Microsoft NHS Resource Centre - NHS Licensing England

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NHS Enterprise Agreement for England

All about the Enterprise Agreement

Microsoft and NHS Connecting for Health have renewed their initial Enterprsie Agreement signed in 2004 for a further three years. The revised agreement provides IT desktop capabilities for over 800,000 users over the lifetime of the agreement, and includes both anti-virus technology and new Microsoft operating systems.

A further innovation is Microsoft's investment of £40m in a Common User Interface to make technology more user-friendly for NHS staff, and safeguard patients by reducing medication-related errors at the same time.

Both parties agree that technology has a vital role to play in delivering modern healthcare improvements in the UK. This new arrangement will deliver added benefits for all NHS employees with access to the latest Microsoft software. The net result will enable better productivity and improved patient safety through the NHS, ultimately benefitting patients by augmenting quality of service and care currently offered by NHS organisations.

What is the NHS Software Licensing Enterprise Agreement?

The NHS in England has negotiated a central licensing arrangement with Microsoft - called an Enterprise Agreement (EA) - which provides software licences to all personal computers (including desktops and laptops) for specific core Microsoft products across all of the NHS organisations in England including Primary Care Groups, Acute, Ambulance, Community and Mental Health Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities, including Special Health Authorities.

The EA has also been extended to include the Department Of Health and its relevant authorities, plus all Hostpices and Palliative Care Units providing care to patients in England and linked to the Hospices Connect Programme.

This is a three year agreement running until May 2010, during which time the Enterprise Agreement also includes the right to use any new versions of the products included in the agreement. Organisations covered by this EA are licensed for immediate use of all the products included.