Cardiff University has set up a framework deal for higher education and research bodies, and some further education colleges, to buy hardware using Apple operating systems.

The four year deal, which the university made on behalf of the Higher Education Purchasing Consortium Wales, could be worth up to £300m for Apple. It follows similar deals in 2003 and 2007.

A spokeswoman for Cardiff University told GGC that students and staff are eligible to buy products under the agreement, and that this is expected to account for about 65% of the contract value. Other consortia have actively used the previous contracts.

"The purchases made under this agreement could be any of Apple's products - but would most typically be iMacs and MacBooks used for research and education purposes," she said.

This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates of news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.