Government of Canada enables a more modern and accessible Public Service

Shared Services Canada (SSC) renewed its agreement with Microsoft Canada to procure software and services for the Government of Canada. In addition to the services renewed under this agreement, SSC will now be able to provide all public servants with access to Office 365, thus laying the groundwork for a digitally-enabled public service.

The agreement, valued at $940 million over seven years, includes continued support for Windows operating system, Microsoft Exchange (email platform), Server Operating System and other infrastructure software for the data centres, development software (MSDN, Visual Studio, SQL, etc.) and business applications (Project, Visio, etc).

From the MS Office suite, to directories for network, to data processing systems applications, Microsoft Canada software has long been used by the federal government. This overarching agreement ensures SSC will continue to get product upgrades and security patches and also to provide public servants with the tools they use every day:

• software licenses;
• network and business applications software; and
• support services.

In 2017, SSC began the preliminary work for the renewal of the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (MSEA). In 2018, SSC undertook a procurement for a digital communications platform. Microsoft was the successful respondent in the procurement process and so the decision was made to combine all software services and support under the same contractual umbrella. This allows for simplified contract management and ensures better value for Canadians.

The addition of Office 365 will modernize the numerous tools the public service relies on with an integrated suite of communication and collaboration tools, for effective information sharing, enhanced productivity and improved collaboration.

This agreement also includes hybrid rights which will enable the software to run in data centres or in the cloud, allowing for the transition to a digital government.

As a result, the Government of Canada will have a strong platform for the effective delivery of high‑quality programs and services to Canadians.