The European Commission Directorate-General for Informatics (EC DIGIT) has selected a consortium of Accenture (NYSE:ACN), Comparex and Microsoft to provide public cloud services to institutions in the European Union (E.U.), enabling access to new cloud and digital capabilities for public services. The contract is for two years with the option for two one-year extensions.

Accenture and Comparex will lead the consortium, with Microsoft as subcontractor. The consortium will provide the public cloud services under two lots – one for infrastructure as a service (IaaS) capabilities, and a second for platforms as a service (PaaS) capabilities – using the Accenture Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure technologies.

The contract follows an inter-institutional call for tenders (DIGIT/R2/PO/2014/043) by EC DIGIT, which resulted in the awarding of multiple framework contracts to several companies and consortia through open-market competition. For the execution of the IaaS public cloud contract, EC DIGIT will reopen a competition among five selected contractors, and for execution of the PaaS public cloud contract, EC DIGIT will reopen a competition among four selected contractors.

The consortium was selected after a competitive tendering process, overseen by EC DIGIT, which required vendors to meet a stringent list of security and technical requirements. The Accenture Cloud Platform running Microsoft Azure technology met all E.U. requirements for a secure hyper-scale public cloud capability.

“This collaboration between Accenture, Comparex and Microsoft will enable European institutions to procure cloud services in a fast, convenient and flexible way,” said Dany Delepierre, managing director of Accenture’s Health & Public Service practice in Belgium and Luxembourg. “The Accenture Cloud Platform will deliver enhanced flexibility and governance while facilitating the secure development of new applications and the transfer of existing applications into the cloud.”

Accenture already delivers IT services to several EU Institutions, including eu-LISA and the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate General.

Learn more about Accenture’s Cloud Services business and Delivering Public Service for the Future.

Disclaimer
The opinions expressed are those of the Contractor only and do not represent the European Commission's official position

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com

About Comparex
COMPAREX is a global IT provider specializing in license management, sourcing, technical product consulting and cloud-based professional services. With a track record spanning thirty years, COMPAREX serves the public-sector, SMB and large international corporations. Its portfolio includes software licenses and Software Asset Management Solutions from more than 3,000 vendors as well as consultancy and professional services. The COMPAREX Group employs more than 2,350 people across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In fiscal year 2014/15 the COMPAREX Group generated revenue of €1.770 billion / $2,236 billion.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news