BITKOM and German Government Recommend PCMark 8

BITKOM and German Government Recommend PCMark 8 Benchmark for Vendor-Neutral PC Procurement

We are proud to announce that BITKOM and the German government are using PCMark 8 to recommend the minimum required performance of desktop PC systems purchased for public agencies.

BITKOM - Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e. V. (The Federal Association of Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media) is a German IT trade association that represents more than 2,200 international companies operating in the digital sector. 

Working together with the purchasing authorities of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Environment Ministry, the Federal Employment Agency, the German Armed Forces, and other public procurement agencies in Germany, BITKOM has published guidelines for the Vendor-Neutral Performance Description of Desktop PCs, (available in English and German). 

The guidelines provide public authorities with a comprehensive tool for writing tenders for the supply of desktop PCs using specifications based on a broad consensus in the ICT industry in cooperation with public purchasers. The specifications use PCMark 8 benchmark scores to define the minimum performance requirement for desktops PCs to be used by office workers for administrative tasks.

Jukka Mäkinen, Managing Director of Futuremark, says,

"Defining vendor-neutral PC performance requirements is a major challenge for purchasers in public offices. I am delighted that BITKOM's committee of experts recognises that the best approach is to use relevant and widely accepted impartial benchmarks, such as PCMark 8, to set the minimum acceptable PC performance level in official tenders."

PCMark 8 is a complete benchmarking solution for business, enterprise, government, and other professional users. PCMark 8 provides procurement departments, supply chain managers, and IT departments with accurate and impartial benchmarks for specifying and comparing the performance of Windows PCs, notebooks, and tablets.

Since its release, PCMark 8 has been incorporated into the tendering, procurement and purchasing departments of the governments of France, Northern Ireland, and Brazil as well as the European Commision. 

Futuremark has been making industry standard benchmarks since 1997. Based in Finland, we make the world’s most authoritative and widely-used performance tests for PCs, laptops, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. PCMark is the result of 15 years of benchmarking expertise combined with close industry cooperation to create benchmark tests that are relevant, accurate, and impartial. Futuremark benchmarks are used throughout industry, by hundreds of press publications, and millions of consumers. 

PCMark 8 was developed in close cooperation with the world’s leading technology companies including AMD, Compal, Condusiv Technologies, Dell, HGST, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Microsoft, Quanta Computer, SanDisk Corporation, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital Corporation. Futuremark is an independently owned company developing benchmarking software to a strict code of neutrality.

Companies and organisations interested in PCMark 8 and other Futuremark benchmarks should call  Jani Joki on +358-20 759 8250 (UTC +2) or email sales@futuremark.com. 

Find out more about PCMark 8 and other benchmarks for business, enterprise and government, or follow Futuremark on Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest company news.

About BITKOM

BITKOM - Bundesverband Informationswirtschaft, Telekommunikation und neue Medien e. V. - represents more than 2,200 companies in the digital sector, including 1,400 direct members. With more than 700,000 employees, the members generate a domestic turnover of 140 billion Euros a year, exporting high-tech goods and services worth another 50 billion Euros. Comprising 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses as well as more than 250 start-ups and nearly all global players, BITKOM members offer a wide range of software technologies, IT-services, and telecommunications or internet services. They produce hardware and consumer electronics or operate in the sectors of digital media and the network industry. 76 percent of the companies’ headquarters are located in Germany with an additional amount of 10 percent in other countries of the EU and 9 percent in the USA as well as 5 percent in other regions. BITKOM supports an innovative economic policy by focussing the modernization of the education sector and a future-oriented network policy. https://www.bitkom.org 

About Beschaffungsamt des Bundesministeriums des Innern

The Purchasing Authority of the Federal Ministry of the Interior purchases goods and services for 26 federal authorities, government-funded foundations and internationally active organisations. Its product portfolio is extremely wide-ranging, including items as diverse as alarm technology, tents and helicopters, as well as a great variety of services. In 2010, the Purchasing Authority of the Federal Ministry of the Interior awarded an overall volume of 1,111 contracts with a total volume of EUR 1,046.3 million. http://www.bescha.bund.de