Sx3 secure multi-million pound IT contract

Northern Ireland's education sector received a major boost today with the announcement that a £58.2 million Managed Services contract has been awarded to IT services company, Sx3.

The five-year contract, which was awarded by Northern Ireland's Western Education & Library Board, will deliver the latest education technology to the 237 post primary and 48 special needs schools in the province.

As the prime contractor Sx3 will be the sole source of contact for the schools and will have overall responsibility for the delivery, management and servicing of 23,000 PCs, along with specialised educational software, servers, switches and LAN infrastructures.

This contract is the largest of its type to be awarded in Northern Ireland's public sector, and for Sx3 adds to its involvement in the initial two phases of C2K, which focused on primary schools. With the addition of this third phase, Sx3 will now provide a Managed Service to every school in the province.

Sx3 Ireland managing director Noel Brady said: "This contract is just reward for the major commitment Sx3 has made to the education sector here since our inception in 1998 and provides an important boost for our NI workforce.

"We have been heavily involved in the C2K project from the outset, and being awarded the third phase is a landmark achievement for the company."

NIO Education Minister Jane Kennedy also welcomed the announcement saying it would help develop pupils’ ICT and Internet competence and improve standards generally by using ICT for learning in all subjects.

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