BBC to implement Newsroom Computer System worth up to £104m

The BBC is planning to implement a new Newsroom Computer System, which will be delivered under a contract that could reach up to £104 million.

The software will support over 11,000 users in the BBC’s main news functions, including production, operational messaging, search, wires, social media feeds, and contacts storage and management.

According to a contract notice, the BBC intends to play a significant role in the provision of integration and transition services itself, due to the “unique and complex nature of the BBC’s technical environment”.

The notices states: “For this reason, once the implementation is complete and the transition substantially underway, it is not anticipated that further significant integration or transition services will be required from the successful economic operator or consortia of economic operators.”

As a result, the BBC’s preference is not to receive bids from suppliers that are offering a managed service. However, suppliers may do so as long as they also put forward a compliant bid that meets the requirements of the BBC’s desire to manage the system itself afterwards.

If the BBC goes ahead and opts for a supplier that simply implements the system and then walks away, the deal is expected to be worth up to £44 million. However, managed service bids are expected to reach up to £104 million.

The BBC’s technology capabilities recently came under fire after its chief technology officer (CTO), John Linwood, was suspended over a failed £98 million digital project.

BBC chief Tony Hall said that the organisation had “wasted a huge amount of licence fee payers’ money”.