Microsoft has signed a five-year product agreement with the British government as the Labour administration deepens its ties with the giant technology group, whose UK chief executive has just been appointed to lead an influential new industrial body.
Microsoft and the Crown Commercial Service, the UK’s biggest public procurement organisation, have agreed a memorandum of understanding giving public sector organisations access to Microsoft’s portfolio of AI-powered products and services.
The agreement follows the appointment of Clare Barclay, the boss of Microsoft UK, this month as chairwoman of the government’s new Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, which experts warned could raise concerns over perceived conflicts of interest given Microsoft is a major strategic government supplier.
Industrial strategy is a key part of Labour’s plans to grow the