contract worth around £600-million (about Rs 4,150 crore) from UK's Personal Accounts Delivery Authority to administer the National Employee Savings Trust scheme.

Some of TCS’ other government clients in the UK include Cardiff City Council, Child Maintenance Group (CMG is a division of DWP) and The Big Lottery Fund.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, TCS had reported 5.7% sequential growth in the UK which contributed 17.1% of the company’s total revenues.