MUMBAI: The BBC has announced that, Siemens Business Services has been selected as the Single Preferred Bidder for a new Technology Framework Contract (TFC) for the Corporation. It will also own BBC Technology.
 

The contract is for 10 years and is worth up to ?2bn. The announcement followed a rigorous European Union (EU) procurement process and approval by the BBC's Executive Board. The sale needs the approval of the BBC Governors, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport. It will also have to get clearance by the European Commission (EC) under the terms of the EC Merger Regulation.

The BBC further stated that it chose Siemens as it had demonstrated its ability and commitment to invest in technology services and innovation to meet the BBC's future technology requirements, with significant projected annual cost savings. The deal is expected to be completed later this year once final contract negotiations are over.

Last year in November the BBC made the sell off decision after conducting a strategic review of its technology requirements for the next decade.

The review had identified potential annual savings for the BBC of between ?20-?30 million if its technology services were outsourced. 1,400 people will be transferred to Siemens. 
BBC Technology was created three years ago to deliver significant savings to the BBC through its contract for technology services, including desktop support, and to generate third party revenues. BBC Technology has a turnover of ?230m.