June 3, 2026 • 5 min read
NiCE, Capgemini, and Route 101 Complete £500 Million Deal to Modernize HMRC’s Customer Service
Director of Content & Market Research
June 3, 2026
NiCE, Capgemini, and Route 101 have signed a £500 million (≈$679 million) contract to modernize the customer service operations of HMRC, the UK’s tax authority.
In doing so, the partners will implement NiCE’s respective contact center as a service (CCaaS) and conversational AI solutions, NiCE CXone and Cognigy.
CXone will run on a purpose-built UK sovereign cloud, keeping taxpayer data within the country's borders and enforcing an additional layer of security.
CX Foundation broke the news last month that NiCE and Capgemini had been awarded the deal. Now that contracts are signed, the full picture is coming into focus, with Route 101 announced as a key partner.
Route 101 will provide professional services and support communications provider Gamma in delivering critical telephony infrastructure.
This isn't the first time NiCE and Route 101 have teamed up on a large-scale UK government project. The two companies partnered last year on a 40,000-seat contact center deployment for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), cementing their credentials in delivering high-complexity CCaaS implementations for the public sector.
However, in this deal - which rises to £600 million (≈$807 million) after VAT - Capgemini takes the lead role. It will oversee implementation, system design, and workflow integration, while providing ongoing support and continuous optimization.
"In collaboration with HMRC, NiCE, and Route 101, we are building a value partnership that goes beyond technology delivery - one that is focused on long-term outcomes, innovation, and continuous improvement for millions of users across the UK.”
HMRC Chose Revolution, Not Evolution
Capgemini has long assisted HMRC in delivering AI and digital transformation projects, while supporting its previous contact center provider, Odigo.
However, HMRC had come under pressure to reimagine its support proposition after the UK National Audit Office (NAO) concluded in 2024 that taxpayers were being “let down” by its “poor” customer service.
Notably, it didn’t target Odigo’s deployment, but how the contact center team had been “unable to cope with telephone demand” and increasing handling times.
In doing so, it cited average wait times of nearly 23 minutes in the first 11 months of the 2023-24 tax year.
To remedy the situation, HMRC seemingly chose revolution over evolution, kickstarting a tender process for a new CCaaS platform that garnered 13 applications.
Two made the final round, with Capgemini, NiCE, and Route 101 coming up against CGI IT and Genesys before ultimately getting the nod.
“CXone is uniquely positioned to deliver on (this) mandate, helping HMRC modernize service delivery and raise the bar for citizen experience. In partnership with Capgemini and Route 101, this engagement demonstrates the strength of our partner strategy, combining deep expertise and leading technology to deliver meaningful outcomes at national scale.”
HMRC Will Deploy Leading CCaaS & Conversational AI Solutions, with CRM to Come
Alongside CXone, NiCE Cognigy is included in the deal, with HMRC combining Gartner Magic Quadrant-leading solutions for CCaaS and conversational AI.
While Capgemini has shared few details on the specific CXone tools HMRC will deploy, it has confirmed the implementation of NiCE’s Agent Copilot. By providing service representatives with real-time, contextual guidance within their workflow, the tool will likely help curb rising handling times.
Moreover, the partners promise more personalized and consistent experiences, supported by a new CRM platform that HMRC is expected to unveil shortly. That contract is worth £2 billion (≈$2.69 billion) excluding VAT and £2.4 billion (≈$3.23 billion) including VAT.
Lastly, HMRC has pledged to continue providing telephone support for digitally excluded taxpayers while developing innovative ways to assist those facing other forms of vulnerability.
“At the heart of this program is a commitment to better serve the public. By combining technology with human insight, we’re helping HMRC create more seamless, accessible experiences that support people and businesses, and strengthen confidence in the services that underpin the UK economy.”
NiCE Has Significant Public Sector Momentum
Alongside its wins with HMRC and DWP, NiCE has secured several major contracts with public sector organizations worldwide.
Most notably, the company landed a $578 million CCaaS deal with Services Australia in 2024, supporting the Southern Hemisphere’s largest contact center.
Meanwhile, alongside Genesys, the vendor continues to win many of the largest CCaaS deals across industries, despite growing competition from Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google.
This latest win with HMRC accelerates its momentum, while NiCE (alongside Genesys) continues to snap up many of the CCaaS largest deals across industries, despite Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google all entering the space in recent years.
A key factor is likely enterprise caution. Particularly in highly regulated sectors, enterprises are often reluctant to entrust customer service operations to CCaaS disruptors, given the critical role customer service plays in loyalty and retention.
With both NiCE and Genesys consistently leading analyst evaluations from firms such as Forrester and Gartner, their status as the go-to enterprise CCaaS providers appears unlikely to change anytime soon.