The UK Insolvency Service has signed a £20m transformation contract with IBM to upgrade its legacy systems.

The five-year deal involves transforming the IT environment of the agency which administers and investigates the affairs of bankrupt individuals, companies and partnerships.

The Service’s upgraded network infrastructure will equip its 2,750 employees to better manage a rapidly increasing caseload across 35 UK locations.

The programme includes the replacement of desktop and laptop systems with thin client devices and centralisation of the agency's applications using IBM’s Virtual Infrastructure Access Services (VIA) technology.

The Insolvency Service aims to become more responsive and handle cases with greater efficiency, said Insolvency Service acting chief executive Graham Horne.

“By moving from desktop and laptop systems to thin client hardware, we will be able to centrally manage our key applications, reduce our energy costs, and be able to more effectively plan, as we will know the exact cost of adding each new user,” said Horne.

The fully-managed service will include the hosting of servers and applications at IBM data centres, and the provision of network and end user support.

The service will also provide data backup and testing facilities for the operation.