Redcentric wins NHS Digital's peering exchange contract

Redcentric, the IT managed services provider, has won a three-year contract with the NHS Digital's Health and Social Care Network, which it said was "one of its most significant public sector wins to date".

The contract, which carries the option to extend for a further three years, to provide the peering exchange forms the core of the NHS's new Health and Social Care Network (HSCN).

The creation of the HSCN has triggered a shift from the current single-supplier 'N3' network to a disaggregated supplier model, with the peering exchange acting as a 'super switch' whereby multiple consumer network service providers (CN-SPs) will supply connectivity to end users and interconnect their networks at multiple Peering Exchange points to form a single logical network.

Dermot Ryan, HSCN Programme Director for NHS Digital, said: "We are pleased to have awarded this contract to Redcentric, following a competitive procurement process. The Peering Exchange is a critical component of the HSCN infrastructure and the contract is a significant step forward in establishing an HSCN marketplace of assured network services. This marketplace will drive competition amongst suppliers, improve consumer choice, support innovation and deliver value for money. The Peering Exchange will allow HSCN customers, who are using different network suppliers, to reliably communicate by interconnecting multiple supplier networks."