Welsh Government
Printable version

Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on information technology

Our support continues throughout the current disruption to the Information Technology (IT) industry caused by COVID-19. At present, the impact on the IT sector is less severe than experienced by other sectors. Whilst consumers need to be mindful of product lead-times and the ability for suppliers to provide on-site services, goods and services are still available.

Customers need to be mindful of the following:

  • Where possible plan in advance. This is particularly true of made to order infrastructure hardware where lead-times are typically longer
  • The majority of IT equipment originates from Asia, including components used to build equipment in Europe. Factories are however re-opening and beginning to ship
  • There are shortages of hardware used for home working, such as laptops, tablets, monitors and other peripherals. This equipment will become available, but at slightly longer lead-times
  • Suppliers are prioritising the NHS and other critical services. If your requirement is critical and relating to COVID-19, please inform the supplier so that they can reprioritise accordingly
  • On-site services are restricted due to social distancing rules, although suppliers are still offering remote services;
  • Please refer to Procurement Policy Note 1 on awarding directly under Section 32 of the Public Contract Regulations. Customers can use this procedure when using a framework, including the NPS IT agreements, as well as a range of other national and sector IT and digital frameworks.

For further advice, or to discuss any issues with NPS IT framework suppliers please e-mail NPSICTCategoryTeam@gov.wales.

 

Channel website: http://gov.wales

Original article link: https://gov.wales/impact-of-coronavirus-covid-19-on-information-technology

Share this article

Latest News from
Welsh Government

Facing the Future...find out more