Credit: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay

The Cabinet Office has invested over £300,000 in a software program intended to enable the department get a better handle on its technology estate – including helping to understand risks, investment priorities, and tools that can be retired.

Newly published procurement information reveals that, on 8 February, the Cabinet Office entered into a two-year deal with Ardoq, a tech firm specialised in enterprise architecture software.

The contract-award notice states that the department requires a platform for collecting data on its use of digital services and IT. The system – which will provide officials with an interface through which they can provide and data on services under their watch – will be used “by business, technologist and other functions – [such as] commercial and HR – to draw views from holistic, unified enterprise data sets”.

The ultimate aim is to “enhance technical oversight in the Cabinet Office and [use] data to inform technical decisions and strategies”. 

According to the text of the contract, the department requires a software platform that includes “application portfolio management” functionality designed to provide information on all applications in use across the Cabinet Office, and by which teams they are owned and operated. 

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The department also hopes that data collected via the platform can “provide insight into where to increase investment – and which applications can  be phased out… and measure which capabilities are candidates for optimisation”.

According to the contract, the Ardoq product should also offer “capability management” through which the Cabinet Office intends to “model how people, process and applications are connected… [and create] reports and heatmaps to identify critical areas of risk and  investment”. 

The technology is also expected to offer “monitoring of projects throughout the lifecycle and [information on the] connected business function for any business change impact”.

The document adds that the department requires a customisable platform offering the ability for users to set and fields of data to be gathered, and providing access to various forms of dashboards and reports. The tool is to be offered on a software-as-a-service basis, including support with implementation. Ardoq will also provide a named customer success manager, on-boarding specialist, enterprise architecture consultant.

In its contractual terms, the Cabinet Office says: “We require all the data, including backups, to reside in the UK or a trusted  European nation only. The supplier shall specify, and agree with the buyer where the data is stored.”

The deal runs until 7 February 2025 and will be worth £321,000 to the supplier during that time. The engagement can be extended for a further year beyond that.