Historic deal: Atos building castles in the air

FRENCH technology firm Atos yesterday won a “seven-figure” contract to supply IT services to Historic Scotland, the Scottish Government agency that runs tourist attractions such as Edinburgh Castle, Glasgow Cathedral and Linlithgow Palace.

Atos will provide IT services to more than 70 sites, also including the Borders abbeys, Orkney’s Skara Brae prehistoric village and Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness, pictured.

The contract is the first public sector contract won by the firm, which has its Scottish base in Livingston, under Holyrood’s national framework agreement.

Jimmy Budge, Historic Scotland’s head of IT, said the deal would provide a “more modern, robust and efficient IT system”.

PETER RANSCOMBE