Altrons Bytes UK signs five-year £150m deal with NHS

Bytes UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of South African JSE-listed technology group Altron, has signed a five-year contract with the UKs National Health Service (NHS) to roll out Windows 10, Microsofts latest operating system, to all NHS computers.

The contract, worth £150 million (R2.5 billion) or £30 million (R510 million) per year, saw Bytes UK take the tender in a competitive bid that included ten other companies.  Our international operations are key to our growth strategy of increasing our offshore revenue streams, said Mteto Nyati, Altron Chief Executive. As the largest Microsoft partner in the UK, Bytes UK is playing a key role in this strategy. We are extremely proud of the team.

Bytes UK Managing Director, Neil Murphy, said, This is an extraordinary win for Bytes UK and an opportunity for us to further cement our relationship with the NHS. Our role is to ensure that these Microsoft Windows 10 licenses are seamlessly deployed and to support the NHS in its goal of revitalising its technology infrastructure.

The Bytes UK team has already begun expansion to ensure smooth delivery and development of the NHS contract. In addition to rolling out the licences, the agreement includes the maintenance of a comprehensive inventory and the development of a portal designed to record the licensing process. The installation of the Windows 10 solution forms part of the NHS investment into a more secure infrastructure in the challenging cybersecurity landscape. Recent cyberthreats, including the WannaCry ransomware, have impacted on the NHS significantly and this commitment puts them in a far stronger position. The implementation will take place alongside numerous other solutions and technologies that have been selected to ensure that the NHS has comprehensive security and system longevity.