HMRC signs £78m Atos deal for low-code transformation

What happened

HM Revenue & Customs has signed a £78 million contract with Atos to expand its use of low-code development tools, according to IT Pro. The deal is aimed at helping the UK tax authority accelerate the delivery of internal digital services by relying more heavily on low-code platforms rather than traditional custom-built software.

Details of the contract's precise scope, duration and the specific systems involved have not been disclosed in reporting so far, but the agreement signals a continued push by HMRC to modernise its technology estate through commercial partnerships with established systems integrators.

Why it matters

Low-code platforms allow organisations to build and update applications with less reliance on specialist software engineers, which can shorten delivery timelines and reduce the backlog of digital requests that large public-sector bodies typically face. For an institution the size of HMRC, which manages services touching millions of taxpayers and businesses, faster iteration on internal tools can translate into quicker fixes, more responsive case-handling systems, and reduced dependency on scarce technical talent.

The move also reflects a broader pattern across government technology: departments are increasingly turning to low-code and no-code approaches as a pragmatic route to modernisation, rather than committing to lengthy, high-risk full-system rebuilds. Getting this balance right — speed and flexibility without creating new pockets of technical debt — is the real test of whether such contracts deliver lasting value.

By the numbers

• £78 million — value of the contract signed between HMRC and Atos for low-code transformation work.

The Renascence take

Low-code deals are often framed purely as an IT efficiency story, but the more interesting question is what happens to the people who actually use these systems day to day — HMRC staff processing cases and citizens waiting on outcomes.

Low-code tools promise speed, but speed only matters if it's pointed at the right friction. Public-sector technology programmes too often optimise the backend while the citizen-facing experience — clarity, wait times, ability to track a case — stays untouched. A genuinely customer-obsessed rollout would pair this kind of low-code investment with visible service-design commitments: faster resolution times, clearer status updates, fewer repeat contacts. Otherwise it risks being infrastructure progress that taxpayers never actually feel.