Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, which ranks as one the largest provider of systems integration and consulting services to the US government, had been pitching for the national application service provider contract to supply NHS care records service. Lockheed’s withdrawal leaves IBM Corp and BT Group Plc as the two remaining bidders on the shortlist.
Lockheed Martin had also been bidding in consortium with Hewlett-Packard Co against 11 other companies to provide hardware and software to regional NHS hospitals and surgeries. The company did not give a reason for its withdrawal, although it might have been discouraged by the strict performance targets and penalty clauses set for suppliers by the UK government.
Meanwhile, The UK Ministry of Defence has short-listed six defense companies for its classified Niteworks program, which is designed to combine UK forces to enable them to react more rapidly and accurately during battle. Some 50 suppliers applied to be part of the program, but this has now been whittled down to six. They are: American Management Systems; a joint venture between BAE Systems and Italy’s Finmeccanica; Thales SA; EDS; Raytheon; and a consortium comprising MBDA and General Dynamics.
Source: Computerwire
