DXC wins Metropolitan Police outsourcing deal that could climb to £1B

The deal

DXC Technology has been awarded a contract to develop and run a new suite of business process outsourcing services for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and related bodies. The scope covers ERP, resource management, and BPO under the Met Business Services (MBS) banner — including support for the existing Oracle E-Business Suite and systems-integration work to migrate to Oracle Fusion SaaS on a new architecture. It has been reported that the new award notice prices the deal at up to £1 billion.

Scope and timeline

The contract covers HR, finance and commercial operations, with technology enablement, process optimisation and service delivery wrapped in. The estimated term is up to ten years: two years for design, build and transition; five years to run the service; two years of possible extensions; and up to one year of termination assistance. The Met sought a “Master Vendor” to bear full subcontractor risk, though it may require direct enforcement rights in some subcontracts.

Backstory and why this matters

This replaces an incumbent arrangement with Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL), originally set up in 2015 and repeatedly extended and increased in value; the Met has already pumped hundreds of millions into ERP support as systems aged and interfaces multiplied — 55 separate integrations were cited as one reason to move to SaaS. With a roughly £3.8 billion budget last year and some 46,000 officers and staff to serve, this is not pocket change. For taxpayers and officers alike, a change of this scale is emotionally loaded: lots of promise, and a fair bit to lose if it goes wrong.

What next?

Officially the Met said it would cap an initial award at about £370 million based on pre-market projections and expected automation gains — but the window to £1 billion is open to let other authorities join in. Who those partners will be, and whether the move delivers efficiency rather than more complexity, remains to be seen. It has been reported that The Register has asked the Met which organisations might access the service; no detailed answer was provided at the time. Fingers will be pointed if costs creep or transitions stumble — and that’s putting it mildly.

Sources: The Register