Universities negotiate £150m PC deal

Combined purchasing power means better deal for students

A group of UK universities have combined their purchasing power to seal an inter-regional, four-year framework agreement for buying PCs worth up to £150m.

PC companies Compusys, Dell, NEC, Research Machines, Stone Computers and Viglen have all been given preferred supplier status under the terms of the deal.

The new deal replaces the first bulk PC purchasing agreement for universities that ran from 2001 and included Dell, HP, Research Machines, Tiny and Viglen.

The London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) negotiated the new deal on behalf of higher and further education establishments, universities, and research councils in London, the south of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Education institutions covered by the agreement will be able to place orders directly with any of the above six PC suppliers or invite them to tender for business.

The deal also allows staff and students to use the framework agreement to get discounts on PCs for private purchases.

NEC bid manager Hamilton May said in a statement: "This agreement with LUPC recognises our potential contribution to IT in the education sector in the UK."

The universities already have a separate purchasing agreement with Apple.