Software package and information systems

Tender description

This tender is part of the GEANT GN4 Phase 1 (GN4-1) project. GEANT (the GEANT Project) is a collaboration between 40 European Research and Education Networks (NRENs) and joint European organisations. An NREN is a specialised Internet service provider, dedicated to supporting research and education needs within its country. The Research and Education community within each country relies on its NREN to advise and guide in adopting IT and to provide the right solutions. NRENs participating in the GÉANT Project collectively support the Research and Education community in Europe (10 000 Institutions and more than 50 000 000 users) providing for its use: — A high-speed network; — An identity management, single sign-on ecosystem; — Communication and collaboration services. The GEANT Project has an objective to leverage network connectivity, identity management and other established services to help accelerate the adoption of cloud services and remove barriers for the NRENs and their Institutions, hereafter referred to as the Customers. The purpose of the procurement initiative is to bridge the demand and supply sides for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). It is being conducted as an Open Procedure in accordance with the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to: — Make it easier for the Customers to consume IaaS solutions in a manner compliant with European procurement legislation and with the right conditions of use. By aggregating demand across the Customers and negotiating integrated brokerage and service delivery, the Customers will be able to get the best possible value from cloud services. — Provide a direct route for Economic Operators to more easily and efficiently reach and deliver their IaaS solutions at large. The tender aims to ensure that: — Suppliers offer a IaaS feature set which matches the Customers' needs; — Data is handled safely and Suppliers meet European and national regulations; — The Customers can aggregate demand and costs are affordable and predictable; — Services can be acquired and used through the Customers' purchasing and management structures; — Services are connected to and compatible with the Customers network and Identity Management capabilities. It is the intention that the conclusion of this procurement process will result in a number of Framework Agreements (as described in the tender documentation) for IaaS solutions awarded to Tenderers who pass the Call for Competition evaluation, resulting in a portfolio of services for the Customers to consume. The Frameworks will provide standardised contract terms for use by NRENs and their client institutions. This will remove or will at least significantly reduce, the local overhead for technical, commercial or legal activities typically required when engaging new Suppliers. As a result, this procurement will significantly reduce the barriers for the Customers to consume IaaS solutions. GEANT (Limited and Association), the NRENs listed in this OJEU (including the research and higher education institutions receiving connectivity from the NREN) plus any entities listed in addition at http://www.geant.org/Services/Storage_and_clouds/Pages/Tender.aspx are entitled to benefit from this procurement.