Market warming

Yes, warming, not warning. The BBC is inviting suitably-qualified companies to Broadcasting House on 18th April, who might pitch to run Auntie's basic IT services, in a tender expected to be worth between £400m  and £560m over eight years.

It needs to find a new partner when the extended contract with ATOS finally runs out in 2017. This tender represents quite a big chunk on offer to a "single contracting entity", despite the BBC's stated preference for a mix of suppliers working together in a "Tower" model.

For new readers, this is part of Project Aurora. This month should also see some results from Project Mango, where CTO Matthew Postgate is supposed to crash together techies from Digital, Engineering and Worldwide, and help Lord Hall towards his new target of 1,000 post closures by the summer.  Alongside the squeeze in the creation of BBC Studios, we expect quite a few long-serving managers to head for the exit...