# Crossing the Border - Level 2 Support

> A sourced UK public sector contract award published by Home Office.

## Key facts

- Buyer: [Home Office](/buyers/home-office/contract-awards)
- Supplier: [IBM United Kingdom Limited](/suppliers/ibm-united-kingdom/public-sector-contract-awards)
- Award value: £8,721,260
- Tender value: £8,721,260
- Award date: 1 August 2025
- Published: 28 January 2026
- Contract start: 23 January 2026
- Contract end: 22 January 2030
- Stage: awarded
- Procurement category: services
- Notice ID: e37a16ae-cbb1-405f-aa21-96d7cb12bcdd-881059
- OCID: ocds-b5fd17-7185a3d2-1cf2-4854-8476-c99a8c1d5973

## Description

This notice is for the award of the Level 2 Support contract for Crossing the Border Platform and applications\. Crossing the Border \(CtB\) is the steady state services and products which control the flow of people and services across the UK border\. This is done principally via the Primary Control Points, mediated by a Border Force officer, or via an e-gate indirectly supervised by Border Force officer/s\. Information from ports is processed by a central collection of systems, hosted in the cloud and on premise\. These systems are built on top of a number of infrastructure platforms, leveraging a hybrid cloud model\. The supplier will provide level 2 support to ensure reliance and service of central systems, supporting a 24 hours a day 365 days a year operation, requiring high degrees of resilience and availability\. The existing applications run on diverse technological stacks and have been delivered over a 3-year programme and are expected to evolve over the next 5 years in line with government policy and operational need\. The system is critical national infrastructure, incorporating official and secret data sets and related processes\.

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## Source

[View the original notice on Contracts Finder](https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/e37a16ae-cbb1-405f-aa21-96d7cb12bcdd-881059)