States of Guernsey signs IT deal worth millions

The States of Guernsey has agreed a two year contract with the company JT to host its IT infrastructure.

The agreement with JT is part of the government's new multi-vendor model, meaning services and projects will be delivered by a range of providers rather than one.

The initial contract has an option to extend for a further two years, which is worth about £4.8m per year.

It comes after the States is set to axe its contract with IT infrastructure company Agilisys by the end of July half way through its 10-year tenure, which the company said was "unjustified".

Cheryl Bennett, managing partner of Agilisys Guernsey, said: "It does not reflect the quality of our work, the integrity of our team, or the reality of the services we have delivered," she said.

"We firmly reject the basis on which our contract was terminated and the assertions made about our performance."

The new company taking over will be responsible for devices like servers, routers, and switches which are needed for technology to work.

"This agreement with JT represents a good blend of continuity, as it already provides services as a subcontractor," said Ge Drossaert, the States' chief digital and information officer.

"One of the many benefits we believe a multi-vendor model brings is service provider ability to deliver the agreed provision.

"We're confident in how the future is looking for our IT services."

The termination of the States' contract with IT provider Agilisys is set to take effect by midnight on 31 July.

Ms Bennett said Agilisys was "taking steps to ensure that the relevant facts are fully established and clearly understood".

She added she was disappointed by "recent criticism directed at Agilisys" which she said was "unjustified".

She said that "above all, we are proud of our people", whose "work has made a meaningful difference and deserves to be recognised, not undermined".

An Agilisys spokesperson said they had also "addressed several inaccuracies that have featured prominently in the public domain".

They said independent reviews, including those by ancy firm PwC and the scrutiny management committee, concluded that the root causes of IT outages in 2022 and 2023 were infrastructure-related, which were the responsibility of the States of Guernsey themselves.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].