The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services will be asked to approve the extension of a contract for the provision of laptops and accessories.

Extension of EA21 Call-off Contract - Supply of Laptops and Accessories

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Services will be asked to approve the 12 month extension of a contract with XMA for the provision of laptops and accessories. XMA were appointed to the framework in December 2021, and this extension would be the second and final extension permitted under the contract. If approved, the maximum value of the contract would be £1,550,000.00.

The contract is for the provision of Lenovo ThinkPad T14S laptops, and will include the replacement of 277 laptops currently using Windows 10 with laptops that use Windows 11 before Microsoft ends support for Windows 10 in October 2025.

Included within this award is the requirement to replace 277 Windows 10 laptops with new Windows 11 devices. Microsoft support for Windows 10 will end on 14 October 2025 and devices need to be replaced over the next 9 months.

- Decision Report - EA21 Extension - XMA Ltd - Dec 2024 - Approved - Final V1.0, page 4

The report notes that the council has seen an increase in demand for laptops, which it attributes in part to a growth in its staffing numbers.

In 2024, demand for new laptops and accessories was higher than the predicted forecast and further hardware procurements were completed... The total combined spend under EA21 increased to £1,308,168.64.

- Decision Report - EA21 Extension - XMA Ltd - Dec 2024 - Approved - Final V1.0, page 3

The report says that the council is attempting to address this by improving its laptop strategy.

Monthly reporting will form part of the laptop strategy and data will be shared with directors, department heads and Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment, providing analytics on the number of new, reallocated and unreturned laptops for each Service and the associated costs. Providing detailed data will enable Services to better manage assets, aid return rates and help to reduce costs.

- Decision Report - EA21 Extension - XMA Ltd - Dec 2024 - Approved - Final V1.0, page 4