Birmingham City Council has been actively enhancing its digital infrastructure to improve service delivery and operational efficiency. A significant milestone in this journey was the completion of its ICT insourcing in August 2019, marking the end of a 13-year partnership with Capita. This strategic move aimed to bring critical IT services back under council control, enabling more agile and responsive management of its digital resources. (ukauthority.com)
In line with its digital transformation objectives, the council has been exploring partnerships with leading data center service providers to bolster its IT capabilities. In July 2020, Birmingham City Council collaborated with Nutanix, a global leader in enterprise cloud computing, to migrate its legacy hardware to a hybrid cloud infrastructure. This initiative was designed to support approximately 450 applications, 11,500 council employees, 12,500 devices, and 1.3 petabytes of data, aiming to deliver cloud-like scalability from a secure on-premises data center. (nutanix.com)
Additionally, in April 2023, Proximity Data Centres announced the establishment of IX Birmingham, the first regional internet exchange in the heart of the West Midlands. Located at Proximity’s Birmingham Edge 8 Tier 3 data center, IX Birmingham is set to provide businesses across the city and the local region with higher-speed, lower-latency connectivity options. This development is expected to enhance the city’s digital infrastructure and support the council’s vision for creating innovative opportunities that maximize the use of digital technologies. (digitalbirmingham.co.uk)
These strategic collaborations underscore Birmingham City Council’s commitment to advancing its digital infrastructure, ensuring that it can effectively meet the evolving needs of its citizens and maintain high standards of service delivery.
