This report showcases the National Health Service's (NHS) spending on cybersecurity and cloud-related projects using contract data from Stotles’ public sector procurement platform. 

For this analysis, we analysed contracts awarded by NHS England (which now includes NHS Digital and NHSX) to companies between 2019 and 2024 using keywords tracked by leading public sector suppliers including IT health, cloud protection, cyber vulnerability, endpoint protection, and data encryption. 

To benefit our audience, we removed frameworks and trusts that won contracts with the NHS during the time, focusing on direct procurement activity between the NHS and cyber and cloud-related companies.

For the most up-to-date information, sign up for the Stotles platform for free and begin building your public sector pipelines today.

Outside of frameworks, £1.7 billion has been spent by NHS England on cybersecurity and cloud-related IT projects since 2019, driven by the government’s roadmap to modernise the UK’s healthcare system. The chart below illustrates this positive trend for yearly public sector spending on technology based on awarded contracts during this timeframe.

However, with the upcoming budget being released at the end of this month, it will be interesting to see whether the new government continue to prioritise technology in healthcare where suppliers can find commercial opportunities.

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Looking at suppliers that are leading the way in contract value with the NHS, software company Palantir Technologies leads the pack. Interestingly, the company has only two contracts with the NHS, however, they are high-value, long-term projects that are core to NHS operations. The table below showcases the top 10 suppliers to the NHS for this category.

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The table below showcases the top 5 contracts from cyber and tech suppliers to the NHS. Unsurprisingly, Palantir leads the way, with several larger global brands trailing behind. These contracts range from the end-to-end implementation of a data platform for the NHS to the creation of a digital testing platform.

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While companies like Palantir go after fewer and larger contracts that are critical to the public sector’s infrastructure and core operations, many companies will target smaller contracts. Softcat PLC, for example, has 16 contracts across the NHS outside of frameworks.

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This section highlights several suppliers working with NHS England based on contract data from Stotles' public sector sales platform. The available in-app insights showcase the volume and value of awards between suppliers and buyer organisations, and upcoming contract expiries. This is particularly useful for companies focused on generating pipeline opportunities with the public sector.

Palantir specialises in software platforms for big data analytics. While Palantir has several contracts with the NHS, they also work closely with other public sector organisations. This includes a cornerstone £75.2m contract with the Ministry of Defence for Palantir’s software tools. Below you can see the spending trends between NHS England and Palantir with a spike in activity in Q2 2021. This increase in activity is connected with four transactions on April 30th 2021 totalling just under £60m. Following this, the transaction activity runs flat with two additional spikes in 2023. The total value of the transactions below comes to just over 117m, between Q2 2022 and Q1 2024.

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As mentioned in the previous section, Palantir has the largest contract for this category with NHS England totalling £182.2m. The project is to create a centralised data platform designed to integrate operational data across NHS organisations. The core objective of this large-scale project is to improve data sharing between NHS entities and support better patient care at both local and national levels. This contract was awarded to Palantir in December 2023 and is set to expire in February 2027.

For more information on upcoming contracts, between the public sector and Palantir, sign up for free on Stotles.

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Leading the pack when it comes to the number of contracts won is Softcat PLC, a UK-based IT services provider and reseller that is much more active within public sector frameworks and contracts of smaller value.

While Softcat PLC usually aims to convert smaller contract values and aim for a higher quantity of projects, they were awarded a tender to be the single supplier for a large Scottish public sector project in 2022.

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Above you can see the activity between NHS England and Softcat, where there is a consistently flat level of transaction activity until Q1 2023 when their contract sizes grew significantly. In 2023, there were 100 transactions between both parties totalling £25m, before receiving a total of £19.5m across 13 transactions in Q1 2024.

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Stotles has been keeping a close eye on the NHS initiatives generating major spending in the last year including a report outlining how NHS Trusts have been ranked based on performance against six national themes and an analysis of the NHS budget’s impact on Integrated Care Systems. A core theme we have noticed is the modernisation of the NHS and a focus on integrating technology into day-to-day operations and for longer-term projects.

To illustrate how suppliers can get involved, the following section provides a snapshot of NHS opportunities available for IT, cybersecurity and cloud solution suppliers in open and pre-tender stages and contracts with upcoming expiries over the next six to twelve months.

NHS England is seeking bids for several contracts that are currently open. Below you can see three examples. For more information on contracts in an open or pre-tender stage related to cybersecurity and cloud-related solutions for the NHS, sign up for a free account and take a look at our open tender opportunities portal.

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This contract is looking for suppliers with solutions for managing supply chain risks, including financial oversight and disruption monitoring. It is aimed at suppliers who provide cloud-based supply chain risk management tools, real-time risk analytics, financial risk assessments, and regulatory compliance monitoring.

For more on this, click here.

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This contract is valued at £700 million and focuses on the procurement of digital solutions for diagnostics across various clinical areas, including radiology, cardiology, laboratory, and endoscopy. Suppliers specialising in healthcare IT systems, diagnostic software, AI for medical imaging, and cloud-based information management systems would be well-suited for this contract.

For more on this, click here.

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The HFEA Transformation Project seeks a delivery partner to help replace its current regulatory license management system with Microsoft Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. The project aims to implement cloud-based solutions that can integrate AI and other future technologies. This contract is valued at £690,000 over an initial 30-month period.

For more on this, click here.

The most successful suppliers to the public sector have a robust pre-engagement strategy built around expiring contracts and other tools that provide the edge when it comes to creating new opportunities. Below are three contracts that will be expiring between six to twelve months from now.

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This tender covers the provision of end-user computing hardware, software, and associated maintenance and support services. This includes desktop maintenance and IT infrastructure support, ensuring that NHS organisations can access reliable and scalable technology.

For more on this, click here.

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This contract covers the provision of infrastructure and security services for NHS corporate IT and the organisation's smarter working initiatives. Suppliers specialising in IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services, and digital workplace solutions would be a good fit.

For more on this, click here.

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This contract focuses on improving data alignment across various NHS innovation programs. The goal is to harmonise disparate datasets from multiple sources, aiding in better horizon scanning, market intelligence, and innovation tracking. Suppliers best placed for this would be experienced in data integration, interoperability solutions, and healthcare analytics.

For more on this, click here.

In this analysis of NHS contract data, we can see clear priorities for spend across cybersecurity and cloud-related solutions for the UK's healthcare system. As these sectors become central to the public sector's modernisation efforts, suppliers have a unique opportunity to align their offerings with the NHS's evolving priorities.

By using Stotles' pipeline generation platform, suppliers can easily identify the most relevant procurement opportunities, stay ahead of emerging trends, and build a strong public sector sales strategy.