DBT has put in place two agreements with major reseller SCC intended to provide greater rigour to assessing its current tech estate and picking out potential security risks going forward

The Department for Business and Trade has signed two significant deals intended to help improve the maturity of the organisation’s technology infrastructure and identify any potential vulnerabilities.

The larger of the two contracts – both of which were awarded to IT reseller SCC – covers the “delivery of a technology maturity improvement service”. The DBT’s intention is that the engagement will help to increase the department’s rating as measured by the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) system – a global IT governance framework for assessing and improving information processes and systems.

The contract award notice says: “The top-level requirement for this opportunity is for a company to increase the department’s CMMI rating. This work will require a look at all elements of service delivery within DDAT (digital, data and technology) and ask a supplier to put forward a project plan and service description as to how the department can achieve this.”

In order to deliver this objective, SCC has been appointed to an agreement lasting a little over three years, which came into effect on 4 June. The deal is valued at £3.4m.

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Several weeks after this contract was signed, DBT entered into a separate one-year engagement with the tech firm for the “provision of a vulnerability tool.

The tool in question will be deployed to help detect potential security risks in the department’s IT systems.

“DBT has procured a cloud-based vulnerability scanning solution to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities,”” the contract award notice says. “The tool will support the identification and management of security vulnerabilities across DBT’s digital infrastructure, replacing previous manual and fragmented processes. This procurement forms part of DBT’s broader efforts to enhance cyber resilience and align with relevant security standards.”

Spending via this agreement is estimated to add up to about £150,000, taking the total value of the contracts with SCC to almost £3.6m.

CMMI ratings are administered by a specialised subsidiary of ISACA, a worldwide professional certifications body for the IT governance sector.