UK NHS IT project cuts new deal with Microsoft
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The UK&#39;s National Health Service (NHS) has signed a software licensing deal with Microsoft Corp. that the NHS says will provide for the development of a user interface specifically designed for the organization
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Microsoft Corp. will be forced for the first time to offer a version of its flagship Windows operating system stripped of a major feature, based on a court order issued yesterday.
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The National Health Service (NHS) has extended a software licensing deal with Microsoft for nine years - three times longer than its current agreement.
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The NHS has struck a discounted deal with computer giant Microsoft to renew its licence for desktop products. The Department of Health said the deal would save the NHS Â£330m on the current terms.
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LONDON -- The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) has tapped IT researcher Gartner Inc. to provide market intelligence services as the health organization forges ahead with a mammoth, Â£5 billion ($9.2 billion) project to upgrade its information technology infrastructure.
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The final cost of modernising NHS IT systems could reach Â£31bn - five times the declared figure, a report says.
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UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB   has temporarily shut down its fledgling broadband film service  after software provided by Microsoft  was cracked,  enabling the digital protection to be stripped.
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Doctors have criticised the appointment of a top PR firm to sell the overhaul of the NHS IT system.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft announced plans to acquire health care search engine Medstory on Feb. 26, positioning the deal as a strategic move into the consumer health market. The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker, best known for its Windows operating system and Office productivity tools, said that the deal not only immediately widens its footprint in the health care segment, but also reflects a long-term commitment to development of a "broader consumer health strategy." Financial details of the deal were not disclosed by either company. Medstory, based in Foster City, Calif., has posted a beta version of its health care search engine online, which promises to return more intelligent results than traditional Web scanning tools. By synthesizing user search requests within the context of health care, Medstory claims it can provide people with far more relevant information than they might uncover using generalized tools, such as Microsoft's own MSN engine. While the company has focused its efforts on health care thus far and claims to have loaded its engine with related information via close work with a number of medical organizations, the firm indicates on its Web site that it may eventually branch into other search arenas. Microsoft officials offered few details about its plans for Medstory but reported that the company's employees will join its Health Solutions Group, a recently launched division that oversees its product development efforts in the health care sector. If the deal is closed, Dr. Alain Rappaport, Medstory's founder and chief executive, will take on the role of general manager of health search in Microsoft's Health Solutions Group. In further positioning the deal, Microsoft cited increasing demand among consumers for health-related information online. The company pointed specifically to a study published in Oct. 2006 by the Pew Internet and American Life Project which found that 8 million people currently turn to the Web for such health care data with 22 percent of those responding to the report stating they find existing resources to be insufficient. "We're focused on enabling people to make the best decisions," said Peter Neupert, corporate vice president for health strategy in Microsoft's Health Solutions Group. "We were impressed with the ability of Medstoryâs unique technology to organize and surface the most relevant online health content, which empowers consumers who are trying to find the right information about an important life event." The Medstory deal does not represent Microsoft's initial foray into the health care field. In July 2006, the firm bought health care software maker Washington-based Azyxxi for an undisclosed amount of money. Azyxxi's applications specifically promise to track and update changes to patients' electronic records in real time. Microsoft also maintains a research and development partnership with Medstar Health, a nonprofit health care firm that operates seven hospitals in the Mid-Atlantic region. As part of the Medstory deal announcement, Microsoft launched its Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint, which it has tabbed as an "extensible architectural foundation" to streamline interoperability and integration between existing health care applications. The software blueprint will be offered at no charge to government and health care organizations worldwide, the company said. The software maker further identified the plan as a "real-world model" for health care companies attempting to adopt SOA technologies to help pull together disparate health care systems. In addition to the architecture, Microsoft introduced its Health Connection Engine, a set of Web services tools built around industry standards, that also promises to allow medical organizations to foster interoperability in their IT operations. As proof of its existing capabilities in the health care filed, Microsoft detailed work it has done with the Menninger Clinic, a Houston, Texas psychiatric hospital, to help the facility centralize its clinical information systems. Hospital officials claim to have cut paperwork by 25 percent already using a new internal system based on Microsoft's Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Office InfoPath 2007.
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Upgrade waiting list just too long The government's vision of an integrated computer system for the NHS is coming apart at the seams as NHS trusts are to start looking for alternative IT suppliers, The Guardian reports.â¦
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(InfoWorld) - Accenture has walked away from two contracts to deliver regional IT systems and services to the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). An alliance led by Computer Sciences Corp. will take over the contracts, the companies announced Thursday. CSC already has contracts to deliver services in two other regions. CSC valued the two Accenture contracts at up to Â£1.97 billion ($3.73 billion) over nine years. In March, Accenture said it had made a pretax provision of $450 million to coverÂ losses it expectedÂ to make on the two local service provider contracts, to implement and service regional IT systems in the Northeast and East of England. Under the nationwide Connecting for Health program to modernize NHS IT systems, CSCÂ already has contractsÂ to deliver services in two regions, the Northwest of England and in the West Midlands. Under an agreement between Accenture, CSC and the NHS, Accenture has until Jan. 8 to transfer its responsibilities to CSC. Accenture and CSC had both turned to the same supplier, iSoft Group, for the software necessary for the project. In January, iSoft said it would deliver the software late, and in June restated financial results because of questions over the way it booked revenue before delivering products. On Thursday, iSoft said it will remain the preferred supplier for the Northeast and East regions, and that it had settled outstanding disputes with Accenture.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Like many, I was pretty shocked by the recent Microsoft-EU deal to settle the long-running investigation into interoperability issues.  This was not so much because of the way Microsoft has used every kind of delaying tactic it could before eventually agreeing (for the nth time) to try harder in the future.  My real dismay was provoked by the gap between appearance and reality â a chasm that I think bodes ill for the future of open source. read more
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IBA Health Ltd., Australia&#39;s largest listed health information technology provider, withdrew its bid for Health Communication Network Ltd.
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Where was the tneder process? The Department of Health ignored procurement guidelines and pursued a back room deal with an informatics company, according to a committee of MPs.â¦
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App-free Windows coming to a poor community near you... Software giant Microsoft is to abruptly ditch the use of Office through its popular global community refurbishment scheme.â¦
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Microsoft announces end of support for the upgrade, urges move to SP2.
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The government has been defeated over its plans for the NHS at the Labour Party conference.