HP strikes £547m deal to overhaul MoD systems

HP will install 42,000 new terminals at MoD sites

HP has announced a £547m deal to upgrade communications systems for the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The company, along with other members of its Atlas Consortium, will provide updates to systems supporting some 300,000 users.

The upgrade will be conducted as part of the Defence Information Infrastructure project, and will focus on communication and collaboration platforms.

HP estimated that the deal will include the installation of 42,000 new terminals at MoD sites, mainly within RAF and Joint Helicopter Command operations.

The MoD anticipates that the new project will allow for greater cost and operational efficiency.

"It is critical to national defence that the MoD and its allies have highly secure and real-time global access to the information they need," said Huw Owen, vice president for UK defence and security enterprise services at HP.

"This latest contract enhancement sends the market a strong message about the trust that the MoD places in Atlas to deliver this critical capability, which is fundamental to realising the MoD's strategic requirement for a single, integrated information infrastructure."

The deal is part of a larger 10-year IT overhaul agreed between Atlas and the MoD in 2005.