On Tuesday, NHS England announced that it awarded a contract of £330m to a group of companies for the development of a new shared software system, the NHS Federated Data Platform. Led by Denver-based tech giant, Palantir Technologies UK (PLTR), this collaboration further consists of Accenture (ACN), PwC, NECS, and Carnall Farr.
Palantir Technologies heads group developing £330m NHS data platform
Palantir is known for its intelligence-driven software systems. This NHS project aims to boost the networking capabilities between health and care organisations to the benefit of their patients.
Earlier, many raised an eyebrow when the NHS appointed Palantir to handle the transitions needed to start the data platform without inviting competitors to quote. This particular contract amounted to £25m.
Consequently, security concerns surfaced with this renewed appointment. To appease critics, the NHS assured interested parties that:
No company involved in the Federated Data Platform can access health and care data without the explicit permission of the NHS. All data within the platform is under the control of the NHS and will only be used for direct care and planning.
The Palantir contract also ignited fresh debates on the exclusion of the NHS from contemporary procurement reforms. Many feel this stymies transparency.
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Co-founded by tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel, Palantir actively backed former US president Donald Trump and worked with the US government. According to Yahoo Finance, Alex Karp, the chief executive officer of the company, said:
This award is the culmination of 20 years of developing software that enables complex, sensitive data to be integrated in a way that protects security, respects privacy and puts the customer in full control.
