Current contract with Fujitsu was first signed eight years ago and has been further extended as the deal for a replacement warning system is due to come into effect imminently
The Environment Agency has extended for a further 12 months its long-standing multimillion-pound contract for the provision of the UK’s flood-warning system.
The agency’s deal with Fujitsu for the delivery of the Future Flood Warnings System (FFWS) was first signed eight years ago and, at the time, was forecast to be worth £4.6m to the tech firm. The length and value of the contact has been extended a number of times since then.
In a newly published commercial update, the Environment Agency (EA) has revealed that the latest extension will prolong the deal by up to 12 months, to a potential conclusion of 22 December 2025. As a result of which, the value of the engagement is expected to rise by £2m to a total lifetime worth of £19.5m.
The procurement process for the replacement arrangement – dubbed the Next Flood Warning System – took place in the early weeks of 2023, with the EA setting a target of signing a deal with a supplier at the start of the 2024.
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Announcing the extension of the FFWS deal, the agency said that it will “will shortly conclude a procurement for the successor arrangement” to the current warning system.
Fujitsu is on the shortlist for the provision of the new system, alongside Accenture, IBM and Leidos.
The chosen firm will take over a system that has “remained largely unchanged for many years” and will continue to be “supported by satellite systems maintained by the EA and third-party suppliers in order to provide accurate and up-to-date information to users”, according to procurement documents. There are about 1.6 million users registered to receive warning updates.
To support the NFWS, the chosen “supplier must propose new ideas, innovations, and service improvements via a bi-annual continuous improvement plan”.