WHITEHALL

Public sector contracts: SMEs and big companies – friends or foe?

The best public sector procurement outcomes arise from a balance of small and large players working in collaboration, writes Chris Gough.

Information security is a perpetually hot topic in the news agenda and an increasingly important responsibility for even the smallest business. Achieving and maintaining compliance with best practice in this field can however be costly.  It is nevertheless of vital importance, particularly for those companies who work with the public sector and handle sensitive information about citizens.

With 99.9% of companies in the UK classed as small or medium enterprises (249 or fewer employees), they are a force not only to be recognised, but to be supported and nurtured particularly at a time when the need to drive economic growth is so important.  Indeed, the number of SMEs has increased by 1.4 million since 2000, they currently employ over 14.4 million people and have a combined turnover of £1,600 billion. 

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