Capita’s Secure Information Solutions (SIS) division has acquired blue light command, control and communications (CC&C) systems specialist Fortek Computers Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Gosport-based Fortek has been around since 1974, when its first system was installed at Tyne and Wear firebrigade. Its founder, George Godliman, will join the board of Capita’s secure information solutions business.
Today Fortek employs around 65 people in the UK and develops a suite of CC&C systems under the VISION name, covering call handling, resource availability, incident management and mobile reporting for front line staff. It counts 45 public safety customers, including Nottingham Police, the Welsh Fire and Rescue Service (FRS), West Midlands FRS, South Wales FRS, North Yorkshire FRS, as well as some clients in Australia and Saudi Arabia. Capita has already partnered with Fortek at the Welsh FRS across three control rooms, so both companies clearly know each other’s business.
Capita clearly feels it needs more fire power to finally break into the emerging Police BPO market, where rival G4S recently won a £200m deal at Lincolnshire Police in partnership with Capgemini (see here). SIS is the division targeting the blue light opportunity, and it has been built up from scratch by the recent acquisitions of Sungard Public Sector (see here), mobile Police software developer Beat Systems and Cedar HR (see here). Capita’s strategy is to build a suite of software and services for the emergency services that can 'support shared service models and enable inter-agency communications and data exchange'.
Capita now needs to integrate this latest product set into its portfolio, and articulate a coherent integrated approach for the UK emergency services market. This will be vital if Capita is to have a realistic chance of successfully bidding on the really big prize out in the market - the potential £1.5bn outsourcing opportunity at West Midlands and Surrey police forces. Press reports regularly shift on whether this will or won’t go ahead. But we expect it to do so in some form. It will no doubt be a highly competitive deal and one where different players - support services, IT/BP services and some unusual suspects - will bid a wide range of prices, capability and proof of long-standing Police/blue light experience. Capita’s continuing M&A in this space shows there is still some work to do.